The Importance of Employee Onboarding and Training

Employee onboarding and training are vital to a company’s success today. In an increasingly competitive job market, companies need to go above and beyond to attract, retain, and inspire top talent.

After more than 20 years in staffing and recruiting, we know that new hires stick with employers when they have a great onboarding experience. BambooHR surveyed employees and discovered that they are not only 30 times more likely to feel overall job satisfaction over those who had lackluster onboarding experiences but 89% also said an effective onboarding process helped them feel very engaged at work. Win-win.

So, should you consider creating strong onboarding processes to ensure that new hires feel welcome and confident? Let’s explore why the success of employee training and onboarding are essential components to contributing to employee engagement, productivity, and retention.

4 Benefits of Employee Onboarding and Training

Training and onboarding benefits are plentiful when you and your team develop a strong program. The benefits go far beyond creating a warm and welcoming first day. They offer a clear preview of a path to long-term success with your company.

Let’s look at some key short- and long-term benefits you may reap with your well-designed onboarding and training program.

1. Accelerates the Learning Curve

If you’ve ever joined a new company and felt like you were thrown in the deep end without a buoy, that’s how employees feel without a well-rounded onboarding strategy. When you provide your new hires with resources such as HR support and colleague mentorship, they will learn and retain faster.

2. Instills a Positive Company Culture Integration

A strong onboarding program offers the first chance to introduce, define, and instill your company’s values, culture, and mission. A sincere, detailed introduction will help new hires feel a greater sense of belonging and alignment with company culture. These factors are likely to ensure that your new employees will become more engaged, motivated, and productive.

3. Enhances Skill Development

By offering training programs right away, you let new employees know that you want to support their professional development. On-going learning programs with a focus on skill enhancement benefit you and the employee with a long-range plan for advancement and retention.

Further, providing ample training opportunities creates and fosters a culture of learning. Agile learners are less afraid to fail and may be enthused and energized by challenges and change. These skills allow them to stay focused and willing to think outside the box to discover and create new solutions to overcome obstacles.

4. Improves Employee Retention

New employee orientation and onboarding is one of the top employee retention strategies. An effective program will allow the employees to feel valued, supported, and welcomed. The more comfortable they are, the more likely they are to be connected from the first day and going forward. With this, new hires are more likely to stay with a company, reducing employee turnover rates.

What the Experts Say

Insight Global hosted a webinar with hiring experts Alicia Ebrahim, Delia Phillips, and Jill McFarland where they answered the questions we hear most often about employee retention. In this excerpt, McFarland explains the connection between new hire onboarding and new hire retention.

Want to watch the full webinar? How to Keep Employees Happy: Answering Our Most-Asked Retention Questions is available on demand. Sign up now!

Or keep reading to discover more tips for onboarding.

HR Best Practices for Onboarding, Training, and Development

It might help you to gain some insights on onboarding and training from an HR professional within your organization as you develop and implement your employees’ program.

Here are some best practices for your HR team to keep in mind:

Work with a trusted staffing firm to develop a plan that you can tailor to each new hire’s needs.
Initiate and maintain communication via email or text before the new hire’s first day.
Send a welcome packet before their first day and let them know your team is available to answer any questions and field any concerns.
Streamline first-day paperwork and tasks by sending in advance, if possible.
Schedule an introductory tour or meeting with team members.

Skip Any Onboarding Mistakes

When you commit to an onboarding plan, you want to ensure its success for everyone. Here are some onboarding hurdles to look out for:

Create a Plan: The lack of a clear plan suggests employers aren’t concerned about setting their new hires up for success.
Map Out Pre-Boarding: One area that employers often neglect is pre-boarding, which provides new hires with essential information and resources before the first day.
Limit Information Overload. While onboarding is a great time to provide important information, it is essential to strike the right balance. Too much information at once will likely overwhelm new employees.
Give New Hires a Sense of Belonging: Not prioritizing team introductions may make a new hire feel isolated and unwelcome.
Get Feedback: Asking for feedback offers employers the opportunity to learn what they could be doing better during the onboarding process and where they can improve in the future.

Ongoing Onboarding Ideas for Powerful ROI

An in-depth, well-considered onboarding and training program can last up to 12 months, but this timeline can vary across different companies and the needs of the role and team.

The purpose of successfully onboarding your new hire is to not only build confidence and give them the tools they need to succeed, but also to deliver a powerful ROI for your company. Depending on the nature of their work and the need for continued training, building out a tailored onboarding and training strategy can help you to enjoy impressive results from employees and for your company.

Consider Insight Global For Your Staffing Needs

The better your onboarding and training program, the more likely your new hires are to thrive at your company. Insight Global can help you source and hire outstanding candidates and set them up for success with onboarding that supports everyone’s goals and success. We know hiring and onboarding is not a quick or simple process, but we’re here to help when you’re ready.