When hiring new talent, most businesses focus on recruitment but often overlook the critical step that follows—onboarding. An effective onboarding plan ensures that new hires are not just integrated into the company but also set up for success from day one. At Simple Scaling, we believe a strong onboarding process is a key driver of employee engagement, productivity, and retention, which ultimately fuels sustainable business growth.

🧠 What Is an Onboarding Plan?

An onboarding plan is a structured process that helps new employees acclimate to their roles, understand company culture, and gain the skills and knowledge needed to thrive. Unlike simple orientation, which might last a day or two, onboarding is often a multi-week or multi-month process designed to build confidence and competence in new hires.

💡 Key Elements of an Effective Onboarding Plan:

📈 The Impact of an Onboarding Plan on Your Business and Talent

For the Business:

For the Employee:

5 Key Reasons Your Business Needs an Onboarding Plan

1. Accelerates Employee Productivity

 A structured onboarding plan can significantly boost productivity. Research supports that a strong onboarding process can improve new hire productivity by over 70% (Manhal & Al.zubaidi, 2024). When employees are equipped with the right tools, information, and support, they become effective faster, contributing to business goals with greater efficiency.

An effective onboarding plan at Simple Scaling involves role-specific training, shadowing opportunities, and real-world practice, allowing new hires to gain confidence and competence from day one.

💡 “When employees know what’s expected of them, they can perform with confidence and clarity.” – Brendan McGurgan

2. Reduces Employee Turnover.

High turnover is costly and disruptive. Studies indicate that effective onboarding can improve retention significantly (Bowers, Thal, & Elshaw, 2023). An effective onboarding plan creates early engagement, providing new hires with a clear understanding of their role, opportunities for growth, and a sense of belonging. This increases retention rates, saving the business time and money on recruiting and training replacements.

3. Culture is more than just a handbook.

Company culture isn’t just a list of values on a wall or policies in a handbook—it’s the lived experience of every employee, every day. A strong onboarding plan introduces new hires to your culture through actions, not just words. It demonstrates how values translate into behaviours, how decisions align with the company’s mission, and how teams collaborate with trust and respect.

Research highlights that culture significantly impacts business success (Sharma, 2024). Onboarding offers the first real taste of culture, helping new hires understand and embody the values, behaviors, and expectations of the business.

💡 “You can’t train culture through a handbook—you need to experience it through real interactions and everyday practices.” – Brendan McGurgan

4. Improves Employee Engagement

Engaged employees are much less likely to leave their company. An effective onboarding plan drives engagement by establishing clear expectations, facilitating connections, and providing support (Chenji & Raghavendra, 2021).

At Simple Scaling, we believe that engaged employees are not only more productive but also more innovative, driving the business forward with purpose and passion.

5. Provides Structure & Consistency 

Provides Structure and Consistency A standardized onboarding plan ensures consistency in training and expectations, regardless of the department or role. This reduces confusion, minimizes errors, and sets a baseline for performance standards across the organization.

When onboarding is unstructured, new hires often feel lost and unsupported, leading to reduced productivity and higher turnover. Consistent onboarding processes strengthen company culture and boost overall efficiency.

6. Establishes Clear Communication

Channels Effective communication is critical during onboarding. Research shows that poor communication can lead to early employee attrition (Brown, 2024).

A structured onboarding plan establishes open lines of communication from the start, including regular check-ins, feedback loops, and access to resources. This proactive approach not only helps address issues early but also builds trust and engagement, leading to greater retention and performance

How to Create an Effective Onboarding Plan

1. Preboarding: Start Before Day One

Send a welcome pack, share an introductory email, and set up logins and equipment before the new hire’s first day. This creates a warm and professional first impression.

2. Provide a Structured Schedule

Outline the first week, month, and quarter for new employees. Include training sessions, team introductions, and key deliverables to set clear expectations.

3. Assign a Buddy or Mentor

Pairing new hires with a buddy helps them integrate socially and provides a go-to person for questions, easing the transition into the new role.

4. Offer Role-Specific Training

Ensure your onboarding plan includes job-specific training to boost competence and confidence in new hires. This training should cover tools, software, processes, and best practices.

5. Set Goals and Milestones

Help new hires understand their performance objectives and what success looks like in their role. Regularly review progress and celebrate milestones to reinforce achievement.

6. Gather Feedback and Iterate

An onboarding plan should be dynamic. Collect feedback from new hires to identify gaps and areas for improvement, ensuring your onboarding process evolves over time.

Take The Next Step.

A well-executed onboarding plan is not just a nice-to-have—it’s a strategic necessity for businesses looking to scale with purpose. It ensures new hires are not only integrated smoothly but also set up for long-term success, contributing positively to the company culture and bottom line.

Through our recruitment arm ScaleX Talent Solutions, we have created the ultimate method for you as a leader to assess your recruitment and onboarding strategies with our Recruitment Benchmark tool. This free assessment will provide valuable insights into how your onboarding plan, as well as 9 other core aspects of recruitment such as employee branding, contracts and more measure up and where improvements can be made.

Click here to get started and evaluate how your recruitment processes line-up with the best practices.

Bibliography

6 Reasons Why You Need An Onboarding Plan For New Hires.

When hiring new talent, most businesses focus on recruitment but often overlook the critical step…