EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: 2013 Onboarding Trends Report

71% of Surveyed Professionals Are Currently Updating Their Onboarding Program
86% of those consider updates to be moderate to major changes

A recent survey of 90 professionals in human resources and learning & development roles reveals that onboarding has become a strategic priority for a growing number of companies for 2013.

Impact Instruction Group conducted the survey to delve deeper into current trends in onboarding and the role of technology and Learning & Development in those programs. It covers topics including current and future state of onboarding programs for those surveyed, catalysts driving change, the role of L&D, and the role of technology in onboarding.

“With technology advances, a more geographically dispersed employee population, and strong competition to attract and retain the best people, Impact Instruction sees these trends and others changing the employment landscape and driving the need for companies to update their onboarding programs,” said Amy Franko, Founder & CEO of Impact Instruction Group.

Overall, the survey indicated that onboarding is a major priority for nearly two-thirds of respondents. These organizations are in the process of updating their programs, with a desire to build loyalty and accelerate performance early on, and ultimately improve overall retention. They are doing this by integrating technology solutions with people solutions, aiming to create the perfect balance of high-tech / high-touch onboarding programs.

When we drill down into some of the specific results, here is what we saw:

• A combined 71% of survey respondents are currently in the process of updating their onboarding programs.
• Over 73% of respondents indicated that the largest catalysts driving change to their onboarding programs are to accelerate new employees’ performance and improve employee retention and loyalty.
• 86% of survey respondents consider their updates to contain moderate to major changes.
• When it comes to technology, a combined 67% of respondents deliver less than 40% of their onboarding through technology-based solutions. However, 16% deliver more than 61% of their onboarding programs through technology-based solutions.
• The majority of respondents (62%) use a company-wide intranet for their technology-based solution for onboarding, with E-learning coming in second at 55%.
• The majority of respondents indicated that Human Resources (87%) and Learning & Development (72%) are the departments most involved in developing and updating their onboarding programs. Only 37% of respondent’s individual business units have involvement.
• The majority of respondents (46%) indicated that Learning & Development has all-inclusive responsibilities in the Onboarding Program updates.

We asked what respondents would change about their onboarding programs, and here are the common themes that emerged.  They wanted:

• •     More leadership buy-in, involvement and support in the onboarding process
  •     Increased consistency in the onboarding process
  •     Increased departmental accountability
  •     Use of technology to keep all onboarding related materials in one location to serve as a resource center for employee

We asked what the respondents’ companies do well when it comes to onboarding, and here are the common themes that emerged.  They said:

• •     Making new employees feel welcome
  •     Strong leadership involvement and support of the program
  •     Use of technology as a resource in the onboarding process
  •     Personalization to the employee or role
  •     Consistency across all business units
  •     Face-to-face interaction

To view the full report, visit https://amyfranko.com/impact-instruction-resources/2013-onboarding-trends-report/. Be sure to opt-in to our complimentary Impactezine on the right side of the screen for the latest workplace learning and technology trends delivered right to your mailbox.