As an HR professional, your job isn’t done once a candidate accepts an offer and signs their contract. 81% of new hires say they felt overwhelmed by information while onboarding at their current company, while only 29% felt fully prepared for their new role after onboarding.

This emphasizes the importance of an effective onboarding process for new hires, which often leads to improved employee engagement, motivation, productivity, and retention. This article looks at 19 employee onboarding process examples you can apply to your onboarding strategy.

What is the onboarding process?

The onboarding process helps familiarize new hires with their roles, colleagues, and managers, as well as company culture and policies. The goal of this process is to help new hires become operational and ready to succeed in their roles as quickly as possible.

At the same time, it should lay a strong foundation for their professional relationships by leaving them with a positive, lasting first impression. By the end of the onboarding program, employees should be fully integrated into their teams and able to do their job effectively and independently.

Throughout the process, HR handles the necessary documentation and legal requirements and supports managers when needed.

Why is a good onboarding process important?

A good employee onboarding process is crucial as it sets the foundation for new employee engagement and enhances their ability to contribute effectively. Comprehensive onboarding helps them feel welcomed and valued, which can lead to higher job satisfaction and lower turnover.

Additionally, an effective onboarding process can help minimize mistakes and increase productivity from the start by giving new hires structured training and resources. It can also ensure a smooth transition into new roles and teams for new hires, as well as alignment with organizational goals.

19 onboarding process examples for HR

This section examines various employee onboarding process examples, each covering a different part of the overall onboarding process.

Example 1: Onboarding plan development

An onboarding plan helps create a structured onboarding process for employees and their managers. Ideally, you would provide the framework so the new hire’s manager can use it to plan relevant onboarding activities.

An onboarding plan typically includes the following stages:

• Preboarding 
• First day 
• First week
• First 90 days 
• First year.

Example 2: Contract walk-through between HR and new hires

The preboarding process should start as soon as a new hire signs their employment contract. The first thing to do is have someone from the People Team walk them through their contract to explain key details and answer any questions they may have.

Arrange a meeting with them to discuss the contract shortly after they’ve signed and submitted it. The meeting can take place virtually or in person, depending on where the new employee is based and their personal preference.

Example 3: Preboarding activities

Recent employee onboarding statistics and trends show that companies with a solid preboarding process can boost their employee retention rate to 82% and minimize the number of non-starters.   

Preboarding has two main goals. Firstly, to keep new hires engaged and excited to start their new role from the moment they sign their contracts. Secondly, it aims to provide them with the necessary information to prepare them for their first day (e.g., their manager’s contact details, admin forms they must complete, etc.). 

Follow these tips for a successful preboarding:

• Ensure the new hire receives a welcome email 
• Send them the necessary employment paperwork 
• Remind their manager to inform the team about them
• Be available and stay in touch
• Ensure their buddy contacts them if your company uses an onboarding buddy system.

Real-life example

GitLab regularly hosts a preboarding call for new hires to give them the opportunity to ask questions ahead of their first day and allow them to meet their future colleagues. These bi-monthly calls are open to all current employees and hiring managers.

Example 4: Welcome email and onboarding package

The welcome email and onboarding package are essential parts of the employee onboarding process. They can set a positive tone and provide the new hire with essential information before their first day.

Send a personalized welcome email and thoughtfully prepared onboarding packet that includes the organization’s mission, vision, and values, and an overview of the new hire’s orientation day or week. Be sure to also include relevant contact information and a copy of the employee handbook.

Example 5: Onboarding buddy system

A buddy system at work can be a brilliant way to make a strong first impression on new hires and help them feel welcome and supported. Using an onboarding buddy system has multiple benefits, such as:

• Faster integration of new hires into organizational culture
• More casual learning through socialization
• Increased employee retention
• Improved employee engagement.

When developing an onboarding buddy system, start by setting the criteria for selecting buddies and pairing them with new hires (e.g., similar roles or backgrounds). Ensure the buddies you select receive training and a checklist of tasks to prepare them for their roles.

Once they start working with the new hires, check in with both parties regularly to gather feedback and provide support where necessary.

Real-life example

For each new hire, Buffer has what the company calls an Onboarding Dream Team consisting of the relevant hiring manager and two buddies. The hiring manager is responsible for coordinating the new hire’s 30-60-90 day onboarding roadmap, and selecting the role buddy.

The role buddy is usually a peer on the new employee’s team who arranges a Zoom meeting with them once or twice weekly. They are supposed to answer any role- and task-related questions the new employee may have.

The second buddy is called the culture buddy, who is typically is on a different team from the new hire. They chat weekly with the new employee and provide additional context about the company’s history, norms, and culture.

Example 6: Orientation day

Orientation day centers around new employee orientation (NEO), which focuses on familiarizing new hires with their work environment, processes, and relationships during their first day or week. 

The main goal of effective NEO is to reduce new hires’ stress and provide clarity on what they can expect in the coming weeks and months. Some NEO best practices to consider include: 

• Ensuring the new hire’s work environment and equipment are fully ready before they arrive 
• Introducing them to their new colleagues and manager
• Using detailed checklists to ensure you complete all NEO tasks
• Discussing expectations with them clearly and answering their questions   
• Gathering feedback from them to continuously improve your NEO.

Real-life example

Here’s what a typical morning at AIHR looks like on a new hire’s first day:

• The new employee arrives at the office and meets with their manager, who gives them an office tour and introduces them to the rest of the team.
• IT sets them up with their work equipment (an Apple laptop, keyboard and mouse) and provides instructions on how to log into the company’s internal platforms.
• After setting up, their manager introduces them to their personalized 30-60-90 day onboarding plan and discusses it with them to set expectations.
• They now have some time to ask their manager and IT any questions they may have, and take a moment to themself.
• Finally, they break for lunch (prepared by AIHR’s in-house chef) with their team, giving them a chance to get to know their colleagues better.

Example 7: The 30-60-90 day plan

A well-designed 30-60-90 day plan helps new employees and their managers navigate the onboarding period. It provides structure and clarity around company culture and job expectations to prepare them well for their first three months at the organization. Consider the following aspects of the plan:

• First 30 days: The first month is about helping the new hire settle into their role and get to know the company better.
• Next 30 days: By the end of the second month, the employee should be an actively contributing team member and have a more thorough understanding of the business’s fundamentals, including its pain points.  
• Last 30 days: The employee should be fully onboarded, adding value to the business, and integrated into the team and the culture.

AIHR has created a downloadable template of a 30-60-90 day plan you can use to help you build a similar plan for your organization and its new hires.

GET FREE TEMPLATE

Example 8: The first week

A new hire’s first week is mostly a continuation of their first day as they’re still familiarizing themselves with their role, team, and work environment. During this time, they will have individual meetings with direct colleagues, a deeper learning of the systems and tools they need to use, and regular check-ins with their direct manager and hiring manager.

As part of the HR team, you should share their profile with the rest of the company via your organization’s internal communication platform. Additionally, make sure you familiarize them with the relevant employee systems and processes (i.e., those for payroll details and leave requests).

Learn to optimize your organization’s employee onboarding process

Knowing how to handle the complex employee onboarding process is crucial for HR professionals, as it can influence employee engagement, satisfaction, motivation, productivity, retention, and turnover.

In AIHR’s Talent Management & Succession Planning Certificate Program, you will learn to foster an environment that offers a positive experience throughout the employee lifecycle (starting with preboarding and onboarding).

This online, self-paced Certificate Program will also teach you to create an employer brand that supports your talent supply strategies.

GET STARTED

Example 9: A memorable company tour

A company tour lends itself well to creativity and interactive elements. Ideally, you want a charismatic team member or the new hire’s onboarding buddy to do this so they can share interesting anecdotes about the company. Enhance the experience by including a swag bag with company-branded useful items like a coffee mug, stationery, or a USB stick.

For new hires who work on-site or under a hybrid arrangement, showcase the office facilities (break rooms, recreational areas, etc.) and facilitate interactions with different departments.

For fully remote employees, you can employ interactive 360-degree video tours for an immersive experience, and introduce them to the remote collaboration and communication tools your company uses. Be sure to also arrange virtual meetings between them and their managers and team members.

HR tip

Onboarding activities for a new hire can include:

• A welcome lunch or coffee break with their team
• An interactive tour of the workplace 
• A welcome video message from the company founder(s)
• An introduction to their 30-60-90 day onboarding plan with their manager
• An engaging orientation program.

Example 10: Team introductions and social events

To make a new employee feel even more welcome and help them integrate into their team as soon as possible, set up one-on-ones with everyone on the team from their first week onwards. 

Bear in mind that the hiring manager should always be there on their first day to welcome them to the company, and encourage other team members to be at the office to do the same. For fully remote new hires, remind their teams to create an equally engaging welcome tradition.

Example 11: Remote onboarding

Remote onboarding presents various challenges for organizations and HR professionals. These include establishing strong connections and communications with team members and managers, as well as smooth integration with company culture. To optimize remote onboarding, be sure to: 

• Connect new hires with their onboarding buddies virtually to open a reliable communication channel so they know whom to contact and how.
• Provide crucial IT support. The relevant IT staff should be able to advise you on how best to facilitate this for remote hires and what technology they need for remote onboarding.

Real-life example

Verisys supports its new remote hires with its tutorial videos to help them set up their work computers at home and create a conducive home office. The organization delivers this equipment to the homes of its new hires, together with decorations and a company swag bag.

Example 12: Onboarding documents

Onboarding documents typically include company policies, an employee handbook, and legal paperwork (such as the new hire’s employment contract and role-specific information). 

A simple way to handle this paperwork is to create an employee onboarding documents checklist. You can divide this list into stages: preboarding, onboarding, and additional forms for new hires.

Check out our article about must-have onboarding documents for an example of a checklist and handy downloadable templates for many of the documents listed in the article.

Example 13: Departmental introductions

Medium- and large-sized organizations typically have many different departments. For new hires, figuring out which department does what and whom they should contact to answer specific queries can be overwhelming.

Organizational introductions are a great way to familiarize new employees with the company’s various departments. You can help arrange meetings between new hires and department representatives who provide them with relevant information.

Consider the following factors:

• Begin departmental introductions after each new hire’s first week of onboarding
• Create simple guidelines for the company’s departments on what to cover in an introduction session with new hires
• Don’t plan too many departmental introductions in one week; two might be a good number.

Example 14: Role-specific training

According to the 70-20-10 model for learning and development, 70% of learning is work-based and informal. For a new hire, this process of ‘learning by doing’ occurs during new tasks, actual projects, and interactions with more experienced colleagues.

Rather than having new employees watch hours of training videos or sit through long lectures, getting them involved in actual work tasks during their onboarding will help them understand their role better through active participation.

The following tips will help you support this training:

• Pair new hires with a more experienced colleague (this can also be their onboarding buddies)
• Make sure the role-specific training is as relevant and practical as possible
• Consider digital tools to switch things up and make learning more dynamic.

Example 15: A ‘meet the executives’ session

A ‘meet the executives’ session can significantly influence how employees evaluate their overall onboarding experience. Organize this session in a relaxed, informal setting where new hires can have an open dialogue with the organization’s executives. 

Some tips to keep in mind: 

• Encourage new hires to submit questions or bring up topics they are curious about beforehand
• Encourage executives to share lessons learned during their careers and personal experiences
• Use a simple activity like a coffee or tea break or a shared lunch to further ease the atmosphere.

Example 16: Regular manager-employee sit-downs

Active manager involvement is essential for onboarding success. One way to achieve this is through regular manager-employee sit-downs. A new hire and their manager should have weekly or bi-weekly catch-ups throughout their onboarding process. Remember to also ensure new hires know whom in HR to contact if they have issues with their manager.

Example 17: Onboarding checklists

In addition to onboarding software to automate and structure your onboarding process, onboarding checklists can help you ensure every new hire gets a fully optimized onboarding.

You can use different types of checklists for different aspects of onboarding, including a checklist for hiring managers, HR, IT, and the new hire.

AIHR has created onboarding checklist templates that you can download for free.

Example 18: Regularly gather feedback

Regularly ask new hires for feedback about their onboarding experience so you know what worked well for them and what needs improvement.

In general, it’s good practice to check in with new hires at specific points: after their preboarding, first week, first month, and first three months. Additionally, ensure they know where to send spontaneous onboarding feedback or suggestions from the moment their preboarding starts.

Example 19: Train managers to onboard well

Onboarding is a skill, and it’s not something that (newly appointed) managers instinctively know how to do well. While HR can provide the onboarding framework and take care of the administrative, legal, and compliance aspects of employee onboarding, other things mostly depend on the hiring manager. 

Think of the new hire’s integration into the team, drafting the 30-60-90-day plan, collecting feedback, identifying potential issues, etc. Therefore, teaching managers ‘onboarding as a skill’ is crucial to onboarding success. 

Factors to take into account: 

• Make it clear where managers can find the general onboarding resources
• Encourage them to involve their teams in creating a new hire onboarding
• Ensure hiring managers can always come to the People Team for guidance regarding new hire onboarding.

“The onboarding process should be built around the desired experience we want to create for employees. It is often overly focused on just driving efficiency, losing sight of its overall aim and the impact it has on employees. Efficiency in the process does not lead to productivity — fostering a connection and engagement ensures they are equipped and enabled to contribute.”

Best practices to optimize the onboarding process

Based on the employee onboarding examples mentioned above, there several best practices you can observe to optimize the employee onboarding process: 

• Use technology: Onboarding software can automate specific processes and help organizations optimize the onboarding experience. This saves the HR and People teams time and effort, which they can spend on important, people-centric tasks like one-on-ones with new hires.
• Train managers: Equip managers with the right knowledge and tools to help them give new hires the welcome they deserve. Marna says: “Just as we ask new hires for feedback on the onboarding process, it’s useful to also get feedback from managers so we can understand how to equip them better as key players in the process.”
• Consider onboarding a shared responsibility: Onboarding is not solely HR’s responsibility but a collaboration between the hiring manager, HR, and the new hire’s manager and team.

Marna says, “A good onboarding process is unlikely to be ‘one size fits all’, unless the workforce is not very diverse. The onboarding experience should be consistent but the process to deliver that experience might differ depending on the workforce’s needs. For example, onboarding for frontline workers would be very different to that for head office employees.”

To sum up

An effective onboarding process is essential for setting new hires up for success and fostering long-term employee engagement, productivity, and retention. By providing structured onboarding plans and offering tailored experiences catered to individual employees, you can facilitate a seamless transition for them.

Additionally, successful employee onboarding is the result of a strong collaboration between HR, the hiring manager, their team, and the new hire’s onboarding buddy. Ultimately, investing in a well-structured onboarding strategy leads to better integration, reduced turnover, and a more engaged, high-performing workforce.