Crafting an Onboarding Experience That Retains Talent

With 3 in 4 businesses saying that they have at least some issues with retention/churn*, finding ways to improve retention is becoming increasingly important. And with research showing that 30% of new hires leave their job within the first 90 days of getting hired, it’s clear that retention begins at onboarding. 

The reality is, businesses only get one chance to make a good first impression on new hires and onboarding is your chance to do this. So it needs to run deeper than a welcome email and a stack of onboarding documents to complete. It’s clear that for many new employees, onboarding is make or break so as a business owner or HR professional, ensuring your new hire feels welcomed, supported and ready to make an impact is non-negotiable. 

Get it right, and you set the stage for a long, productive relationship. Get it wrong, and you might be starting the hiring process all over again.

The importance of onboarding for retention

If retention begins at onboarding, it doesn’t seem like a huge leap to assume that the quality of that experience can have a direct and lasting impact on if someone chooses to stay or leave. A well designed onboarding process is there to help new hires settle in, but it’s also more than that; it builds the foundations for engagement, performance and long-term commitment. 

The first few days and weeks in a role play a huge part in shaping how someone perceives an organisation, its culture and leadership. While a structured, thoughtful onboarding experience signals that the business is organised, supportive and invested in its people. A disjointed or overly administrative process can quickly lead to frustration, disengagement and second thoughts. This is especially important when you consider generational expectations, Gen Z employees are twice as likely as Gen X and Baby Boomers to say that onboarding is a critical part of their experience*, making it a key factor in attracting and retaining younger talent.

But beyond just the younger generation, it plays a key role in helping new hires build confidence and clarity in their role. The reality is, when new hires understand their responsibilities, how success is measured and how their role contributes to wider business goals, they are far more likely to feel motivated and valued. 

Just as importantly, onboarding helps to establish strong relationships. Introducing new starters to their team, managers and key stakeholders early on helps to create a sense of belonging. When employees feel connected and supported, they are more likely to stay and grow within the organisation.

Finally, effective onboarding sets the tone for ongoing development. Regular check-ins, feedback and early access to learning opportunities show employees that their growth matters. This investment not only improves performance but also strengthens loyalty over time.While onboarding may not historically have been seen this way, it is a powerful retention strategy. 

Key elements of effective onboarding

So you’re ready to revamp your onboarding process, but where do you start? Creating an onboarding experience that genuinely improves retention requires more than an onboarding checklist of tasks to complete. It should be a structured, people-focused journey that supports employees both practically and emotionally as they transition into their new role. 

The most effective onboarding experiences typically include the following core elements:

Building confidence

Joining a new team and starting a new role is nerve-wracking, so a large part of onboarding should be ensuring your new hire feels welcome, supported and set up for success. 

But this starts before the first day and is focused on clear communication and continues through structured introductions, role clarity and early wins. Here are some easy ways you can achieve this:

• Avoid the guessing game: Be crystal clear about what is expected in the first week, month, and quarter.
• Celebrate early wins: Set achievable goals for the first few days. Hitting these small targets gives new hires a dopamine hit of success and proves they can contribute value quickly.
• Assign a buddy: Don’t let them eat lunch alone. Pair them with a peer (not their manager) who can answer the “silly” questions they are too afraid to ask leadership.

Accelerating performance

No one wants to feel like they aren’t doing a good job. So it’s plausible that if someone feels this way, they are more likely to leave. How does this relate to onboarding? It’s simple, a strong onboarding plan should empower your new team members with the knowledge and resources they need to do their job to the best of their ability. 

To do this, business owners and HR professionals should: 

• Ensure tech readiness: Ensure their laptop, logins, and software are ready before they walk in the door (or log on remotely).
• Centralise knowledge: Give them access to a single source of truth—whether that’s an all-in-one HR platform or a comprehensive wiki. They shouldn’t have to hunt for the information they need to do their job.
• Create role-specific training: Move beyond generic compliance videos. Provide training that actually helps them execute their specific daily tasks.

Strengthening culture

Onboarding is a great opportunity to showcase your company culture. We mean things that go beyond policies and procedures. New team members should gain a clear understanding of the businesses values, behaviours and ways of working. 

A few ways business owners and HR professionals can strengthen culture with new hires include: 

• Live your values: Don’t just list your values; show them in action. If “innovation” is a value, show them how your team challenges the status quo during meetings.
• Facilitate connection: Create spaces for non-work interactions. Whether it’s a team lunch or a virtual coffee catch-up, these moments build the psychological safety required for a strong culture.
• Tell your story: Share the “why” behind the company. Understanding the origin and the mission helps new employees feel like they are part of a movement, not just a payroll number.

Engagement and retention

Engagement is the long game. It’s about creating a sense of belonging that lasts long after the “new kid” shine wears off. If you want them to stay, you have to show them a future.

• Connect role to purpose: Explicitly show them how their daily tasks contribute to the company’s broader goals. People stick around when they know their work matters.
• Map out the future: Discuss career development early. You don’t need to promise a promotion in month one, but you should outline what growth looks like at your company.
• Solicit feedback immediately: Don’t wait for an exit interview to ask how things are going. Ask for feedback on the onboarding process itself after week one. It shows you listen and that you care about their experience.

Common onboarding mistakes to avoid

Getting onboarding just right isn’t always easy, but what is easy is falling into common mistakes. Many businesses make the same errors when it comes to new hires, which can easily turn an exciting start into a frustrating experience that turns great people away. 

The good news here is that these mistakes are avoidable… especially when you know exactly what not to do. 

Common onboarding mistake	Why it’s a problem	What to do instead
Overloading new hires with information.	Too much information too quickly leads to overwhelm, low retention of key details and early disengagement	Break onboarding into manageable stages with a clear structure for the first week, first month and first 90 days. Focus initially on essential knowledge, such as, role responsibilities, key contacts and core systems and schedule deeper training later down the line. It’s also important to provide easy-to-access resources, such as recorded sessions or internal guides, so employees can revisit information when they need it.
Forgetting company culture.	Without connection and belonging, employees can feel like outsiders and disengage early.	Use onboarding as an opportunity to showcase your company culture, through building structured opportunities for connection into the plan. This includes scheduling cross-team introductions, assigning a buddy or mentor and creating regular touchpoints with managers and leadership. Reinforce company values through real examples and everyday behaviours and create space for new hires to share their ideas early on. This intentional approach helps new employees feel included, supported and part of the culture from the start.
Neglecting long-term onboarding.	When onboarding ends too soon, employees can feel unsupported and unclear in their role.	Extend onboarding into a structured 3–6 month journey with clear milestones for the first 30, 60 and 90 days. Throughout this time, schedule regular one-to-one check-ins with managers, set short-term goals and provide ongoing training and development opportunities. Keep communication open, offer feedback in both directions and ensure new hires continue building relationships across the business. This sustained, supportive approach helps employees gain confidence, stay engaged and fully embed into the organisation for the long term.

Steps to create a retention-focused onboarding experience

A strategic onboarding process doesn’t just happen. It’s something that takes thought and consideration to get right and results in new hires feeling confident, connected and ready to get stuck into their new role. 

We’ve broken down the key steps you should follow when putting together a retention-focused onboarding experience. 

Step 1: Pre-boarding: Setting up before day one

The time between a candidate accepting an offer and their first day can sometimes feel like a strange no-mans land for many businesses. But this is their first mistake. Pre-boarding transforms this waiting period into a powerful engagement tool, reducing first-day jitters and showing you’re invested before they even clock in.

Get this right by focusing on two things: logistics and connection.

• Handle the admin early: Send over the necessary paperwork and IT setup forms digitally. This gets the admin out of the way so day one can be about your people, not their signatures.
• Send a real welcome: A welcome email from their direct manager is great. A short video message from the team is even better. It personalises the experience and makes them feel like part of the group before they’ve even found their desk.
• Grant early access: Give them access to your HR platform, a copy of your company values and access to org-charts. This allows new hires to get a feel for the culture and your people before their first day. 

Step 2: Day one and beyond: creating a memorable first week

The week is critical, for both new hires and businesses. For business owners or HR managers, it’s an opportunity for a warm welcome and for the new team member it’s a chance to get immersed in the company culture. 

Keep in mind that a first day isn’t about getting someone to maximum productivity by the end of the day, instead it should be a consistent build across the week. 

A memorable first week is all about structure and human connection.

• Plan the entire first day: Don’t leave your new hire guessing. Have a clear schedule that includes a warm welcome, an office tour (virtual or physical), a team lunch and an introduction to their assigned work buddy.
• Focus on connection, not just tasks: Make early interactions people-focused by scheduling one-to-ones with key team members and stakeholders throughout the week, rather than jumping straight into project work.
• Set up the essentials: Ensure their desk, equipment, software and logins are fully prepared before they arrive so they can start smoothly and feel that the business is organised and ready for them.

Step 3: Personalised onboarding plans: Tailoring the experience

Personalising your experience through a role specific onboarding process is essential for any business as different roles will require a slightly different approach. A generic, one-size-fits-all plan fails to address the specific skills, tools and cultural nuances of different roles. Personalisation shows you understand their individual contribution and are committed to their specific success.

Tailor the experience to the role and the person.

• Create role-specific 30-60-90 day plans: Work with department heads to outline clear, achievable goals in the first three months.. This provides a roadmap for success and a framework for performance conversations.
• Adapt to learning styles: Some people learn by reading, others by doing. Offer a mix of resources, from written guides and video tutorials to hands-on projects and shadowing opportunities.
• Consider their experience level: An entry-level employee needs more foundational training and mentorship, while a senior hire might need more strategic context and introductions to leadership.

Step 4: Continuous feedback and check-ins: Regularly assessing and improving the onboarding process

Onboarding shouldn’t be a “set and forget” task, it’s something that should evolve over time. The only way to know if it’s working is to ask the people going through it. Creating a culture of continuous feedback not only improves your process for future hires but also shows your current new starters that their voice matters.

Turn onboarding into an ongoing dialogue.

• Schedule regular check-ins: Managers should have formal check-ins and one-to-one meetings at the end of week one, week four and at the 90-day mark. These are dedicated times to discuss progress, answer questions, and address any roadblocks.
• Ask for feedback on the process itself: At the 30-day mark, send a simple survey asking for their thoughts on the onboarding experience, such as:
  • What was helpful? 
  • What was confusing? 
  • What could be better?
• Act on the feedback: The most important step. When you implement a suggestion from a new hire, be transparent and let everyone know. This highlights that you’re listening and fosters a culture of continuous improvement.

Turn onboarding into your greatest retention tool 

In a hiring market where attracting and retaining talent is increasingly competitive, onboarding has become one of the most powerful tools businesses have to improve retention. It’s no longer just an administrative process, it’s the foundation of the entire employee experience.

From pre-boarding through to the first 90 days and beyond, a well-structured onboarding programme helps new hires feel confident, connected and clear on their role. It accelerates performance, embeds culture and creates a sense of belonging that drives long-term engagement.

The most effective organisations recognise that onboarding isn’t a one-off event or a checklist to complete,  it’s an ongoing journey that requires planning, personalisation and continuous improvement. By avoiding common mistakes, focusing on human connection and regularly measuring success, businesses can turn onboarding into a strategic advantage.

Get onboarding right, and you don’t just welcome new hires, you build committed, high-performing employees who are far more likely to stay and grow with your business.

Ready to transform your onboarding process?