Employee Onboarding Applications

Onboarding & HR management tools help onboard and retain employees plus reduce turnover.

Why Onboarding Matters More Than Ever

A comprehensive onboarding process is more than an administrative necessity—it's an investment in your company’s future. Inadequate onboarding can lead to employee disengagement, poor performance, and early turnover. In contrast, efficient onboarding enhances retention, increases employee engagement, and reduces time-to-productivity.

The Impact of Poor Onboarding

High Turnover Rates: Employees who lack a proper onboarding experience are twice as likely to leave within their first year.
Productivity Gaps: New hires without structured support often take 8-12 months to reach full productivity.
Cultural Misalignment: Without onboarding tools, employees struggle to understand their role in the company’s mission and values.

The Critical Role of Employee Onboarding Applications in Business Success

In today’s hyper-competitive market, retaining talent has become as crucial as attracting it. With economic pressures mounting and workforce expectations evolving, businesses face steep challenges. According to a study by Work Institute, employee turnover costs organizations up to 33% of an employee’s annual salary, making it a financially draining issue. Even more striking, 75% of this turnover is preventable, largely through enhanced onboarding strategies.

Employee onboarding applications have emerged as a cornerstone in HR management, offering streamlined, tech-driven solutions to integrate new hires effectively and retain top talent. From accelerating new hire productivity to fostering a sense of belonging, these tools can transform how organizations manage their workforce. Let’s delve into why every organization must invest in robust onboarding applications to thrive in 2024 and beyond.

Employee Onboarding 101

Employee onboarding is the process utilized to transition an employee candidate from the interview stage to his or her full acclimation as a comfortable, committed employee. Employee onboarding also introduces a new employee to company culture and provides the information/tools necessary for success within your organization. While every business facilitates some form of onboarding process, not all companies prioritize or conduct their process effectively. The employee onboarding procedure is most successful when operated strategically for a minimum of one year from the respective hiring date of each new employee. New employees with adverse or even below-expectation onboarding experiences are two hundred percent more likely to seek alternate employment within their first year on the job. Administering a successful employee onboarding program significantly reduces this chance, while simultaneously building a culture of success with a carefully curated team of dedicated staff members.

The Need for Employee Onboarding

The Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) revealed another key statistic relevant to the need for employee onboarding in 2021. Employee turnover often reaches up to fifty percent within the initial eighteen months post-hire. This is commonly due to employees feeling disgruntled with the type of work they do. This feeling of disgruntlement and/or disappointment is often caused by a lack of understanding of their job descriptions and/or value to a company. Money lost to employee turnover reduces profits necessary to maintain success at different levels. This type of preventable wastefulness in the business world is considered akin to refusing to close the freezer door or turn off the faucet in your sink at home.

Gallup states successful employee engagement drives the growth of your business in crucial ways. Engaged employees contribute directly to increased profits, improved workplace safety, stronger workplace attendance and (perhaps most importantly) elevated customer satisfaction. Your company’s products and/or overall results also benefit from an engaged team of employees. Additional reasons employee onboarding is needed for your organization today include:

Manager accountability.
Advantages over competing organizations.
Creates immediate workplace compliance.
Provides new employees with proper information needed to succeed.
Enriches company culture.
Creates team environment and a sense of leadership/mentorship.
User-friendly program implementation.

Smooth Onboarding Process

A smooth onboarding process includes various important elements. The welcoming of each new employee is vital to the longevity of his or her employment. Mentoring programs help new hires comprehend the information they need to not only succeed but also become an important part of your staff/team. Feedback provided via the onboarding process encourages growth and prevents employees from feeling lost or forgotten as human beings. Employee onboarding creates connectivity and culture among staff members, which enhances the work experience for all involved. Conversations about career development provide employees with the sense their job security is valid both now and into the future. Perhaps the most important impact a smooth onboarding process has on employee retention is the value to your organization an employee recognizes he or she has acquired.

Impact on Employee Retention

The primary reason new or recent employees leave their jobs within eighteen months post-hire is their disappointment with the type of work they perform. The majoritive cause for this is an inadequate or unrealistic education about required duties and workplace environment. Many employees also leave jobs fast due to a perceived lack of development and growth opportunities within the company. Smaller percentages of employees leave due conflicts with school or home situations, which are sometimes unpreventable. Employee onboarding positively impacts employee retention by preventing issues capable of prevention, however, which ultimately increases your company’s bottom line.

Comparing Onboarding Software for Your Organization

Multiple high-rated onboarding software programs are available for your organization today. Features such as customization, flexibility and affordability are of key important to businesses seeking to retain valued employees. The top onboarding software available in 2021 includes:

Enboarder is a 5-star rating virtual onboarding program best suited for high-growth organizations with an average of 100+ new hires each year. Enboarder works just as well for in-person and remote employee onboarding and includes features such as manager coaching, scalability, bulk hiring and program customization. Top industry leaders choose Enboarder for its ability to create vital human connectivity between employees and company culture. Pricing for Enboarder is available via direct private quote only although a free trial is offered.

WorkBright functions best for companies with large numbers of new employees every year and coinciding amounts of paperwork. New employees are capable of completing tax documents, uploading required photographs of identification forms and even sign applicable paperwork electronically. These details as well as uploading certificates and other necessary information are all possible to have completed prior to a new worker’s first official day on payroll. Specializing in seasonal businesses, healthcare and staffing companies, this 4.8-star program is priced starting at $158 (per feature, per month).

GoCo, Bob and Whale are three other top-rated onboarding programs among businesses today. Rated 4.7, 4.6 and 5-stars respectively, each offers its own unique sets of benefits and features. GoCo is best suited for small/medium-sized businesses needing to reduce the amount of time required for manual Human Resources (HR) tasks. Bob offers effective solutions for rapidly expanding businesses to entice, engage and maintain long-term employees in the ever-changing modern workplace. Whale is excellent for companies looking to scale their business using EOS and Six Sigma process components. Pricing for these three programs is:

GoCo ($29/mo; free trial offered).
Bob (direct quote only; free trial offered).
Whale ($12 per user per month; free trial offered).