$4,700
Average cost per hire in 2024
69%
Percentage of employees likely to stay with a company for 3+ years after a good onboarding experience
Challenge
Day one for a newly hired employee should introduce them to the organization’s culture, their colleagues, and important company benefits and policies. It should be a positive experience.
For several of our clients, though, it was a day of paperwork, presentations, and procedures. This “firehose” approach is information overload for new employees, and they can’t possibly retain much of it.
Solution
We’ve found that a lot of this can be avoided with a strategy that starts well before day one and continues into their careers. Think of it in three phases: preboarding, onboarding, and keepboarding.
Preboarding. Get your new hires started on the paperwork early…prior to day one on the job. Let them pre-explore their benefits options, so they show up ready to enroll (or with questions in hand). If possible, post information outside the company firewall, so it’s easy to access.
Onboarding. Make day one a more casual, interactive experience for everyone involved. If you can, ditch the slide presentation and let your intranet portal be the focus. It creates a more engaging experience for new hires and presenters. And it helps new employees see firsthand where to find information.
Keepboarding. You work hard to get them in the door and to get them started, and then…generally HR sends them on their way. Rather than a “day one and done” experience, remember to occasionally remind new employees why they came to work for the company. Stay in touch with them on a set schedule — a 30-day check-in, a 90-day checkup, and a re-orientation once a year.
Sample Materials
