Whether you call it Onboarding, Induction, Enculturation, or New Employee Orientation (NEO), the process used to welcome and train your new employees while capturing their excitement of a new job and reducing their new job jitters is critical to their success. NEO is not a one-day event, but rather a process that begins after their acceptance of the job and extends through the first year of their employment. Studies show that the new arrival's primary concerns are three things--my job, my boss, and my coworkers.  Dealing with new employee jitters and uncertainties is a high priority in orientation programs. How long this mental mayhem lasts may depend a great deal on employee orientation. It’s been said that new hires have about 90 days to “prove” themselves in their new workplace. According to the Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM), 500,000 Fortune 500 managers change jobs every year while, overall, managers change jobs every 2–4 years. Non-management employees may change jobs even more frequently. The process of orienting new employees to their new position, their new work environment, and their new colleagues takes time, and if not done effectively, the new hire leaves and goes elsewhere. Onboarding is the process that welcomes and integrates the new hire into their new position and workplace so they become engaged and committed to their role in assisting the organization in reaching its mission. Onboarding is a strategy and a process that extends well beyond the first day on the job. It is a critical process to get the new hire off and running in their new environment, their new position, and with new colleagues enabling them to enjoy their work and their employer. Onboarding needs to include fun activities, using “buddies” to streamline the new hire’s experience, beginning from the point of the job offer. It is one of the most important elements an employer should invest in.

A comprehensive Onboarding process plays a pivotal role in catalyzing your new hire’s engagement into their new role, responsibilities, and the organization. The new employee reaches productivity a full 2 months sooner, functions as a team member quicker, less likely to quit, and more likely to be an active member of the organization. All of this equates to huge financial savings on the part of the organization. By 45 days after a new employee begins their job, 20% quit! By 7 months, 50% have quit. Forty-six percent of new hires fail within 18 months, and only 19% achieve success. The exodus of these new hires costs the employer approximately 20% of each employee’s salary.  Considering the percentage of employees who never engage with their new job – the costs are enormous. If those employees engaged, research shows that the stock value will have higher earnings per share, and the business will experience 22% higher profitability, 21% higher productivity, 10% higher customer engagement, 25% to 65% lower turnover, 37% lower absenteeism, 28% lower shrinkage (theft), and 48% fewer staff safety incidents.