According to research from HR software company HiBob, almost two-thirds of employees are likely to leave a new job within their first year if they have a negative onboarding experience. Only 12% of employees think the companies they’ve joined have done a great job with onboarding.
Whether during the hiring process or after starting a role, this reveals a worrying disconnect for hiring managers. The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) estimates that the average cost of a new hire is almost $4,700, and in some cases can be three to four times the position’s salary. If that person leaves within six months and the business has to start again, that investment is completely wasted. For too many companies, there’s an assumption that the person who has been through a rigorous recruitment process, perhaps meeting a few key stakeholders along the way, will automatically feel comfortable when they start their role. People have short memories and forget the nervousness and lack of context that comes with beginning a new job, even at the senior level.
While the market may not be as candidate-driven as it has been in the past, that’s no excuse not to provide new starters with a structure they can work with from their first day. Basic information such as who they report to, their job description and how they will be trained are all crucial and easy to provide. This is even more important now that many roles are hybrid and the new starter (and their manager) may only be in the office for part of the week. That ‘cultural osmosis’ that used to happen when we were all in the office full time is much less evident and needs to be achieved in more deliberate ways.
At Tiger Recruitment we have a two-week onboarding schedule to introduce new staff members to each team and different aspects of their role. They are also assigned a buddy who conducts regular well-being check-ins. While every company is different, building a similar onboarding framework should not require a huge investment of time or money. This should cover the broader goals of the business, the role of the new position in meeting those goals, and an overview of ‘how things work around here’. While HR can support some of the administrative aspects of logging in and getting paid on time, line managers should not be leaving everything up to them. A good onboarding experience will give the employee access to different people and teams who will give them with exposure to the culture of the company.
We already know the financial price of getting it wrong, but what about the other impacts of bad onboarding? On a very basic level, you may have recruited the absolute best person for the job, only to lose them a few weeks or months down the line because they felt their onboarding experience was incomplete or they were unable to meet targets because they hadn’t been briefed properly. It can affect probation decisions, too – a manager could decide that a new person has been underperforming and therefore decide not to extend their contract. But if that person is unable to perform because they were not onboarded properly, that decision becomes problematic. If good people keep leaving, word gets around and your corporate reputation is at stake. Don’t forget established employees, who will feel destabilized and disengaged if employee turnover is high, leaving them with an additional increased workload and questioning their commitment to your organization.
No two companies will onboard in the same way, as values, geography, and size shape their strategy. However, most will include training, checklists, community building, compliance, IT, and facilities, all with the common goal of providing newcomers with a sense of belonging. According to Aberdeen Group, companies with a formal onboarding engagement strategy are 67% more likely to improve their revenue per full-time employee on a year-over-year basis. This is because they achieve productivity faster, tend to have better wellbeing (and therefore less absence), and feel comfortable and confident in their role.
Finally, don’t forget the period between the job offer and the start date. According to the 2024 Resourcing and Talent Planning report from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, more than a quarter (27%) of UK employers have had candidates in the last year who secured a job, signed a contract, and never turned up on the first day. Four in 10 of these employers have had recruits resign within the first 12 weeks. At a more senior level, executives may be working long notice periods of three months or more, so it’s crucial to stay connected. This could be as informal as sending a relevant article or an invitation to a corporate event where they can meet the people they’ll be working with – there’s no such thing as over-communication here. Letting new hires know they will be welcome and valued when they do start their role is a small price to pay for losing them before they even reach the start line.