What are the key indicators of onboarding success and failure?

Tracking metrics is key to ensuring you have the best onboarding process for internal folks as well as for your customers. The best way to gather metrics is by having 1-1 conversations and sending surveys. However, make sure you ask for feedback at the right time and make it clear to employees and customers what the value is that's being achieved. This will prompt more honest answers that you can then analyze with your teams.

Actively seeking feedback from new hires is essential, fostering a culture of continuous improvement. Collecting feedback at crucial milestones like the end of the first day, week, month, and after onboarding ensures it's timely and actionable. In our company, we employ surveys and informal check-ins for insights. This combination helps quantify the onboarding experience and captures nuanced feedback. Implementing this dual approach has led to targeted improvements in our program, significantly enhancing satisfaction and retention among new employees, showing the power of listening and adapting based on new hire feedback.

The first indicator will be the employee feedback as during the first sessions they will have an idea of the information presented, structure, cultural organization. And then comes the retention, as based on the their onboarding experience, first impresion, team experience and activities - they will remain or not.

Mais do que pensar somente no feedback, é importante desenhar o processo e garantir sua execução. Quem vai perguntar? Como? Em quais momentos? O que você vai fazer com os resultados? Estas perguntas podem ajudar a esboçar o processo de feedback.

In my experience, the indicators of onboarding success and failure can vary based on organizational goals, culture and industry. Some common indicators include: • Onboarding feedback/survey, • Early Attrition rate, • Time to Productivity, • Performance and Quality metrics, • Compliance metrics, • Engagement levels • Attendance records • Cultural fit assessments It's crucial to consistently measure, monitor, and track these metrics(KPI's) throughout the onboarding process. This helps Organizations to identify areas for improvement and implement corrective actions to enhance the effectiveness of their onboarding initiatives.

Key indicators of onboarding success include: strong job performance, rapid productivity, high employee engagement, retention, and job satisfaction among new hires. In contrast, indicators of onboarding failure might include: lack of engagement, poor performance, low job satisfaction, decreasing morale, and high turnover rate.

The human element should not be overlooked. This the new employee looks and sounds like they are overwhelmed and underinformed, special attention should be given if the signs are there that they are not feeling comfortable. Body language is a great feedback mechanism. Through their body language and tone of voice, the extent of how they are settling in to their new role should be tipped off. This would be easier face-to-face, but it can also be evident with remote workers, as how they project confidence in their new role can be seen in conversation.

Actively seeking feedback from new hires is essential for assessing the effectiveness of your onboarding program. Methods such as surveys, interviews, and focus groups provide direct insights into the onboarding experience, including content, delivery, duration, relevance, and support. This feedback reveals both strengths and areas for improvement, enabling targeted enhancements. By valuing new hires' opinions and making necessary adjustments, organizations can foster a supportive environment that boosts engagement, satisfaction, and retention, ensuring a successful integration process.

Key indicators of onboarding success include early productivity, quick integration into the company's culture, positive employee engagement, and low early turnover rates. On the contrary, signs of onboarding failure could be: lack of clarity about the job role, low job satisfaction, minimal engagement with colleagues, and high early turnover.

Tempo de integração (time to value - ttv): quanto mais curto for o tempo para o cliente começar a ver os benefícios do produto, mais eficaz é o processo de onboarding. Um tempo de integração rápido demonstra que o cliente está compreendendo e utilizando a plataforma com facilidade. Taxa de adoção: um alto nível de adoção sugere que o cliente está engajado e usando o produto conforme planejado, o que geralmente leva a um maior sucesso a longo prazo. Ativação de recursos chave: se os clientes estão utilizando os principais recursos da plataforma logo após a integração, é um bom sinal de que eles estão tirando proveito completo do produto.

All new employees are typically very excited to get started in the new company. Therefore, engagement during the onboarding process is key. Just like with external customer engagement, having a clear understanding of expectations and goals during each step of the onboarding process makes employees feel empowered. When they are all in, these employees will then be more productive, satisfied and will contribute to the company's goals. Having frequent conversations with the employees during their onboarding process is important to fix any steps where disengagement or confusion might have occurred.

Pense o que é importante para você, no contexto da sua empresa. Empresas diferentes têm visões diferentes de engajamento e cultura. Uma pode valorizar mais os treinamentos obrigatórios, então vai medir o nível de realização destes treinamentos no primeiro mês. Outra pode pensar em valores, pois ainda não possui um processo para os treinamentos, então devemos pensar em ações e atitudes que reflitam estes valores, e o engajamento virá destas ações. Não existe uma receita que se aplique a todos, mas em algum nível você medirá o que é importante para o seu contexto.

The key to a successful onboarding process is not just about filling out forms and checking boxes; it's about genuinely engaging new hires from day one. Engagement breeds motivation, loyalty, and satisfaction, which in turn enhances productivity and job satisfaction. One thing that I found helpful is starting with a bang. Creating a sense of urgency and allowing new hires to fail, learn, and quickly adapt sets a positive tone for their journey. In my company, we assign buddy & mentors to new employees. This one-on-one guidance helps them navigate the organizational culture and understand their role within the bigger picture. It's a strategy that has significantly improved our new hire engagement and retention rates.

What you put it is what you get out with onboarding. I remember a fantastic onboarding process I went through in 2010, which made me really feel welcomed and appreciated. I systematically was given the tools I needed for my work, shook hands with so many great people I would collaborate with, and really felt I understood how the company worked in just a few weeks. That onboarding process really stuck with me. In future, I want to make people feel that sense of community and atmosphere where they feel like a valuable part of the team and they are given all they need to succeed.

Engagement is a wonderful indicator of how "bought in" a new employee may be, and how much of a sense of belonging they feel. While onboarding, engagement can be observed through participation in live learning sessions, async participation in Slack/Teams/etc. Are learners showing up on time, leaving early, leaving cameras off during sessions? Early indicators during onboarding can double-down or course-correct to establish good habits.

It is important to recognize that engagement does not occur in isolation. It is strongly influenced by the culture, values, goals, and leadership within the organization. A supportive and stimulating work environment can significantly enhance employee engagement, ultimately leading to better business results and a stronger team dynamic. Therefore, it is essential to focus not only on the technical and functional aspects during the onboarding process but also on the cultural and emotional integration of new employees. By adopting a holistic approach, an organization can improve not only engagement but also overall employee satisfaction and retention.

One thing that I found helpful is the emphasis on early feedback and adjustment opportunities for new hires. It's crucial to identify and address any gaps in understanding or skillsets at the earliest, which in turn, can significantly bolster their performance and integration into the team. In my company, we've taken a proactive approach by implementing structured milestones and regular check-ins throughout the onboarding process. This not only helps in tracking progress but also in reinforcing the support system for new employees, ensuring they feel valued and understood right from the start. Such practices have led to noticeable improvements in job satisfaction and overall productivity among our new hires.

If employees understand the expectations of their role within the team and company, they will be even more engaged to perform. Their performance will be of high quality, relevant, on time as well as efficient. As a leader, providing feedback of what's working and not ensures that the employee is being heard. Having a plan to "fix" any issues with performance keeps everyone engaged and builds trust.

Nicely said, @Eva. Just out of curiosity, I know it's a responsibility of all management involved but which exact department is actually keeping track / incharge or providing the results of these regular check-in's?

Existem estudos que mostraram que o investimento em employee experience pode reduzir o turnover em até 40%. Organizações que promovem um processo de integração estruturado experimentam um índice de permanência 50% maior entre os novos contratados. 75% dos colaboradores satisfeitos com a experiência de onboarding afirmam que são leais à empresa.

Onboarding is getting off on the right foot. If not done properly, it can have serious ramifications for the new hire and make their first impression of the company negative or positive. The HR is crucial in this, as well and the people who will directly work with the new hire on a day to day basis. As long as the onboarding process gives the opportunity for a good start, the new hire would usually be appreciative of the effort that was made to make them feel part of the culture and valued in the company.

Quando pensamos em ROI do onboarding precisamos pensar principalmente no TEMPO em que a pessoa colaboradora leva para atingir o máximo de sua produtividade. Quanto mais rápido chega o máximo retorno (maior produtividade), menor o custo para este investimento (salário e uso de infra ao longo dos meses). Um onboarding eficiente é aquele que reduz este tempo, garante a produtividade e gera ROI para o negócio.

Poor onboarding can unfortunately have far-reaching consequences that can extend for many months and longer. Culture begins during onboarding (and arguably even before that, during recruitment and interviewing), because you need consistency between your words/policies and your actions. For example, if part of your culture is about valuing integrity but you display a lack of integrity during onboarding, you have then sent a message that it's just talk and can be ignored. Aside from leading to culturally inappropriate behaviour, it might result in future missed job opportunities, business relationships or results, all stemming from the mixed messages created during onboarding when a new employee is at their most impressionable.

Measuring the business impact of the new hires by tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) related to their specific roles and contributions. For example, for sales hires, monitoring metrics like revenue generated and customer acquisition rates. For customer service hires, looking at metrics such as customer satisfaction scores and resolution times. By analyzing these KPIs, one could assess the effectiveness of the onboarding process in preparing new hires to positively impact the business objectives. This data-driven approach will help us identify areas for improvement and refine the onboarding strategies accordingly.

A poor recruiting and onboarding experience can have a profound impact on an organization's brand and reputation. Especially now with so many willing to share their experiences on social media platforms (some even recording videos of their experiences), it's vitally important for organizations to demonstrate they're truly invested in a stellar employee experience (don't just talk the talk).

A poor onboarding experience has far-reaching consequences for your company, negatively affecting your employer brand and costing money when people leave quickly. Over 30% of new hires leave within the first six months due to poor onboarding. This results in significant recruitment, training, and productivity costs. Conversely, successful onboarding makes employees feel welcome, valued, and prepared, leading to higher satisfaction, better performance, and increased loyalty. Well-onboarded employees align with the company's mission and contribute more effectively. Investing in effective onboarding reduces costs, improves retention, and strengthens overall company performance.

A onboarding program is very crucial for any organization as it represents the vision of the company and set expectations with the person who is going through the onboarding. A good onboarding plan will surely have people introduction as a part of the course and which also helps to understand and set the right expectations. From my recent experience on onboarding a group of people, i made sure to introduce them to the team with whom they will be working and made sure to make them familiar with the experts, Product Managers and leadership, so that once they are out on the floor. They know how to navigate the way for themselves and get the right answers from the right people. This helps people settle down in a better way and know the process.

For international schools, I would highly recommend having an onboarding program for teachers joining in the middle of the academic year. Whether it is new teachers joining being new to country, maternity/paternity leave, etc., when a teacher is not onboarded properly in the same fashion as the teachers who join in August, it is incredibly stressful for them to figure out how the school works while trying to settle into their new role. Onboarding materials should be given weeks in advance and there should be opportunities to have conversations (however brief) with their co-workers and SLT. This will make the transition to the role much smoother and outcomes for learners will be better.

A good onboarding programme solves two problems: it keeps the new person continuously engaged, rather than feeling abandoned and like they don’t know what they’re doing; and for the employer, they have a structured way of establishing continuous improvement for the new person without having to “babysit”. People are often hired at a time of increased need and it’s the worst time to be unproductive. But by investing in a great onboarding programme, you have a smooth routine that allows a balanced amount of self-paced activities with employer-driven ones.