Employee Onboarding Statistics You Must Know

Strategic employee onboarding is still a top priority for many companies. Businesses that optimize the onboarding process have higher chances of seeing positive changes, including higher engagement levels, faster competency gains, and a lower burnout rate.

The onboarding strategy significantly differs from company to company. It varies in length, types of activities, and the level of attention paid to a new employee. While it may seem efficient for your company, it's crucial to monitor world trends and statistics to see the bigger picture, adopt the positive experience and reduce the negative.

In this article, you will find the latest onboarding statistics from different resources, revealing the prominent practices, the common mistakes made by employers, and how they influence the company's overall performance.

Great Onboarding May Increase Retention by 82%

Initial impressions matter and the statistics from Brandon Hall Group prove it. The first weeks in a new company are genuinely stressful. A structured onboarding process not only shows employees that the organization cares about them but also eliminates many questions and uncertainties that may hinder a newcomer's performance, breed the feeling of misfit, and lead to an imminent resignation.

Onboarding Statistics: Businesses With Organized Onboarding Have a 60% Increase in a Year’s Revenue

These figures from Northpass are another proof of the previous statement. Employees with a positive onboarding experience are more efficient in their current roles and better motivated to work for the company's benefit.

Customer onboarding data show that workers with the finest onboarding experiences are better positioned to facilitate the organization's development.

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A Year-Long Onboarding Program Helps the Workers Become Fully Proficient 34 Times Faster

According to the figures provided by Atrivity, if the onboarding period in your company takes a month or less, it's time to reconsider your strategy. While managing a year-long, personalized onboarding program may seem overwhelming, it can give new hires a profound and valuable experience that enables them to advance skills and increase productivity more rapidly.

It takes some time to comprehend the complexities of a new function, adapt to the corporate culture, fulfill important compliance obligations, and get used to new technologies. Consider making a checklist of tasks for the new worker to accomplish throughout the year. It may include regular onboarding activities:

• Technology training;

• Check-ins with HR;

• Inquiries response sessions;

• Upcoming milestones discussions.

Up to 20% of Worker Turnover Happens During the First 45 Days of Employment

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Another piece of data pointing to the importance of a prolonged onboarding process is published by SHRM. Employees shouldn't feel abandoned or left alone with their problems and questions. Make the dive of a new employee into a working process gradual and slow so that by the end of the onboarding, there aren't any issues left.

58% Of Companies Exclusively Concentrate on Paperwork Throughout the Onboarding Period

The survey by Sapling reveals that more than half of the companies don’t put much thought into their onboarding and training process. Administrative procedures are an essential part of an onboarding process. Yet most HR professionals agree that in 2023 the most effective employee onboarding initiatives are strategic rather than merely administrative. 

The statistics suggest that it's more beneficial to emphasize personal objectives and technical training than paperwork. Since modern technologies like AI and document management software with multiple features are now available, HRs have more spare time to spend on strategic and planning activities rather than administrative tasks.

35% Of Businesses Spend No Money on Onboarding New Hires

These figures from Enboarder demonstrate a significant inconsistency in the distribution of finances within companies. Most organizations are ready to spend thousands of dollars on head-hunting and staff recruitment. However, they undervalue the importance of the strong onboarding process, setting no funds for it. If your organization is among this 35%, perhaps the article is a sign for you to change the approach.

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60% Of Businesses Do Not Set Any Objectives or Benchmarks for New Recruits

Setting reasonable goals for new recruits is one of the key onboarding methods. When these objectives are accomplished, the workers get a sense of complacency and a clearer understanding of their work results. For better comprehension and an employee’s steady development, these sets of functions are often organized in a straightforward yet thorough manner. They tend to include a description of the objectives, methods, and terms for achieving them.

According to Harvard Business Review, more than half of businesses do not do this. As a result, new recruits have a poor understanding of what is expected from them and see few perspectives for their career.

Assigning a New Recruit a Mentor Improves Their Productivity in 87% Of the Companies

The so-called "Buddy program" was created for the new employees' adaptation. A newcomer is assigned to an experienced worker who combines the roles of a mentor and a friend, with whom one can share work and personal problems. This communication format reduces the risk of hidden grievances, misunderstandings, etc.

The same program is often called Budding. It can be used not only for adaptation but also for times of serious changes in the company, to increase team spirit, or to improve employees' communication skills.

Although the program is not particularly popular among HR specialists, statistics from Sapling HR show that appointing a mentor or a partner to a new hire is an effective onboarding program that noticeably improves productivity.

During the First 30 Days, New Worker Productivity Remains Around 25%

Be realistic with your expectations towards new recruits' performance. When setting objectives for a new employee, keep in mind that, according to Gallup, worker productivity reaches its peak only 12 months after starting a new position. Meanwhile, during the first month in a new company, one's productivity fluctuates around 25%.

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Only 25% of companies actively manage employee engagement

According to The Muse, 90% of surveyed company leaders believe that engagement strategies affect corporate performance. Only 25% of them, though, have a plan in place to keep their staff members motivated.

At the same time, engagement with the team is a crucial part of the adaptation process. It’s sufficient to organize regular team-building activities or corporate games to have a united team and better-motivated newcomers.

Soliciting New Hire Feedback Improves a Company’s Relationship With an Employee by 91%

What is the quickest approach to spot problems with your onboarding plan? Ask people who underwent the procedure. It’s a win-win strategy: you detect the weak points in the current procedure, and workers feel heard and respected.

The data from the Candidate Experience Global Research Report suggests that new hires are 91% more likely to improve their connection with their bosses right away when they are asked for feedback. Statistics indicate that it leads to a significant drop in early employee turnover and an increase in long-term retention rates.

Final Word

With this valuable data on your hands, you can efficiently enhance the company’s onboarding strategy. Ideally, the process should meet the following requirements:

• Be about a year long;

• Be funded;

• Focus on objectives and technical aspects of the work;

• Include regular reviews and training;

• Take into account feedback from the employees who went through the onboarding.

Don't worry if any of these requirements don't seem to be relevant or applicable in your case. Like no one else, you know your company's operation insights and can determine the best way of introducing a new person into the system. Hence, it's up to you to decide what activities to include in the process.

Apart from monitoring new trends and statistics introduced by experts and other companies, don't miss the option of conducting your research or survey inside the team. Don't hesitate to ask people about their experiences, emotions, and suggestions.

“Our hiring managers now have a reliable system that is easy to navigate. Our HR team can actively monitor the process, and assist if needed, but Onboard has helped them save so much valuable time and effort while increasing data accuracy. All of this has helped us improve compliance and gives us a powerful tool to achieve even more results in the future.”

Kaylee Collins HR Analyst of Osmose Utilities Services, Inc

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About Author:
Kate Parish, chief marketing officer at progressive web apps agency Onilab with 8+ years of experience in Digital Marketing and website promotion. Kate always strives to stay in pace with the ever-advancing online world and the sphere of Magento PWA development. Her expertise includes in-depth knowledge of SEO, branding, PPC, SMM, and the field of online sales in general.