According to research by Paychex, poor onboarding is responsible for high staff turnover and significant costs to businesses. Of the 1,000 employees surveyed, 80% of those who received poor onboarding felt undertrained and were likely to leave their job soon. The onboarding process is crucial for creating a positive first impression of a company's culture, structure, and support systems. However, only half of the new employees feel satisfied with their onboarding experience, with those working remotely or in small companies experiencing the poorest onboarding. Remote workers are 117% more likely to leave their jobs soon, according to the research. GenZers, who have less prior experience to compare with, are also the least satisfied with onboarding and most likely to feel undertrained. The report recommends that HR departments should consider offering additional training and on-the-job support to bridge the potential generational gap in onboarding experiences.
According to a recent report, employees suggest that involving the team, creating a warm welcome, simplifying the process, addressing career development, and assigning a buddy or mentor would significantly improve the onboarding process. However, it's not too late for employers who haven't incorporated any of these elements to make changes and improve the experience for future employees. Additionally, the report recommends managers to re-onboard their entire workforce as a retention strategy to improve morale and rejuvenate the work environment. Contrary to fears that re-introducing employees to the company's culture and expectations may be dull, the study found that 71% of employees actually want a company-wide re-onboarding. Furthermore, it can increase employee focus by almost 50%, improve productivity, efficiency, and team cohesion, and increase retention by 43%.