Best Onboarding Software in New Zealand (2026)

That first day on the job sets the tone for everything that follows. A clunky, paper-heavy onboarding process doesn’t just create a poor first impression; it can leave your new hire feeling disconnected and wondering if they made the right choice. For ambitious Kiwi business owners, this is a huge missed opportunity to inspire and energise your team from day one.

Choosing the right tools to fix this shouldn’t be another headache. The market is full of platforms, making it tough to find a solution that really understands the needs of a growing New Zealand business. A great onboarding experience gets your new team members up to speed, engaged and contributing faster.

This guide breaks down the top onboarding software platforms, looking at the pros and cons to help you make an informed decision for your business.

What is onboarding software?

Onboarding software automates and streamlines the process of welcoming a new employee into your business. It’s for leaders who understand that a great start leads to long-term success. It helps you move beyond messy paperwork and manual checklists to create a structured, engaging and consistent welcome experience for every new hire.

This software solves a critical problem by turning a purely administrative task into a strategic advantage. It helps you manage compliance with digital contracts and policy sign-offs, but its real power lies in connection. The best onboarding tools create a journey that begins the moment a candidate accepts their offer, helping them feel part of the team before they even walk through the door.

Best New Zealand onboarding software platforms compared

We analysed the top options on the market to find the best onboarding software for New Zealand small businesses. Our review focused on ease of use, automation capabilities, employee experience features and overall impact on engagement.

Feature/Provider	Employment Hero	HROnboard	MyHR	ELMO	Enboarder	MYOB
Free trial	✓	✘	✘	✘	✘	✓
Core HR software	✓	✘	✓	✓	✘	✘
Core payroll software	✓	✘	✓	✓	✘	✓
Applicant tracking	✓	✓	✓	✓	✘	✘
Integrated HR & payroll	✓	✘	✓	✓	✘	✘
All-in-one platform	✓	✘	✓	✓	✘	✘
Employee self-service	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓

Employment Hero

Employment Hero is more than just onboarding software; it’s an Employment Operating System, combining HR, payroll, recruitment and people management. It was built with a simple goal: to make managing people easier so business owners can focus on growth. By combining all elements of employment, Employment Hero makes onboarding just one part of a connected employee journey.

This integrated approach means you can manage everything from the job offer to the first-day welcome and beyond, all in one place. For Kiwi SMEs, it offers a powerful set of tools that are both easy to implement and a joy to use.

Pros of Employment Hero for onboarding

• All-in-one solution: The journey from candidate to team member is seamless. Manage recruitment, send digital contracts and roll out onboarding tasks all from a single platform that also handles payroll and core HR.
• Engaging from day one: Create a welcome experience that gets new hires excited. The platform lets you introduce them to the team, share company values and assign pre-start tasks so they feel prepared and connected.
• Automated and paperless: Ditch the paperwork for good. New hires can sign contracts and complete all necessary forms online, on any device, before their first day. This saves you hours of admin and reduces compliance headaches.
• Designed for growth: Whether you’re hiring your first employee or your fiftieth, Employment Hero scales with you. You won’t need to switch systems as your business expands.

Cons of Employment Hero for onboarding

• Comprehensive features: For a business with very basic needs and only hiring occasionally, the breadth of the platform’s features might feel extensive at first.

HROnboard

HROnboard is a specialist onboarding platform that focuses on creating a good employee experience from the moment an offer is made. It’s designed to help businesses manage the transition from candidate to new hire smoothly.

• Description: The platform provides tools to create and send digital offers of employment, manage onboarding workflows and engage new starters before their first day.
• Pros: Its dedicated focus on onboarding means its features in this area are strong. The experience for new hires is visually engaging and helps build excitement.
• Cons: It’s a point solution, meaning it only does onboarding. You will need separate systems for recruitment, core HR and payroll, which can lead to disconnected processes and data silos.

MyHR

MyHR is a HR platform that combines software with advisory services. It aims to support HR and compliance for Kiwi businesses.

• Description: The platform covers the main aspects of HR, including a module for hiring and onboarding. It allows you to create employment agreements, manage new starter documentation and track the onboarding process.
• Pros: The inclusion of an HR advisory service is a benefit for businesses needing extra support with compliance. Having HR and payroll in one system simplifies administration.
• Cons: The onboarding functionality is part of a broader HR system and may not be as specialised or engaging as dedicated onboarding tools. The user interface can feel more administrative than experience-focused.

ELMO

ELMO is an ANZ-based provider of cloud HR, payroll and rostering software. It offers a broad suite of modules that can be combined to cover the entire employee lifecycle, including onboarding.

• Description: ELMO’s onboarding module helps automate the process of bringing new employees into the business. It allows for the creation of digital forms, contracts and workflows to get new starters up and running.
• Pros: As part of a wider suite, it can be integrated with ELMO’s recruitment, HR and payroll modules for a more connected process. The feature set is comprehensive and can support larger organisations.
• Cons: The modular approach can become expensive as you add more functionality. For a small business, the platform can be complex to implement and manage.

Enboarder

Enboarder describes itself as an “Experience-Driven Onboarding” platform. Its focus is less on the administrative side and more on creating engaging journeys that build connection and excitement.

• Description: The platform uses a workflow engine to send communications and activities to new hires, managers and buddies via mobile. It’s designed to create a human-centric experience.
• Pros: Its unique, communication-focused approach is good for building culture and engagement from the very start. It creates a memorable experience for new hires.
• Cons: It’s not a core HR system and doesn’t handle administrative tasks like contract signing or HR records. It’s a premium tool that needs to be integrated with other systems to function, which adds complexity and cost.

MYOB

MYOB is a well-known provider of business management solutions in New Zealand, primarily focused on accounting and payroll. Some of their payroll and HR products offer basic onboarding features.

• Description: MYOB’s onboarding functionality typically involves employee self-service, where new hires can enter their personal details, tax information and bank details directly into the system ahead of their first payroll.
• Pros: For businesses already using MYOB for payroll or accounting, adding its HR features can be convenient. The process ensures all necessary payroll information is collected accurately.
• Cons: Onboarding functionality is streamlined and payroll-focused, making it effective for collecting employee information. Teams seeking more communication and workflow automation based software may find additional tools helpful.

How to choose the right onboarding software

Start by thinking about what you want your new hire’s first impression to be. Are you just trying to get paperwork done, or do you want to build a connection and get them excited about their new role? Don’t get distracted by flashy features; focus on what will make a real difference.

Core functions like digital contract signing, automated task lists for managers and a great mobile experience for the new hire often move the needle the most. Look for a solution that simplifies compliance and saves you administrative time.

The best onboarding system fits into your overall employment process, connecting recruitment, HR and payroll. Think beyond the first week. True value comes from software that creates a consistent and positive employee experience from day one and beyond, helping you retain the great people you worked so hard to hire.

Final thoughts

Don’t let a clunky, outdated onboarding process put a damper on your new hire’s excitement. Choose a platform like Employment Hero, that automates the admin, creates a brilliant first impression and sets your team members up for success from the very beginning.

Employment Hero is on a mission to make employment easier and more valuable for everyone. Ready to see how we can transform your onboarding experience? Learn more about our all-in-one HR and payroll platform today.