How to Design Employee Onboarding That Scales

By

Amy Vidor

Learning and Development Evangelist at Synthesia

Create engaging training videos in 160+ languages.

We've all seen the click-bait posts about bad onboarding, like: "80% of new hires who receive poor onboarding plan to quit — especially if they're remote workers".

Yes, those are real.

Workplace research shows structured onboarding is meaningfully linked to higher retention. It's no surprise that "onboarding" is often the scapegoat for attrition, and unfortunately, there are no quick fixes for a poor onboarding experience.

The 4 phases of onboarding

Onboarding can be thought of as a new hire's journey with the company, from when they formally accept their offer to when they're performing at the level expected of them in their role. The four phases are:

  1. Preboarding: everything that happens between offer acceptance and Day 1
  2. Orientation: the first day or the first few weeks, usually a consistent experience across roles
  3. Role Integration: the first 90 days when a new hire begins contributing to business goals
  4. Ongoing Development: the period between a new hire's first contribution and reaching full competency in their role

Evaluate your onboarding

Mapping out the onboarding experience is crucial to understanding what is actually happening:

  • What's happening?
  • How do you know that? Is feedback being collected?
  • Who is responsible for what? Are there variations in different roles?

Inputs to collect

Look for data across four categories:

  • Feedback from new hires
  • Feedback from managers
  • Learning data
  • Business outcomes

Define shared ownership

Separate onboarding into three layers:

  1. Operational setup: accounts and access
  2. Shared enablement: company context and knowledge
  3. Role readiness: outcomes and coaching

Set an orientation cadence

Determine an orientation cadence whether that's weekly, biweekly, or monthly. An orientation schedule ensures consistency, helping IT and HR prepare effectively.

Design your orientation

Consider these best practices:

  1. Figure out the ideal orientation length.
  2. Maximize time spent on formal and on-the-job learning.
  3. Design for inclusivity—ensure everyone can access orientation.
  4. Enable hiring managers by providing structured guidance.
  5. Formalize a buddy program for support.
  6. Pilot new ideas and collect feedback before finalizing.

Support role integration and ongoing development

After orientation, support new hires in their roles and ongoing development.

Measure your onboarding program

Revise measurement tools to reflect the new onboarding experiences, focusing on key metrics to assess retention, engagement, and performance.