First impressions matter, especially when it comes to welcoming new employees. A well-designed onboarding experience sets the tone for your new hire’s journey, helping them feel valued, prepared, and excited to be part of your team.
But while onboarding is one of the most important parts of the employee experience, many businesses still treat it like a box-ticking exercise. That’s a big problem.
Research shows only 12% of employees strongly agree that their organisation does onboarding well (Gallup), even though good onboarding can improve staff retention by 82% and boost productivity by over 70% (Brandon Hall Group).
On the flip side, poor onboarding comes at a high cost. One study found that 20% of new hires leave within 45 days, and about a third quit within the first three months (Julia Phelan, Harvard Business Review). That kind of turnover is expensive, especially when you factor in the lost time, disrupted teams, and replacement costs, which can be up to twice the employee’s annual salary (Julia Phelan, Harvard Business Review).
So, why do so many businesses get it wrong?
It usually comes down to mindset. Instead of seeing onboarding as a chance to connect, inspire and support new staff, many organisations treat it like a chore, an information dump full of policies, platforms and paperwork.
That kind of onboarding leaves new employees feeling overwhelmed, underprepared, and unsure if they made the right decision.
What Does Great Onboarding Look Like?
The best onboarding experiences are intentional. They’re designed with the employee in mind, aiming to build excitement, boost confidence, and help new hires hit the ground running.
At Training Resource Solutions, we believe onboarding isn’t just a first-day activity, it’s a process that can last for months. It should start well before a new hire step into the office and continue until they feel fully embedded in the team and culture.
At Training Resource Solutions, we help businesses create meaningful, engaging onboarding experiences through our online training platform and ready-to-use course content. Because onboarding shouldn’t be an afterthought, it should be a launchpad.
Want to improve how your business brings people on board?
Let’s chat.
