Employee onboarding: How to set your new hires up for success

As small or medium-sized enterprise (SME), employee onboarding may seem like an admin chore.

But a strong induction process can hugely impact staff retention and productivity, making it a critical performance driver in your business.

Disengaged employees cost the global economy $8.8 trillion a year (£7 trillion), or 9% of GDP, according to Gallup.

Engagement impacts all 11 of the performance measures Gallup looked at. But multiple studies show one of the main business processes that impacts engagement is onboarding.

Companies with mature induction processes, for example, are up to 103% more likely to improve employee retention and engagement, according to a 2024 study by research firm Brandon Hall Group.

Despite this, a high percentage of firms still have poor onboarding processes. Only a third receive strong executive support for onboarding initiatives, suggesting there’s a big opportunity to improve them and gain competitive advantage.

This advantage could be even greater in SMEs, where the impacts of onboarding experiences are amplified due to the smaller number of employees.

Let’s delve into how you can improve your onboarding process to boost your business goals.

Here’s what we cover:

What is employee onboarding?

Employee onboarding is the process of introducing a new starter to your business. It helps them understand how the business works – its culture, purpose, environment, and working methods.

Onboarding should help joiners feel a sense of belonging—welcomed, valued, and ready for success. But it’s also the first step in protecting your investment in that employee and driving a high-performing workplace.

Employees who feel integrated and aligned with your purpose from day one are more likely to stay long term, and to be as engaged and productive as possible.

A robust onboarding process for SMEs can also:

• Enhance your brand
• Attract top talent
• Strengthen your culture
• Improve staff wellbeing.

So rather than viewing onboarding as just a compliance formality or administrative checklist, treat it as a strategy to gain competitive advantage.

Use it to make every interaction count, from your job offer to your new hire’s first weeks and months of work.

HR and payroll considerations when onboarding new starters

There are a series of HR and payroll tasks that need to be added to your onboarding process.

Here are some important things to consider and do:

7 steps to cover during the onboarding process

1. Get the team ready to welcome you new starter

To prepare for a smooth transition before your new hire starts:

• Ensure their manager is ready to support their success
• Send a personalised welcome, as this can make a big difference to how they feel on their first day
• Consider buddying them with someone who can support them as they get up to speed in their new role.

2. Give contracts and your company handbook to your new starter

On day one, issue the new employee with their written statement and employment contract outlining the terms of the role and other details.

“A written statement is a legal must—but it can also be a great way to set clear expectations, reinforce company values, and ensure transparency in the relationship,” says Anthony Sutton, director of Cream HR.

You also may have a company handbook to share with your new employee, detailing processes, products and services, people and more.

3. Reveal pension details and benefits

He adds that, while auto-enrolled pensions are legally required for eligible employees, you can also use them to educate on topics such as financial wellbeing, savings and long-term benefits.

4. Set up introductions with other team members

Once you’ve taken your joiner through health and safety information, orientate them in the workplace, and focus on their role, including what you expect of them and where to find support resources.

Anthony says introducing joiners to your departments helps them understand how each function works together and how their role fits.

To support a high-performance culture, he recommends using Gallup’s “12 points for worker engagement”, especially the points about helping employees understand:

• What they are here for
• What tools and equipment will help them succeed
• What opportunities they have to fulfil their role.

Gallup also covers whether workers receive praise, recognition, care and encouragement to develop.

So move beyond policies and paperwork to help new colleagues feel excited about the role.

Focus on personal conversations and introductions. And give early praise to help the new employee feel valued and integrated.

5. Learn more about your new starter

“Another Gallup point is about whether the manager is genuinely interested in the employee’s professional development and as a person,” says Anthony.

“Onboarding provides a great opportunity to show that interest. I also always ask the recruit if they know their preferred learning style – visual, auditory, reading, writing or kinaesthetic.

“This helps you adapt your support to meet their needs.”

6. Set up regular catch-ups and feedback, and put plans in place

But it shouldn’t stop there. Onboarding within the first month can include:

• Regular chats with a manager or buddy to find out what the new hire is enjoying or struggling with, and helping them develop solutions
• Booking in comprehensive catch-ups at the end of months one, two and three
• Encouraging more feedback, and being ready to adapt
• Developing a plan to help them understand their future in the company and contribution to business goals
• Developing a plan of what you’d like your new hire to work on and achieve in the first three months
• Giving your new hire a project to work on
• Involving you new hire in meetings and social and cultural events.

7. Provide training and career progression opportunities

Finally, maintain momentum within the first three months by giving your joiner the freedom to keep learning and developing.

And discuss long-term goals such as career progression and training.

What to consider when onboarding remote and hybrid employees

Remote and hybrid joiners can find it more challenging to feel part of the business than those who are based in the workplace every day due to lack of personal interactions and difficulty getting support, information and a feel for company culture.

For these employees:

• Set clear expectations around communication, availability and collaboration
• Look for ways to build engagement and relationship digitally or in-person, such as regular check-ins with buddies and managers, and invitations to in-person events and video-linked socials
• Ensure equal access to benefits, including mental health and wellbeing support from day one
• Encourage healthy boundaries between work and personal life.

Also, ensure you have inclusive policies that don’t favour those employers who are solely based in the workplace.

How employee onboarding software can enhance the process

There’s a lot to do when new staff join, but employee onboarding software can make the process much quicker and easier.

For example, it can:

• Automate administration and streamline compliance
• Predefine workflows and induction tasks
• Enhance engagement, for instance, through cloud-based information hubs
• Track new hires with seamless progress reports
• Enable self-service access to information when new hires need it.

Anthony says: “Small businesses often don’t have a dedicated HR professional.

“Onboarding software can help save time, centralising administration and providing HR-based support in areas where the owner or manager may have limited expertise.”

Final thoughts: Make onboarding a holistic experience

You shouldn’t just see onboarding as solely an HR or compliance task. Aim to make it a holistic experience that shapes the future of your employees and your business.

By investing in the right mix of technology, human touch, and culture-building, you can create an onboarding process that supports and inspires new recruits, while helping you make crucial gains in retention, engagement and productivity.