Organizations with a strong onboarding process improve new hire retention by 82% and productivity by over 70%. This means that the better onboarding and training the company has, the more revenue it will generate. While HR plays a crucial role, learning and development (L&D) professionals are uniquely positioned to design and implement onboarding processes that not only integrate new hires but also enhance the company’s brand.

The role of L&D in onboarding is not just about training — it’s about creating a holistic experience that reflects the company’s commitment to employee growth and development. By focusing on effective onboarding strategies, L&D professionals can significantly impact the company’s reputation and appeal to both current and potential employees.

Pre-boarding: Creating the Connection

Proper pre-boarding begins long before the offer is made. The company’s reputation can benefit from the way L&D collaborates with recruiters to communicate with candidates. Being polite, maintaining the flow of the interviews and even communicating the description of the position are all crucial for the company’s reputation.

From the broad pool of candidates who will see the job posting, recruiters shortlist several people. If all communication coming from the company, which is represented by the recruiter, is professional and respectful, even an unsuccessful candidate can ask to keep their CV on file and recommend the company to other job seekers.

L&D professionals already have communication with the potential employee at this stage, so they can enhance the company’s brand during pre-boarding by:

• Welcoming and communicating with new employees prior to their first day to build a sense of belonging.
• Designing comprehensive guides introducing the company and role to set clear expectations.
• Setting up communication channels for new hires to ask questions before day one so they can feel connected to and comfortable with their teams.
• Sharing micro-learning courses to introduce company culture, skills and knowledge.
• Creating a roadmap for new hires beyond the first 90 days to track growth.

Orientation: Fostering a Culture of Learning

Orientation is the process of introducing new employees to the organization, its culture, policies, and their specific roles. It aims to help them acclimate and integrate smoothly into their new work environment. During this introduction, L&D professionals demonstrate the company’s learning culture and unique attributes to new hires.

To save time and mitigate disengagement, streamline the process by housing contracts and papers online, and send some documents prior to the first day. While reading and signing contracts are essential parts of pre-boarding, orientation should be more engaging. The L&D department can enhance this stage by utilizing the full capabilities of the company’s LMS (learning management system). For example, they can transform mundane instructions, such as the fridge policy, into interactive mini-courses with quizzes, or engage new hires with welcome videos featuring messages from the CEO and an introduction to the company’s mission.

During this stage, L&D professionals can optimize orientation by:

• Introducing an LMS for accessing orientation materials and courses.
• Creating interactive modules about company history, values, and policies.
• Pairing new and seasoned employees as a buddy system.
• Organizing interactive meetings to introduce key personnel and departments.
• Providing an easily accessible guide to essential company information.
• Offering a glossary of company-specific terms and acronyms.
• Clarifying performance standards and goals.
• Introducing team-building activities that help new hires connect with their colleagues.
• Outlining potential growth opportunities within the organization.
• Encouraging new hires to engage with the company’s social media.

New Hire Training: Visualizing the Perspective

New hires want to feel like they made the right decision, and use onboarding to gauge whether they think the company is a good fit. According to a Bamboo HR study, 70% of new hires decide if a new job is the right fit for them and almost 30% know within the first week. Also from the report, nearly one-half of new hires regret their decision after the first seven days.

In order to increase employee retention, onboarding must ensure that new hires have the tools and resources they need to win — and this includes having the right skills to generate optimal outcomes. During new hire training, new employee can establish a professional bond with a mentor or coach for personalized professional development. They can shadow a seasoned employee to learn the ropes. And they can also consume bits of learning through micro-videos, job aids or a short course. L&D professionals must provide new hires with a well-organized training experience tailored to their role, including compliance, health and safety and role-specific training.

To strengthen a company’s brand, a successful onboarding experience must:

• Develop comprehensive, role-specific training paths that cover essential skills and knowledge.
• Implement microlearning: Break down complex topics into bite-sized, easily digestible modules.
• Use a mix of eLearning, instructor-led sessions and hands-on practice for a blended onboarding.
• Encourage peer learning, such as knowledge-sharing sessions by experienced team members.
• Make learning resources accessible to all employees.
• Incorporate game-like elements into training to increase engagement and motivation.
• Assess learning outcomes with regular quizzes or practical assessments to gauge knowledge retention.
• Offer training programs based on individual roles, skills and career goals.
• Align training with company goals.
• Encourage continuous learning and curiosity beyond formal training programs.
• Provide training in multiple languages to support diverse workforces.
• Update training content to stay current with the latest developments in relevant fields.

Transition: Becoming an Asset

Studies show that it takes up to 90 days for the new hire to get fully integrated into the company structure and reach 100% productivity. Post training, new employees leave the classroom and step into their role. At this stage, the hope is that the employee is comfortable and motivated to contribute to business success. This is where management steps in.

L&D must train and equip managers to connect with new hires and build a sense of connection and belonging with them. Managers should set up regular check ins and one on ones to ensure new hires have what they need to perform well. They must also continuously engage with their new hires by offering honest and timely feedback, and planning team-building activities. All of this can work together to help new employees feel welcomed and transitioned into their role.

L&D professionals can play a crucial role in this transition period by:

• Conduct regular check-ins: Schedule periodic meetings (e.g., weekly or bi-weekly).
• Facilitate continuous learning through internal workshops, online courses or industry conferences.
• Standardize the employee evaluation process to ensure consistency in across all organizational levels.
• Gather and provide honest employee feedback.
• Plan team-building functions like group learning, lunch, escape room, etc.

Closing

High-quality onboarding is crucial for building a successful company brand, and L&D professionals are key to this process. It involves four stages: pre-boarding, orientation, training and transition. L&D professionals can influence the company’s brand at all onboarding stages by being helpful, engaged and empathetic.

L&D teams should remember that the end consumer of this brand is the employee, both existing and potential. By establishing connections, encouraging learning, and creating a safe space for feedback, L&D professionals can help build a company’s reputation as a place that values employee growth and development — a place no one wants to leave.

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