Common Onboarding Mistakes: 11 Ways to Improve the Process
Onboarding can be a pivotal moment for new hires, yet companies often stumble in executing it effectively. We’ve gathered insights from Presidents to CEOs, focusing on the most pertinent advice from eleven industry leaders. From redefining onboarding beyond the basics to simplifying the process for a personalized experience, discover the common pitfalls and improved strategies in our latest Q&A article.
- Redefine Onboarding Beyond Basics
- Facilitate Early Relationship Building
- Implement Phased Onboarding Process
- Structure Onboarding to Avoid Chaos
- Schedule Follow-Ups After Training
- Blend Administrative Tasks with Personal Engagement
- Integrate Culture in Onboarding
- Provide Right Documents and Mentors
- Offer Structured Digital Marketing Onboarding
- Personalize Onboarding with Organizational Happiness
- Simplify and Personalize Onboarding Process
Redefine Onboarding Beyond Basics
The largest mistake made during onboarding is the shortsightedness of restricting onboarding to just benefits and handing out an employee handbook. The greater problems facing leaders today are the loss of talent and employee engagement.
Onboarding requires redefinition to correct these issues. What new employees want most is training and development, opportunity, and belonging.
Yes, the financials and the legalities of employment are important. Leaders, however, who take employees through on-demand training right out of the gate, followed by conversations with their new hires, accomplish two important initiatives.
The first is building a connection with the employee. The second is building an employee’s understanding of behaviors the leadership team supports and behaviors that make them uncomfortable.
Enthusiastic new hires who do not understand behavior expectations are quickly discouraged by lack of training and development, followed by conflict they unwittingly create if they frustrate a coworker’s goals. Understanding how to fit into existing teams is important for both collaborative skill development and understanding their career opportunities that lie ahead.
When employees understand behavior expectations that build trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk resolution, and success in the workplace, they are able to contribute to the organization’s bottom line, innovation teams, and building rewarding coworker relationships. This is measurable and easy to track.
DIANNE CRAMPTON
President, TIGERS Success Series and the TIGERS 6 Principles
Facilitate Early Relationship Building
Many organizations overlook the importance of relationship-building in the onboarding process. New employees want to understand the company culture, values, and their role in the larger mission.
Assigning the new hire a “buddy” or mentor to help them through the first 30-90 days has been shown to greatly improve the new hire’s experience.
A lack of support and communication can lead to new hires feeling isolated or unclear about expectations, which ultimately impacts their engagement and retention.
Lorraine Rise
Executive Coach, Career UpRising
Implement Phased Onboarding Process
One common mistake companies make is overloading new hires with information too quickly.
Many companies try to cover too much during the first few days, overwhelming new employees with details about policies, procedures, and tools, which can lead to confusion and disengagement.
Here is a better approach: Implement a phased onboarding process.
In my experience, breaking the onboarding process into phases—such as a 30-60-90 day plan—allows new hires to gradually absorb information and acclimate to their role. Start with the basics in the first few days, then introduce more detailed content and responsibilities as they become comfortable. This structured approach ensures they’re supported, retain key information, and integrate smoothly into the team.
Ana Alipat
Recruitment Team Lead, Dayjob Recruitment
Structure Onboarding to Avoid Chaos
The lack of a structured onboarding plan and the information chaos that follows are common mistakes companies make during onboarding.
It stems from the assumption that the person in charge of onboarding intuitively knows what to communicate, that all the information necessary to provide is self-evident, and that it will be naturally conveyed during the process. However, in reality, the result is confusion and disorganization. New hires receive fragmented and improvised information, with the onboarding coordinator jumping from point to point, adding ad hoc thoughts, and missing out on crucial details.
As a result, people feel lost and overwhelmed. They quickly forget the information provided, can’t connect the dots, and struggle to grasp their role within the company, leading to confusion and delayed productivity.
That’s why a clear, structured onboarding process is indispensable, ensuring that all essential training, introductions, and administrative tasks are completed efficiently.
Nina Paczka
Community Manager, MyPerfectResume
Schedule Follow-Ups After Training
By far, the biggest issue I see in onboarding is neglecting the follow-up. Candidates often reach out to me and confess they’ve already forgotten some best practices and accepted protocols conveyed during training. They’re worried that going directly to HR will make them look lax or like they weren’t listening the first go-around. But these are conscientious people and solid workers; it’s just not possible to retain every bit of information handed to you in such a short amount of time, especially when you’re likely under a good deal of stress.
That’s why employers should always schedule at least one, but ideally, multiple follow-ups after onboarding. It’s not enough to have workers sign off after a week or so of training. Coming back to the concepts allows queries to develop naturally over the course of hands-on experience in the role, so be sure to stretch your onboarding missive for at least a month after hiring, even if it’s just a brief chance to ask questions and have them answered without judgment.
Linn Atiyeh
CEO, Bemana
Blend Administrative Tasks with Personal Engagement
Onboarding sets the stage for new employees’ success and satisfaction within a company. Yet, one common mistake companies often make is focusing solely on administrative tasks and neglecting the human aspect of onboarding. While it’s essential to complete paperwork, set up IT systems, and outline job roles, these activities alone don’t ensure a positive, engaging experience for new hires.
Based on my experience, a more effective onboarding strategy involves blending administrative tasks with efforts to make new hires feel welcomed, valued, and integrated into the team from the start. To do so, encourage early engagement with company culture. This could involve inviting new hires to participate in team-building activities, company events, or social gatherings. When new employees experience the company culture firsthand and feel included in team activities, they are more likely to develop a strong connection with the organization.
Additionally, arrange for new hires to meet with key team members and leaders within their first few days. This could be through one-on-one meetings, team lunches, or virtual meet-and-greets. Structured introductions help new employees understand the people they’ll be working with and how their role connects to others within the organization. It also helps build a network of support and kicks off productive working relationships.
New hires are far more likely to feel a sense of belonging and commitment within a company if they are warmly welcomed and integrated into the team through meaningful interactions like this. Ultimately, this method of onboarding can lead to quicker acclimatization, improved performance, and higher retention rates. By striking a balance between necessary administrative tasks and personal, engaging experiences, companies not only ease the transition for new employees but also lay a strong foundation for long-term success and loyalty.
Damien Vieille
CEO, Instent Industries
Integrate Culture in Onboarding
A common mistake I’ve seen companies make during onboarding is concentrating too much on tasks and responsibilities without introducing new employees to the company’s culture. This can leave employees feeling detached and unsure of their role in the larger picture.
Our company takes a distinct strategy. We make cultural integration a major component of our onboarding process. We introduce new employees to our mission, values, and team dynamics through team-building activities, mentoring programs, and open talks. This makes employees feel more connected, which increases long-term engagement and retention.
Adam Wood
Co-Founder of Revenuegeeks, RevenueGeeks
Provide Right Documents and Mentors
Not sharing with them the right documents, right mentors, and the right set of milestones.
New joiners are more enthusiastic than existing employees, and they can infuse new energy and vibrance into the team if the track is well set. When we share with them the right documents, right mentor, and right milestones, they know the what, when, and how. This saves the company time and effort, brings in fresh ideas to the team, and ensures the candidate doesn’t learn from the bad fishes and become part of one.
In my first role as a Data Scientist, I was rotated across different teams within the same profile and got to know people on the floor, observed the way the system worked, and learned things in a comprehensive manner. I was also given a list of tutorials to complete, with a mentor assigned for each skill set (both soft and hard skills), and my tests were seriously evaluated. Candidates who failed had to go back to the training ground. The company, unsurprisingly, became a unicorn a few years later.
So when the company is investing so much in hiring, and we anyway give leeway to the new candidate by terming the first few weeks as a “honeymoon period,” it would be good for both candidates and companies to leverage the time to get on track faster and more methodically. Not only does this ensure greater individual output, but also prevents bad influences on the newbies.
Prakhar Srivastava
Product Manager, Ocrolus Inc.
Offer Structured Digital Marketing Onboarding
One of the most common mistakes I see companies make during onboarding is just throwing their new hires onto the team. They mistakenly believe that digital marketing is a field that values adaptation and which doesn’t require lots of transitioning, so they expect new hires to be full-fledged members of the team immediately.
We make sure to offer new hires structured onboarding, including training with our style book and content guidelines. After the initial orientation, each new hire has a buddy. That way, they feel empowered to ask questions and learn about our company.
David Holman
CMO, Textun
Personalize Onboarding with Organizational Happiness
A common mistake companies make during onboarding is treating it as a one-size-fits-all process, resulting in a generic checklist that fails to engage new hires meaningfully and misses opportunities to integrate concepts of Organizational Happiness and art. This approach often leads to disengagement, overlooked job aspects, and potentially higher turnover.
A more effective strategy is to offer a personalized onboarding experience. This involves tailoring training content and mentorship to the new hire’s specific role and career stage, incorporating interactive elements such as workshops, team-building activities, and creative art-based sessions that highlight Organizational Happiness principles. Fostering personal connections through informal meet-and-greets, scheduling regular check-ins, and providing access to role-specific resources and tools ensures ongoing support and alignment with career goals.
By infusing art and a focus on Organizational Happiness into onboarding, companies can significantly enhance engagement, job satisfaction, and retention, ultimately leading to a more integrated and motivated workforce.
DANIELA JINES
Director of Happiness and Gratitude, SurfBreak Hawaii
Simplify and Personalize Onboarding Process
Onboarding needs to be simple, organized, and personalized. Many companies do not have an action plan, aren’t clear on expectations, and the new hire feels lost. Providing detailed resources, clear instructions, scheduling one-on-one meetings, and following up regularly with check-ins creates confidence and comfort for the new hire. The better the onboarding experience, the higher the likelihood that the person will stay with the company, expedite time to productivity, and enhance the overall employee experience.
Nurdes Gomez
Director of People Operations, eMed
Submit Your Answer
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