Employee onboarding is one of the most important aspects of every organisation’s recruitment process. Without effective onboarding, companies can see lower staff retention numbers, lower productivity, and impacted profits. In addition, a lack of structured onboarding can damage a company’s reputation and reduce their ability to hire top talent.
2022 will provide its own set of challenges, particularly with onboarding and retaining the best candidates.
In this article, we look at 10 employee onboarding statistics you must consider in 2022.
1) A good employee onboarding process increases staff retention by 82%
Many organisations are looking to improve onboarding processes in 2022; particularly in an age of remote working, where onboarding has proved to be more difficult. And why? Good onboarding not only increase staff retention by 82%, but also increases employee productivity, profit, and improves reputation.
2) New starters who experience a good onboarding process are 18 times more committed to their employer
Bamboo HR state that new starters who experience good onboarding are 18 times more committed to their employer.
New employee commitment is a big concern for organisations. Commitment stems down to engagement, which is too often overlooked within the whole onboarding process. Poorly engaged new starters are less likely to stay with their new employer and less committed. As a result, its important to encourage commitment and engagement throughout the whole duration of the onboarding process.
3) 88% of organisation’s have poor onboarding
Despite the notable benefits of a good onboarding process, Gallup found that 88% of organisation’s have poor onboarding. That means only 1 in 10 companies have good onboarding! To combat this, it is recommended that employers conduct surveys on their employees regarding their onboarding experience. With the survey’s results, and the amendments that will come from it, this will lower staff turnover and increase productivity company-wide.
4) Most organisations only focus on the first week of onboarding
It is vital that employers get the first week of onboarding right. However, most organisations only focus on the first week. But what about the first month? Six months? What are your organisation’s goals for your new starter? By moving away from the ‘first week is the most important’ mindset, your organisation will find that a longer, more personal onboarding strategy will make new starts feel valued and welcomed.
5) 55% of businesses report that they do not measure the effectiveness of onboarding process
For many organisations, employee onboarding is measured in very basic ways. For example, “Did the new employee complete the documents and background checks required in week 1 of onboarding?”. Whilst that sort of information is vital, does it measure the effectiveness of your onboarding process?
To measure onboarding effectively, your organisation must consider:
- New hire satisfaction
- Voluntary and involuntary new-hire turnover
- Retention
- Training completion rate
- New starter to productive employee length
- Engagement rates
6) Onboarding a new employee costs £50,000
Andy Issott of BE Offices calculated that the cost to hire a new employee is around £50,000 (based on an average salary of £27,600). This figure considers not only salary, but also recruitment costs, bonuses, national insurance, pension, training, office space/equipment, and more.
Therefore, if a new starter experiences a poor onboarding process and leaves, the cost to an organisation to replace them can be astronomical.
7) 1 in 5 new starters are unlikely to recommend their employer
Digitate found that 1 in 5 new starters are unlikely to recommend an employer if the onboarding process is poor. Digitate also found that automating certain aspects of the onboarding process can save organisations a lot of resource (specifically money) and reduce a loss in top talent hiring opportunities.
Coupled with a framework for improvement, companies will benefit from an automated, onboarding process.
8) Employee engagement is influenced by onboarding
From day one, employers should provide new starters with the tools and knowledge they need to perform their role effectively and productively. Of course, there are certain expectations an employer must put in place. For example, if a new starter is new to the industry, then a training schedule should be part of that onboarding process. By making note of where the new starter is in terms of the industry, their experience, and knowledge, employers can tailor the onboarding process to their needs. This instantly engages new starters and reduces the likelihood of them leaving within the first 6-12 months.
9) It takes new employees 8-12 months to become as efficient as their regular co-workers
An article by Click Boarding state that it takes 8-12 months for new starters to become as efficient as seasoned, experienced colleagues. A large part of ‘new starter to productive employee’ stems down to onboarding and how engaged, welcomed, and valued the new starter feels. HR professionals should have a way of analysing how long it takes for new starters to become productive in specific roles. For example, if HR find an experienced IT engineer is effective in 6 months, then the onboarding process for that type of role should note that length.
10) 50% depart within the first 120 days
Amin Fard of Preppio found that 50% of hourly workers quit within the first 120 days. Fard also found this was because of a lack of a structured onboarding process. With the aforementioned cost of replacing a new employee, it is vital that your organisation creates an employee onboarding structure that accommodates all the needs of the new starter.
Employee Onboarding – Moving Forwards
The key takeaways for effective employee onboarding in 2022 (and in general) are:
- Ensure your organisation notes the limitations remote working can have on onboarding
- Promote engagement and commitment throughout the whole process
- Tailor onboarding to the individual (only use a generic onboarding process if absolutely necessary)
- Measure onboarding effectiveness using HR metrics and KPIs
- Estimate the length of time from ‘New Starter’ to ‘Productive Employee’ based on your organisation’s existing data and knowledge
- Implement a framework for improving your employee onboarding process
- Digitise the process as much as possible