Onboarding new employees is a strategic process that affects the decision whether your new employee will stay in the company. You have hired a new person, signed an employment contract and they will soon start working. Great, that’s it, the HR part is now done. Not at all! Introducing new employees (onboarding) is not just a formality but a key process of their integration into the company, its culture and way of working. Onboarding is the first real interaction between the employee and the organization, and it shapes everything that follows.
In practice, it is clearly visible that precisely those first few months shape the long-term relationship between the employee and the employer. If the experience is good, the employee integrates faster, takes on responsibilities and develops trust. If it is bad, they very quickly start thinking about leaving.
In conversations with new employees, I often hear that precisely the first days and weeks are crucial for the sense of belonging and motivation. Therefore, onboarding is not a formality, but a strategic process that affects productivity, culture and employee retention.
Why onboarding is more than administration
Onboarding is much more than showing where the kitchen is and how to log into the system. Onboarding is the first real encounter of the employee with the company, the moment when an impression is formed about what the organization is like from the inside. In real situations, it often happens that the difference between a well-organized and a poorly organized first day determines whether the person will stay in the company or not.
Here are two scenarios that perfectly illustrate the difference:
Scenario 1: The new employee comes to work on the first day. No one greets them. The workplace is not ready. They get access data, but have no idea what is expected of them. The manager is busy, colleagues are kind but confused – they don’t know who it is. The employee feels unimportant, lost, maybe even regrets (or at least doubts) accepting the job.
Scenario 2: They are greeted by a welcome message from their team. The workplace is ready, with a personal message and a gift package. The manager has reserved the first hour for a conversation. There is a clear plan for the first week. The employee feels seen, valued and motivated.
I remembered an example that excellently shows how much the first impression affects the long-term relationship: a company that introduced personalized welcome messages and a structured schedule for the first week reduced the turnover of new employees by 40% in just one year.
But the data speaks for itself: Onboarding = employee retention. Quality Onboarding can increase employee retention by as much as 82%.
That means that if you are currently losing 5 out of 10 new employees in the first year, structured Onboarding can help you retain 8 of them.
But retention is not just savings on recruitment. It is about:
- preserving knowledge: every departure takes away experience
- preserving team morale: constant turnover exhausts existing employees
- preserving employer brand: poor Onboarding spreads quickly on the market
Through operational work of companies, it becomes obvious that employees who go through structured Onboarding reach full productivity faster and stay in the company longer than three years.
Onboarding as an emotional journey
Onboarding is definitely a checklist, but it is also an emotional journey. The first 90 days on a new job are like the foundation of a house. If they are shaky, everything built later will be unstable.
During that period, employees form key impressions. If Onboarding is good, it accelerates positive perception. If it is bad – or absent – employees feel lost, anxious and disengaged. Many new employees tell me that what mattered most to them was how they felt, not what they did, on the first day and first week.
The goal of Onboarding is not to overwhelm the person with information. The goal is for them to feel confident, connected and clear about what is expected of them. And what is often forgotten: this HR process is not just HR’s job. Yes, HR coordinates and conducts some parts, but it is a team sport in which the following must be involved: the superior i.e. manager, mentor, buddy (if you decide to introduce such a program), accounting, finance, IT, management. Everyone has their role and message they convey to the new employee so that piece by piece, they build the final picture of your company.
Creating an onboarding program
As a strategic process, it would be optimal for Onboarding to last at least one year and include multiple departments and levels of responsibility.
The creation of the Onboarding process itself can be divided into two levels. Office Onboarding (universal part that applies to all employees) and Role Onboarding (specific part that relates to job description, tasks and goals). But before starting the creation of Onboarding, it is necessary to answer several key questions:
- Who leads the process?
- Who all participates?
- How long does it last?
- What does the first day, week, month look like?
- What impression do you want to leave?
- What I have noticed in working with clients is that when companies do not have a clearly defined process owner, we come to inconsistency and poor experience for the new employee.
Example from real-life: when onboarding is not structured
A company of 25 employees hired a new developer. It was not defined who should greet them, who should introduce them to the basic rules, show them around the office, the computer was not ready, accesses were not activated, and the first working day was spent waiting. After three months, they left and in the exit interview said they “never felt like part of the team”.
Creating an unforgettable first working day
The first working day can be stressful but with good preparation, it can become a powerful tool for motivation and connection.
Before arrival:
- Send the schedule in advance
- Ask the new employee to write a short personal message about themselves – which you will share with their team
- Prepare the workplace
- Ensure system access
- Provide or even print the Employee Handbook, Work Regulations and other policies and procedures
On the day of arrival:
- Greet them personally
- Introduce them to the team
- Show them around the office
- Answer questions
- Organize a team lunch
- At the end of the day, check impressions
In practice with different teams, I notice that small signs of attention have a huge impact on the first impression and sense of belonging.
Example from real-life: when the first day is done excellently
One marketing agency prepared a personalized welcome package, team lunch and structured schedule for the first week. The new employee later said that “from the first day they knew they made the right decision”.
Onboarding through the first 30, 60 and 90 days
The optimal duration of Onboarding is 12 months. It takes time for the person to fit into the culture, understand the processes, take on responsibilities and become fully independent. I have not heard once in working with clients and their employees that continuous support throughout the entire year helped them feel safer, more competent and more connected to the team.
However, if that is not feasible, it would be good to have a structured plan at least for the first three months. It is key for the success of the new employee and their entry into the position, but also for further growth. These can be examples of what to focus on in the first 3 months:
- 30 days:
- basic tasks
- getting to know processes
- shadowing colleagues
60 days:
- taking on independent tasks
- regular check-in meetings with the Manager
- feedback
90 days:
- evaluation of probationary work
- defining goals for the next period
Comparison of different companies reveals that those who have a structured 90-day plan reach full productivity faster and get better employee engagement later.
Conclusion: Onboarding is an investment, not a cost
Once you have done the welcome and everything needed for a successful first working day of the new employee, further monitoring of the Onboarding process follows in the next (ideally) 12 months.
Data from business practice shows me that quality Onboarding, along with well-described job positions, is one of the most important HR processes in employee management. Unfortunately, it is also one of the most underestimated.
In the end, I would say that successful Onboarding is based on four pillars:
- Clear intention that everything is planned and structured, not left to chance
- Open collaboration that includes HR, managers, other central teams and mentors
- Continuity that lasts 90+ days, not ending after the first week
- Human connection i.e. focuses on building human relationships and mutual trust
When Onboarding is carried out thoughtfully and consistently, you not only retain employees but create ambassadors of your culture. People who believe in your mission, contribute with enthusiasm and spread a positive image of your team.
That is the true goal of Onboarding: not just that someone starts working, but that they feel like part of something valuable and want to stay in it. And such a positive voice is heard further than you think.
I hope this text was useful to you, and if you have additional questions, feel free to contact me.
Andrea Čerina
HR Consultant
