TL;DR: Getting great people through the door is one thing, keeping them is another. A robust onboarding strategy is what bridges the gap between a promising hire and a high-performing employee. In this guide, we reveal how to build one.
New talent is essential for any growing organisation. Whether you’re expanding your team or backfilling a role, great people coming through the door is what keeps a business moving forward.
However, bringing someone new in doesn’t end when the offer is accepted. Without a robust plan, you can find yourself back at square one: rehiring and retraining all over again. And beyond the productivity hit, a poor retention rate carries a serious monetary cost.
This is why an onboarding plan for new employees is an essential part of any HR or L&D strategy. Here’s how to get it right.
What is onboarding?
Onboarding is the process of helping a new employee settle into their role and organisation as quickly and confidently as possible. The best onboarding strategies feature a structured plan – usually broken down into phases – to give new staff clarity and make sure they’re getting all the information and introductions they need at the right time.
Effective onboarding goes well beyond the first few weeks, too. Many programmes run for 90 days, but depending on the complexity of the role, you may want to extend this further.
Onboarding programmes typically include:
- Completing essential admin and paperwork, such as payment details and providing a P45
- Setting up tech, devices, and accounts
- Mandatory training and compliance requirements
- Meeting colleagues across the business, from the immediate team to senior leadership
- Role-specific training, such as product knowledge or team processes
- Regular check-ins and feedback points, including a formal review
👉 Related reading: How to conduct a learning needs analysis
What is an onboarding strategy?
An onboarding strategy is a structured plan for delivering onboarding in a way that’s paced and purposeful. Rather than front-loading everything on day one, a good strategy spaces tasks and information over time, making sure nothing gets missed and giving new starters the breathing room to absorb what they’re learning and put it into practice.
Why is an onboarding strategy important?
A well-structured onboarding programme has clear benefits to a business, impacting everything from productivity to profits, satisfaction to staff retention. Get it wrong, though, and the effects can be far-reaching, touching every corner of your organisation.
It reduces staff turnover
New starters are always at a higher risk of leaving, especially if onboarding is poor. Research from the CIPD and Omni RMS suggests that in a single year, 41% of employers who had hired new staff experienced people resign in their first 12 weeks. You can’t eliminate that risk entirely, but those first few months are a critical window to get things right.
It saves money
Replacing a staff member costs an average of £25,000 in the UK, rising to as much as £100,000 for senior roles, according to Payfit. If poor onboarding is a systematic issue, that could be costing your organisation hundreds of thousands of pounds a year, if not more.
It boosts performance
When new hires have the tools and support they need from the start, they reach full competency faster, so they can start making a meaningful contribution sooner.
It saves time
Rehiring is a lengthy, time-consuming process, and a high attrition rate puts real pressure on your workload.
And for those who do stick around after a weak onboarding experience, the knock-on effect can be just as damaging. Undertrained staff will lean heavily on colleagues for support, pulling focus and slowing down the team.
👉 More from OL: What is WCAG?
Pre-boarding: laying the groundwork before day one
Onboarding doesn’t just start on day one. There’s an important step that needs doing before the new hire has even walked through the door: pre-boarding.
Before the first day, HR and L&D should collaborate with the new employee’s manager to lay the groundwork for a smooth start. Define goals for the employee’s first few months – whether that’s completing mandatory training or simply getting fully embedded in the team – so everyone is aligned before day one arrives.
From there, pre-boarding tasks typically fall into two camps:
The new employee
Get any paperwork and documentation sorted early. Send them helpful materials in advance too, including directions to the office and anything they can read through to start familiarising themselves with the company.
HR and the wider team
Make sure everything is in place so the first day can run without a hitch. That means liaising with IT on equipment and system permissions and setting up key accounts. Once you have your strategy in place, you’ll also need to build out an onboarding calendar the new hire can access from the moment they log in. A well-prepared first day sets the tone, but a chaotic one can be difficult to recover from.
With this all in place, the new hire can walk in (or log in!) all set up for the next stage… the actual onboarding!
What is a 30-60-90 day plan in onboarding?
A 30-60-90 day plan is a popular framework in many strategies, but it lends itself particularly well to onboarding. By mapping goals and milestones across a clear timeline, it gives new hires a structured path to follow and sets up expectations from the start.
When it comes to onboarding, we recommend treating day one as its own distinct milestone, too, rather than folding it into the first 30 days. After all, nothing quite compares to a first day!
- Day one: Tech set-up and a check-in with their manager and team
- Days 2–30: Mandatory and role-specific training, along with key introductions across the business
- Days 31–60: Getting stuck into the day-to-day, with regular check-ins to surface any concerns
- Days 61–90: Confidence is growing in the role. This is also a good time for a formal three-month review and goal-setting session, depending on the length of probation
How to develop an onboarding strategy following a 30-60-90 day plan
To develop an onboarding strategy, break things down into the time chunks outlined above, mapping out specific tasks and goals for each phase. The framework below is a general starting point, not a rulebook, so adapt it to fit your organisation and the demands of the role.
The first day
We’ve all been there. The first day of a job can feel incredibly overwhelming, so keep information stripped back and focus on the essentials, including:
- Laptop and equipment set-up
- Meeting with IT for account access and passwords
- Welcome from HR
- Meeting with their manager
- Meeting with their wider team
- Introduction to company values and mission – an onboarding welcome video works well here
- Keycard or building access set-up for office-based roles
- Introducing them to their onboarding calendar
Days 2 to 30
The first month can go by surprisingly quickly, but it’s a crucial period for settling in. By day 30, the new hire should be feeling more comfortable and starting to develop a good understanding of the people, systems, and processes around them.
- Mandatory and compliance training
- Role-specific training. For example, for an SDR onboarding strategy, this might mean call script basics and product knowledge; for other roles, tailor accordingly
- Introductions to key stakeholders and teams
- Product and process knowledge relevant to the role
- Regular check-ins with manager to review progress and address any early questions
- Completing any outstanding admin tasks or paperwork
Days 31 to 60
In month two, the new hire should be growing in confidence and getting properly stuck into their day-to-day responsibilities. This phase is a pivotal point too; around 20% of new hires leave within 45 days, so be sure to schedule regular touchpoints to make sure any concerns are addressed.
- Deeper dive into role-specific processes, tools, and products
- Taking on more responsibility within their day-to-day tasks
- Broader introductions across the wider business
- Regular one-to-ones with their manager
Days 61 to 90
By the three-month mark, the new hire should have a strong grasp of their role and feel like a settled part of the team. This is the point to formalise progress and start looking ahead.
- Continuing to build confidence and independence in the role
- Formal three-month review
- Goal-setting for role over the next quarter or year
- Long-term development planning
- Onboarding feedback – use their experience to refine the process for future hires
👉 Read next: AI is the assistant. You’re still the instructional designer
Onboarding strategy best practices: 10 tips for getting it right
Here are some handy hints and tips to keep in mind when building out your plan:
1. Introduce new hires to every department
Even if a new hire won’t work directly with every team, a broad introduction to the business gives them valuable context and helps them feel part of something bigger.
2. Collaborate with their manager
Onboarding works best when HR, L&D, and the employee’s manager work in tandem. Between them, they cover everything from administrative and compliance requirements through to role-specific training and early development planning.
3. Communicate clearly and consistently
Keep communication regular throughout: daily check-ins during the first week are a simple but effective way to make sure any early concerns get picked up quickly.
4. Pace the information
Resist the urge to cover everything at once. Staggering things gives new employees the space to absorb and apply what they’re learning.
5. Use engaging formats
Apply the principles of good learning design to onboarding, just as you would to any other L&D programme. Things like microlearning, videos, and other interactive content are proven ways to make information easier to digest than lengthy documents and text-heavy modules.
6. Personalise where you can
No two roles are the same, and onboarding shouldn’t be either. Tailor the experience to the individual and what they need to succeed.
7. Don’t neglect the social side
Feeling connected to colleagues is just as important as getting up to speed on role requirements. Build in social touchpoints to help new hires feel welcome and embedded in the culture.
8. Consider a mentor programme
Pairing a new hire with an experienced colleague gives them a go-to person outside their direct management line. It’s a small addition that can make a big difference.
9. Celebrate milestones
Recognising progress, however small, reinforces a positive experience and makes new staff feel valued early on.
10. Assign ownership
Every part of the onboarding process should have a clear owner. When accountability is shared too broadly, things slip.
👉 Read next: AI prompting for L&D
Onboarding strategy FAQs
What’s the best employee onboarding process?
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer; it’ll depend on your organisation and the role. That said, every successful employee onboarding strategy should include a pre-boarding phase, a structured breakdown of tasks, activities spaced across a framework, and regular feedback and communication throughout.
How to create a successful onboarding strategy for remote teams?
Onboarding remote employees can be trickier without in-person interaction, but the principles of good onboarding still apply. Make sure tech is shipped out well in advance of day one, have your learning management system and any eLearning tools ready to go, and schedule regular check-ins to replace the informal touchpoints that happen naturally in an office environment.
What are the 6 Cs of effective onboarding?
Dr Talya Bauer developed a science-backed framework for good onboarding around six key principles:
- Compliance: Business-critical training that’s mandatory for all employees, such as cybersecurity and health and safety. Make sure you review and update this training regularly to reflect new legislation or guidance.
- Clarification: Make expectations crystal clear from the start, covering policies, processes, expectations, and what the role involves day-to-day.
- Confidence: New employees need to feel capable and valued to do their best work. Good onboarding builds that confidence early.
- Connection: Help new hires feel part of the wider business, not just their immediate team. Collaboration and belonging are essential for long-term engagement.
- Culture: Embedding company values and culture from day one helps new hires understand not just what they do, but how and why.
- Checkback: Regular feedback and communication checkpoints help you support the employee and continuously improve the onboarding experience.
How long should an onboarding programme last?
There’s no set timeframe, but a general rule of thumb is three months, following a 30-60-90 day plan. For more complex jobs or graduate programmes with a rotation structure, this may be longer, though.
Onboarding that makes an impact
From bespoke builds to strategy support, we can help you set up onboarding that truly settles new hires in. Get in touch to find out more.
