Ineffective onboarding is hurting employee retention

The onboarding process is an employees' first introduction to their new workplace, and while making a good first impression on them is important, making a lasting impression is critical. 

Only 12% of employees think their employers are doing a good job at onboarding new talent, according to a recent survey from workplace consulting and research firm Gallup, which means that 88% were left unsatisfied with their experience. With organizations already struggling to keep retention rates up, restrategizing their approach may be the only way to keep employees long-term. 

"Traditionally, the strategy has been to attract, hire and retain — but that doesn't apply anymore," says Andrew Geesbreght, co-founder of professional development company PRAX Leadership. Leaders need to go beyond this, and it starts with onboarding, he says.

Read more: How the power of process drives a strategic approach

Thirty-five percent of leaders agree that a strong onboarding process helps new hires feel engaged and productive as soon as possible, and works best to foster long-term, overall engagement, according to data from Paychex. However, BambooHR found that another 35% admit they struggle to create the kind of onboarding experiences that help employees get acclimated to their new role as quickly as possible.

Organizations' struggle to find the right balance is particularly concerning when compounded with additional data from BambooHR that shows 70% of new hires decide if a job is the right fit within the first month, and 29% know in the first week. In fact, on average, companies have 44 days to influence a new hire's long-term retention with a positive experience — and leaders should be taking advantage of that entire time frame. 

"People don't want a wedding, they want a marriage — the same applies to the onboarding process," Geesbreght says. "We don't need to put this unbelievable emphasis on one single event. Onboarding should be a comprehensive process of integration versus a one-time orientation."

Leaders need to make a change

In many cases, an employee's onboarding experience is limited to learning the more administrative parts of their new job, such as their login information, filling out paperwork and touring the office. While that is all relevant, leaders' efforts shouldn't end there. If anything, that should be where the least amount of time and investment is made. 

Read more: A holistic employee experience reflects shifting expectations

Instead, they should be focusing on how to support new hires by opening lines of communication, giving and encouraging feedback and discussing learning and development opportunities, Geesbreght says.

"These are all things that go well beyond the initial onboarding process," Geesbreght says. "We need to make this process future oriented." 

If it is not, organizations will not only lose out on physical talent, but on thousands of dollars in lost productivity and low engagement. Avoiding that fate isn't hard, according to Geesbreght, as long as employers are prepared to make the cultural and policy changes necessary, starting with an employee's initial experience.  

"The No. 1 contributor to happiness is strong relationships, and that applies to employees' professional lives," he says. "Real development happens over long periods of time with dedicated feedback and effort, and there's no shortcut to that."