Introduction
A lot has changed since the dawn of Covid 19. What followed was a perpetual cloud of uncertainty, confusion and, well – lockdown.
As the pandemic ebbs and flows, it changes how (and where) we function at work. Companies have learned they don’t need brick and mortar to get the job done. And even as offices reopen, remote and hybrid work models are the new standard.
As organizations evolve, so does the employee life cycle. You need to reimagine how you support and uplift employees from start to finish. It all begins with a strong onboarding program.
We’ve identified the top onboarding trends and statistics you should know to provide a consistent and enriching experience. But first, let’s review how onboarding has evolved since the start of the pandemic.
Onboarding in a post-pandemic world
Onboarding is the process of integrating a new hire with a company's policies, procedures, rules and culture. Historically, HR would organize a series of on-site activities for orientation and training.
Your talent pool isn’t limited to geographical lines. Now, your employees can work from anywhere. But with a disparate workforce comes a unique set of challenges.
Onboarding statistics for 2023
Why is onboarding important?
Consider the following trends to understand why you should focus on building a solid onboarding process.
#1. More than 93 percent of employers believe that onboarding plays a critical role in an employee's decision to stay or leave the company. - CareerBuilder
#2. A study found that the employees thoroughly engaged in their onboarding process are 69 percent more likely to continue with the organization for a minimum of 3 years. - ClickBoarding
#3. A poor onboarding process increases the chances of the employee leaving the company or starting the process of looking for another organization. - Businessnewsdaily
#4. A study conducted by Kronos Inc. found that more than 25 percent of employees would leave a company within a year after a bad onboarding experience. - Kronos and HCI
#5. Bad onboarding impacts employee morale and performance, leading to resignation in 12 percent of the cases. - CareerBuilder
#6. Companies with a structured onboarding process have retention rates as high as 50 percent. - Harvard Business Review
#7. A survey conducted by TeamStage found that only 12 percent of employees feel that their organization provides a good onboarding program. - Gallup
#8. In the same survey, TeamStage also found that around 70 percent of employees who liked and excelled at their job had a streamlined onboarding experience. - TeamStage
#9. They also found that a good onboarding experience improves long-term job satisfaction by more than 2.6 times. - TeamStage
#10. A study found that organizations with poor onboarding programs had 22 percent employee turnover within 45 days. - Forbes
A solid onboarding experience helps you retain employees, keep them motivated and build a positive culture.
Consistent onboarding can help you retain top talent, but it’s not easy in an uncertain landscape. You can’t just walk hires through your manual or hold seminars. HR needs to ensure employees get the attention they need throughout the process. We know it can be time-consuming, but it’s worth it.
Now let's look at some statistics on how work conditions, hiring and onboarding have evolved.
Remote work for the win
#11. Forty-two percent of employees prefer working in a hybrid model. - Ivanti
#12. Almost 39 percent of employees would take another job if they could work entirely remotely. - Ivanti
#13. By 2025, more than 22 percent of the workforce will be working remotely. - Upwork
#14. 80 million of the US workforce is remote as of 2023. - Credit Summit
#15. Globally more than 16 percent of companies have gone entirely remote - Owls Labs study
#16. In 2020, Gartner surveyed 5,000 employees, and they saw that employees with the option for remote work showed 13 percent higher intent to work for the organization. - Gartner
Many are already recognizing that more people will work remotely than ever before. If not handled with care, this shift could cause massive change and potential disruption. And as the hiring crisis continues, organizations that don't offer remote work could find themselves at a significant disadvantage against companies that do when it comes to recruiting new talent.
From the above, we see more and more people are now opting for remote and hybrid work. And to enable this, tools and solutions that could help streamline remote onboarding are also becoming popular.
Remote onboarding statistics
#17. A survey run by Software Advice shows that 49 percent of HR leaders are planning to continue the remote hiring and onboarding process. - Software Advice
#18. According to a report by Gartner, 58 percent of companies have provided hardware to help employees onboard and work remotely. - Gartner
#19. The same report showed that 70 percent of companies allow employees to bring home their work equipment. - Gartner
Remote onboarding can feel daunting. Without the chance to connect face-to-face, you have to invest in the right tools and resources.
Luckily, we’ve seen a real software boom supporting the remote workforce. These include products that help with document sharing, hosting virtual meetings, signing contracts or even automating your entire onboarding process.
Let’s take at some tools that help HR teams augment their virtual onboard.
Onboarding technical stack statistics
#20. According to Business.org, BambooHR was the best employee onboarding software in 2022. - Best Employee Onboarding Software for Your Small Business 2022
#21. As per the latest reports, the global market for employee onboarding software is expected to reach $1.34 by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 6.4 percent. - IndustryARC
#22. One of the tools that gained major popularity is the video conferencing platform. Sixty-two percent of organizations have 2-3 different platforms for different purposes. - GetVoIP
- Zoom - 300M meeting participants per day in 2020
- Microsoft Team - 250M active users in 2021
- Google Meet - 100M meeting participants per day in 2020
- Cisco WebEx - 324 Million users
#23. Survey tools also saw a rise in usage. They support test-taking, collecting feedback, and getting to know your new employees. The Global cloud-based survey software market will likely reach $8,972.78M by 2026. - GlobeNewswire
#24. Though not exclusive to onboarding, task management software is a huge asset. These tools will reach $5.58B by 2025, with a CAGR of 12.69 percent. - IndustryARC
#25. Without a knowledge-sharing tool, it’s impossible to keep new employees on track. The latest forecast reports show that the knowledge-sharing software market may reach $58.81B by 2028 at a growing CAGR of 12.67 percent. - Verified Market Research
#26. With AI tools, onboarding can happen at any time. AI and chatbots enable onboarding around the clock. - HRCI
Cutting-edge technologies like Scribe for knowledge sharing and Zoom for video conferencing have made it possible to support anyone, anywhere. There’s potential for a streamlined, thorough and trackable onboarding experience with the right tools. Talk about breaking down barriers!
Speaking of barriers, let's look at some common onboarding challenges.
Onboarding challenges statistics
#27. According to an SHRM survey, 32 percent of global executives say they had a negative onboarding experience. - SHRM
#28. More than 76 percent of HR professionals feel their company underutilizes onboarding. - Kronos
#29. Even after identifying the root problems, more than 10 percent of companies have not upgraded their onboarding programs. - Finances Online
#30. A study done by Digitate showed that 40 percent of new employees feel that their HR respond late to their job-related queries. - Digitate
#31. Thirty-six percent of HR professionals believe that inadequate technology leaves them unable to streamline their onboarding processes, hurting their program. - Kronos and HCI
#32. More than 58 percent of companies feel that their onboarding prioritizes processes and paperwork rather than training or explaining the work culture. - Sapling
#33. A report published on Gallup shows that 88 percent of employees feel that their company's onboarding process needs improvement.
#34. According to 42.4 percent of respondents, the hardest part of remote onboarding going forward will be employee evaluation. - Workable Survey
It’s hard to get into the swing of a new company.
Your new hire is likely contemplating if the organization is a right fit as they learn processes and attempt to contribute. Onboarding can be a catalyst for making the employee a fully-fledged team member. Take advantage of automation to streamline processes and leave more room for connection.
Automation onboarding survey
#35. Automated onboarding tasks increased employee performance by 18 percent. - UrbanBound
#36. The same report shows that automating onboarding tasks improves retention rate by 16 percent. - UrbanBound
Automated onboarding tasks improve retention and performance while decreasing the high task load. You could potentially send emails, share knowledge, organize a meeting, train, evaluate, and monitor progress – all with one or two platforms.
And as we saw earlier, there are several tools available to automate most tasks. It just takes a little evaluation and market research to find what’s right for you.
Next, we have general remote onboarding statistics to help you retain the best talents in 2023
General onboarding statistics
#37. Only 32 percent of companies have a formalized onboarding program. - Aberdeen
#38. As per Sapling's report, an employee will complete 54 tasks and activities throughout onboarding. This breaks down into 41 administrative efforts, three pieces of documentation and meeting ten outcomes. - Sapling
#39. More than 56 percent of new hires prefer having a buddy assist them in onboarding. - Click Boarding
#40. Only twenty-nine percent of new hires feel prepared to excel in their role after onboarding. - Gallup
#41. New research says that cross-boarding is also as important as new hire onboarding. - Click Boarding
#42. It typically takes employees eight months to perform at a fully productive level. - alliedHRIQ
#43. One of the biggest challenges with onboarding is an inability to track success or failure. - SHRM
#44. Companies without an onboarding program experienced a 50 percent higher turnover. - Forbes
#45. In a study of 1,000 employees, one-third left their company in six months. - Bamboo HR
#46. Only 12 percent of current employees feel that their onboarding program benefits new hires. - Gallup
#47. Post pandemic, 21.6 percent of managers' biggest concern is onboarding. - Workable
#48. A regular onboarding program improves the retention rate by 50 percent. - Harvard Business Review
#49. Managers are more satisfied with the new hires' work when they have undergone a streamlined and regular onboarding. - SHRM
#50. An effective onboarding program can help you improve your performance by up to 70 percent. - The HR Digest
At the end of the (first) day
The remote workforce will only grow. To keep up with modern expectations, you need to develop an infrastructure that supports your remote employees from day one. As trends and technologies evolve, so should your process. Happy onboarding!
