Do you remember your first day at work? Was it a welcoming experience, or was there a grim sink or swim air about the place that made you reevaluate your life choices? How long till you moved on?

Recent research is backing up what executive search professionals have known for decades: the more welcome an employee is made to feel at the outset, the less likely they are to leave within the first three months, which is when new hires experience the highest turnover rates.

“Statistically, up to 20% of new hire turnover occurs in the first 45 days. What we also know is that formal onboarding – as opposed to traditional induction or orientation – can improve retention by 50%,” says Corinne Klajda, founder and managing partner of the Accord Group Polska/ AltoPartners Poland.

Onboarding, orientation, induction – what’s the difference?

Onboarding is often used interchangeably with induction and orientation, but they differ significantly in scope and intention.

Orientation typically focuses on immediate logistics, such as IT setup, health and safety procedures, and a walk-through of the facilities. Induction has a slightly longer timeframe – usually a week or two – and tends to focus on training and integration within the team and the role: ‘Here’s what your role involves. Here’s who you’ll work with. Let’s set some short-term goals’.

Onboarding, on the other hand, is an intentional programme designed to set employees up for long-term success. It focuses on performance, engagement and culture, and can take anywhere from one to twelve months, depending on the role and the size of the organisation. Generally, the more senior the appointee and the smaller the company, the shorter the onboarding runway.

It’s a process

It’s not a question of picking one, though, explains Klajda, but rather viewing all three as sequential stages of an immersive employee experience.

“Post-COVID, we have seen bigger companies ramping up their onboarding programme, even for entry-level employees, especially where they are facing a staffing shortage. The most successful programmes have been elevated to the strategic level, rather than being left to HR to manage and implement. Which is as it should be. Onboarding concerns the entire organisation – finance, IT, security, procurement, production, supply chain, logistics, marketing, and communications.

“We have a large European-based retail client whose onboarding programme spans three months and involves all C-level appointees spending time on the shop floor, at the sales points, with security, and with the merchandising teams. It’s that granular because you need leaders to have a 360-degree view of the organisation and how their function impacts everyone else.”

However, says Klajda, despite the well-documented benefits of a good onboarding programme, it is still not the norm, primarily due to the cost and the effort required to set it up and then manage it.

Overcoming resistance

“In my experience, it’s not only smaller organisations that baulk at the concept of a three-to-six-month onboarding period. There is still resistance among some organisations to what they see as paying someone to learn the ropes.

“As a business owner, I understand their misgivings, but not every onboarding programme needs to be 12 months long. Smaller organisations can put just as much effort into welcoming new hires and working out a formal one-month programme that exposes them to every aspect of the business, including structured meet-and-greets with everyone who could impact their long-term success. In fact, I would argue that it’s even more important for smaller organisations to put a lot of effort into onboarding, as the stakes are a lot higher if the person doesn’t work out or makes a costly mistake.”

Since a significant portion of onboarding tends to be front-loaded, it’s essential to conduct continuous check-ins with new employees.

Check-in time

“It’s a fine line between equipping a new employee and overwhelming them. Learning new systems and processes can be exhausting, and onboarding fatigue is a real phenomenon that can lead to a lack of engagement with the process. But it’s not just the recruits that can run out of steam; the managers and supervisors tasked with handholding and training are often the weakest link when it comes to signing off a full-onboarding module, as they are the most time-poor in the organisation.

“Successful onboarding programmes recognise both factors and build in checks and balances. They conduct regular reviews along the way to gather feedback from new employees and adjust the training and exposure rates accordingly. Similarly, onboarding forms part of a manager’s KPIs, which discourages shortcuts and endless postponements.”

There is also a misperception that the benefits of an onboarding programme flow only in one direction.

“Onboarding is often viewed solely as a process designed to cushion an employee’s entry into a new environment. However, I have a client who accompanies all recruits on a walk-through of the shop floor, asking, ‘What do you see?’ So many new ideas have come about as a result, as they’re coming into the environment with fresh eyes.”

Start before the first day on the job

And don’t wait until the start date to begin the onboarding, says Klajda. These days, onboarding programmes have more in common with a high-touch, high-impact VIP check-in service than a first day at the office.

These can include all the details that a newcomer would ordinarily have to guess, such as what time to arrive, where to park, who they’ll be meeting, planned activities for the week, and the dress code.

Volunteering this kind of information is not only thoughtful but also minimises anxiety and awkwardness.

“Before these candidates even walk through your door, they have experienced a level of care and consideration that they will remember. As a brand-building exercise, it’s a no-brainer,” says Klajda, adding that it never ceases to amaze her how many companies go radio silent once the offer has been signed.

“The longer the silence between signing the job offer and starting the job, the greater the sense of trepidation on the part of the candidate,” she says. “Equally, being unprepared to meet a candidate on their first day makes a terrible impression. Nothing says we don’t care about you more than having to share a hot desk while they ‘sort out’ an email login for you and try to locate someone to show you around.”

Remote pitfalls

Still, this is nothing compared to what can go wrong in a hybrid or fully remote working environment.

“As important as it is for on-site employees, the detail and the structure of an onboarding process must be stepped up accordingly to prevent the anxiety that comes out of isolation. It’s an industry truism that the best time to headhunt someone is in their first three weeks of a new job because this is when employees are at their most vulnerable.

“I’ve never met a client who has regretted investing in an onboarding programme, or a candidate who has regretted participating in one. If I were looking for a job now, I would most certainly check the potential employer’s onboarding process. I have seen what happens when excellent candidates are thrown in at the deep end. These are smart, successful people with the requisite experience. Some hang in there, struggling until they make it, while others move on quickly. Either way, it seems to me such a waste of effort and talent that could so easily have been redirected into a more positive experience for both parties. For this reason, I strongly recommend that clients update their onboarding programmes to ensure maximum return on their investment in a new team member. Likewise, I encourage candidates to ask about the onboarding process during interviews.”

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