Beyond the Paperwork – Building a Strategic Onboarding Program: From First Impressions to Lasting Impact
- Jenay Rhoads
- Jun 9
- 3 min read
Understanding Onboarding
Onboarding is more than just the first day paperwork. Yes of course, paperwork is a component of onboarding, but that is just one component. Onboarding is a comprehensive process that is designed to integrate new team members as seamlessly as possible into their roles, teams and organizational culture. This process is extremely important, especially to small and medium sized organizations where every new team member has a relatively larger impact on the organizational operations and culture. Shifting the perspective of onboarding as a purely administrative function to a driver of success allows organizations to design a strategy that addresses their specific opportunities, needs and challenges.
Onboarding is traditionally associated with administrative tasks to ensure legal compliance, paperwork and obtaining the necessary documents and information to enter the team member into payroll and organizational systems. A strategic onboarding process not only integrates these necessary tasks but goes beyond them to holistically introduce the new team member to their role, team and the boarder organizational environment and culture. The objective of any onboarding process is to acclimate new team members quickly so they can reach full productivity, feel fully engaged and become contributing team members.
The onboarding can either have an overall positive or negative impact on a new team member’s first days and weeks with the new company. This impression more often than not carries through the team member life cycle. Poorly executed onboarding creates an unnecessary hurdle organizations and leaders must overcome in order to create a positive team member experience. 69% of team members that report a great onboarding experience stay with their employer for at least three years.[i] Depending the role and industry, cost of replacing a team member can range from 50% to 200% of the exiting team member’s annualized wages.[ii] An effective onboarding strategy does not have to bust an organization’s budget and can be designed and implemented utilizing current systems and result in a positive financial impact.
Benefits of Strategic Onboarding Programs
Increased employee retention over a three period
Decreased turnover
Increased productivity
Improved employee satisfaction
Accelerated time to productivity
Increased engagement
Higher revenue growth (2.5 times higher) and larger profit margin (1.9% higher)[i]
Lower rates of retraining and rework costs
Empowered workforce
Onboarding and Orientation
Many organizations have the misconception that orientation and onboarding are the interchangeable processes. Orientation primarily serves to provide new team members with essential organizational information such as company benefits, policies, procedures, the company mission and organizational values. During orientation, administrative tasks are completed, including paperwork, setting up systems access and completing company compliance training and paperwork. Essentially, orientation serves as the starting point for the onboarding process.
A strategic onboarding process is a much more extensive and comprehensive process. Onboarding focuses on setting new team members up for success within the organization. The onboarding process can span several days, weeks to months (or longer) depending on the organization, role and/or industry. Onboarding strategy is aligned with overall organizational objectives and goals. It may also seek to address specific challenges or opportunities, such as high turnover or improving company culture.
Common Onboarding Activities
Welcome and overview of the onboarding process
Completing required personnel and company paperwork.
Company and benefits orientation.
Company and compliance training.
Internal administrative processes.
Assigning access, property and equipment.
Introductions and property tours.
Systems training.
Role and department specific training.
Regular check – ins with management to ensure long term team members success.
Summary of Strategic Onboarding Design and Implementation
Conduct a thorough review of the organization to identify onboarding improvements.
Define onboarding goals and ensure compliance with regulations and documentation updates.
Automate administrative tasks such as document management, access provisioning, and training assignments.
Prepare for new hires with workspace setups and welcome communications.
Implement orientation activities including Q&A sessions, office tours, and team introductions.
Provide job-specific training and regular management check-ins for feedback and support.
Facilitate social integration and extended learning programs for ongoing development.
Balance automation with human interaction to foster trust and constructive dialogue.
Launch a pilot program, gather feedback, and refine the process as needed..
Expertise and Guidance for Tailored Strategies
Human resources professionals offer a wealth of specialized expertise and knowledge that many SMBs may not possess in-house at the fraction of the cost of hiring a full-time team member to fill that role. As a fractional CHRO I am adept at assisting the creation of effective strategies and streamlining processes to ensure an integrated strategy and process.
Navigating the ever-changing and complex landscape of employment and labor regulations can be a daunting task for SMBs. Fractional CHROs play a critical role in ensuring compliance with federal, state and local regulations reducing legal risks. We can provide expert guidance and assistance in developing compliance strategies, policies and procedures.
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[1] https://www.shrm.org/executive-network/insights/myth-replaceability-preparing-loss-key-employees#
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