Designing Onboarding: Simple Steps to Improve Early Retention

I can count on one hand and less than 5 fingers the number of really good onboarding experiences I have had during my career. Because let's be real, most onboarding programs are boring, inconsistent, rushed, or a mixture of all three.

And yet, research shows that new employees are 69% more likely to stay with a company for at least three years if they experience a great onboarding program.

So, how can you design onboarding that doesn’t just tick HR or compliance boxes, but actually keeps people engaged, excited, and invested?

Here are three simple steps I use when guiding organizations:

Step 1: Make days leading up to the first day unforgettable

So often there is a focus on only the first day but what about that grey space between offer signed and first day? I can't tell you how many times I felt left out in the dark and low key stressed that I wouldn't be starting. So at JustAnswer, I made it my mission to not let anyone else feel that way by creating a pre-boarding communication plan within the HRIS.

By automating your communications through your HRIS, you can ensure that touchpoints are made, information is shared, and the new hire can focus less on paperwork and more on impact.

Step 2: Focus on clarity, not confusion

I can't tell you how many times I left after the first week feeling overwhelmed and confused. Questions like "so what was I hired for?" and "what am I being evaluated on?" were constant.

New hires shouldn’t leave their first week unsure of what’s expected and by working with managers prior to their arrival and through their first 90 days, you can mitigate that! Helping managers get clear on expectations, communicating those expectations, and continually providing feedback on performance sets them and the new hire up for success.

Step 3: Connect people to purpose not just tasks

After the blur of the first 90 days, one gap that kept coming up was how my role laddered up to the company's goals and mission. And after working with different teams across continents I can wholeheartedly say that retention isn’t just about tasks; it’s about meaning. It is so important that new hires understand how their role contributes to the bigger mission of the company.

This can look like working with the manager to effectively communicate their impact and providing regular feedback on how their performance helps the team. Because when employees feel connected to a purpose, they tend to stick around.

Step 4: Keep a pulse and iterate where needed

What worked 5, 3, or even 1 year ago may not work for today. So many onboarding programs are designed and executed but not revisited and that is a mistake. You want onboarding to evolve with the business so that new hires can feel better acclimated to the culture of today. By keeping a pulse on onboarding survey results and being open to iterating on the program, you can make sure the program continues to have impact and relevancy.

Onboarding does not have to be complicated or expensive to be effective. By being intentional, thoughtful, and personal, you can improve retention and build a workforce that feels valued and invested from day one.