What is onboarding software?
💡 Onboarding software
Onboarding software is technology designed to streamline and automate the process of bringing new hires into an organization
The goal of onboarding software is to provide a smooth transition experience as employees adjust to their new roles and get up to speed quickly and efficiently.
Effective onboarding is crucial for several reasons:
- It reduces time-to-productivity so new hires reach full speed faster
- It improves employee retention by providing a positive first impression of the company
- It ensures consistency in training across roles and departments
- It enhances engagement and connection to the company mission
Some key features of onboarding software include:
- Automated workflows to guide new hires through required tasks like paperwork, training, and introductions
- Digital repositories for company policies, manuals, and resources
- Tools for personalized onboarding (like interactive checklists)
- Built-in surveys and quizzes to test knowledge
- Analytics dashboards to monitor progress and engagement
With dedicated onboarding software, organizations can create structured programs that align to their specific needs. This leads to a smoother assimilation process for new employees.
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Benefits of using onboarding software
Onboarding software provides numerous benefits for organizations looking to improve their onboarding processes. Some of the key benefits include:
⏩ Streamlined and efficient onboarding process
Onboarding software automates and streamlines manual paperwork and tasks associated with onboarding. This ensures a smooth and efficient onboarding experience for new hires.
Features like workflows, task lists, and reminders help manage the onboarding process from start to finish. New hires can complete tasks, fill forms, and submit documents online through a centralized platform. This eliminates delays and bottlenecks commonly associated with paper-based onboarding.
😍 Improved employee engagement and retention
Onboarding software leads to better employee engagement and retention. It provides new hires a personalized onboarding experience and makes them feel valued from day one.
Interactive training modules, peer networking features, and integrations with collaboration tools gives new recruits the resources they need to ramp up faster. This leads to greater job satisfaction, engagement, and higher retention rates.
🎓 Consistent and standardized training
Onboarding software enables organizations to deliver consistent and standardized training across locations and departments.
With onboarding software, onboarding training content and modules can be centrally created and updated. Automated training assignment ensures new hires receive relevant training in a timely way. Quizzes and assessments can also be built-in to evaluate learning. This results in harmonized onboarding and training processes across the organization.
Types of onboarding software
Onboarding software can be used for various types of onboarding processes:
Employee onboarding
Employee onboarding software helps companies onboard new hires. It streamlines the process of welcoming new employees and getting them adjusted to their roles and the company culture.
Key features of employee onboarding software include:
- New hire paperwork and digitizing HR documents
- Assigning training content and tracking completion
- Scheduling and managing onboarding tasks and activities
- Facilitating collaboration with managers, mentors, and colleagues
- Delivering company information through interactive portals
Contractor/vendor onboarding
Contractor and vendor onboarding software enables organizations to efficiently onboard external partners. It helps provide contractors, freelancers, consultants, and vendors access to the information and tools they need.
Features of this type of onboarding software include:
- Automating non-disclosure agreements and legal paperwork
- Providing access credentials and system logins
- Communicating policies, procedures, and guidelines
- Scheduling contractor training and assigning tasks
- Facilitating collaboration and communication with internal teams
Customer onboarding
Customer onboarding software assists companies with onboarding new clients or customers. It helps deliver a great first impression and sets up customers for success.
Key capabilities of customer onboarding software include:
- Automated account setup and configuration
- Self-guided product tours and interactive tutorials
- Personalized content recommendations and journey mapping
- Ongoing tips, tricks, and best practices
- Email drips and targeted communications
- Integration with support and service platforms
Top employee onboarding software
Best for Corporate Employees: BambooHR
BambooHR offers a comprehensive suite that allows HR to manage all onboarding tasks from a single platform.
Key features include:
- Automated workflows to streamline the onboarding process
- Customizable new-hire checklists and forms
- Electronic signatures for compliance and legal documents
- Learning management system integration for employee training
Best for Deskless Workers: Oneteam
Oneteam is an easy-to-use mobile-first app designed for deskless workers that simplifies the onboarding process.
Our onboarding features include:
- Collaborative communication features to build team culture
- Customizable onboarding programs tailored to specific departments and onboarding goals
- Built-in surveys to gauge employee satisfaction in real-time
- Instant and secure document sharing
- Integration with HR tools, including payroll and compliance tracking
Best for Employee Growth: Cegid Talentsoft
Cegid Talentsoft provides personalized onboarding experiences that cater to individual growth and development needs.
Key features include:
- Flexible onboarding workflows and digital assistants
- Gamified assessments and surveys to gauge employee engagement
- Coaching and mentoring programs to support employee development
- Personalized learning content to develop employee skills
Best for Customization: SAP SuccessFactors
SAP SuccessFactors offers tailor-made onboarding solutions for organizations with complex onboarding processes and unique employee groups.
Key features include:
- Modular onboarding programs that integrate with different HR modules
- Dynamic content creation tools to build custom onboarding programs
- Collaboration tools to facilitate onboarding tasks between different departments
- Mobile-friendly platform for remote onboarding
Best for Global Onboarding: HR Cloud
HR Cloud is a cloud-based onboarding platform designed for companies with globally distributed teams.
Key features include:
- Customizable templates tailored to comply with varying region-specific employment laws
- Dynamic translations to support different languages and dialects
- Integration with background checks and verification services in multiple countries
- Collaborative tools for HR managers and onboarding teams across the globe
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How to choose the right employee onboarding software
Choosing the right onboarding software is crucial for ensuring a smooth and effective onboarding process for your incoming employees.
Here are some key considerations when selecting employee onboarding software:
1. Assess your organization's needs and requirements
- Understand your current onboarding workflows: Identify pain points and bottlenecks in your existing onboarding process to determine areas for improvement.
- Identify must-haves vs. nice-to-haves: Prioritize key features such as custom branding, mobile access, compliance management, and other specific functionalities required for your organization.
- Consider different user types: Whether you’re onboarding office-based or frontline employees, understand what each user type needs from the software to navigate the onboarding process effectively.
- Factor in organization size and structure: Larger or more complex organizations may require more advanced onboarding software with additional features and integrations.
- Define onboarding goals and KPIs: Choose software that provides relevant analytics and reporting capabilities to measure the success of your onboarding process.
2. Evaluate software capabilities and integrations
Once you have assessed your organization's needs and requirements, the next step is to evaluate the capabilities and integrations of different onboarding software options.
- Research and compare: Explore different onboarding software options and compare their capabilities side-by-side to narrow down based on your organization's specific needs.
- Integration with existing systems: Consider the ease of integrating the onboarding software with your existing HRIS, LMS, ATS, and other relevant systems for a seamless flow of data and information.
- Customization and configuration: Assess the level of customization and configuration available in the software to tailor it according to your organization’s unique onboarding workflows.
- Training resources and support: Review available training resources, support, and implementation services to ensure a smooth adoption and integration process for your team.
- Compliance and regulations: Confirm that the software keeps pace with compliance needs and regulations specific to your industry and location.
3. Consider user experience and ease of use
User experience and ease of use are crucial factors when selecting onboarding software. The software should not only be intuitive for administrators who will be managing the onboarding process but also for the end-users who will be going through the onboarding experience.
Here are a few factors to consider when doing that:
- Interface and usability: Demo the software from both administrative and end-user perspectives to ensure that the interface is intuitive and user-friendly.
- Learning curve and training requirements: Evaluate the learning curve associated with the software and determine the amount of training required for proficiency.
- Accessibility and mobility: Consider accessibility on desktop and mobile devices to allow users to onboard from anywhere, at any time.
- Engaging content and gamification: Review any built-in gamification or engaging content that can enhance the onboarding experience, leading to higher adoption and participation rates.
- Localization and language support: If you’re a global organization, check that the software is translated into all necessary languages to ensure a consistent user experience across different regions.
Best practices for successful onboarding software implementation
The key to successfully implementing and adopting new onboarding software is to have a thoughtful change management and user adoption strategy. This ensures that administrators, managers, and new hires embrace the technology and use it effectively.
Here are some best practices to effectively implement and adopt onboarding software:
Get executive buy-in and communicate benefits
To ensure successful implementation of onboarding software, it's essential to secure executive buy-in and effectively communicate the benefits across the organization.
Executives' support will facilitate the allocation of resources and the necessary backing for the onboarding software initiative.
Assemble a cross-functional project team
Creating a cross-functional project team that includes members from HR, IT, managers, and end-users is crucial for successful onboarding software implementation.
This diverse team will bring different perspectives and expertise to the table, facilitating a comprehensive and effective implementation process.
Set clear goals, metrics, and timelines
Setting clear and measurable goals, metrics, and timelines for the rollout of onboarding software is pivotal for tracking progress and ensuring accountability. This ensures that everyone involved understands the expected outcomes and the timeline for achieving them.
Start with a limited pilot group
Before rolling out onboarding software across the entire organization, it's beneficial to start with a limited pilot group. This allows for testing, refinement, and identification of any potential issues in a controlled environment before expanding the initiative organization-wide.
Automate integrations with core systems
Automating integrations with core HR, payroll, and IT systems ensures seamless data transfer and reduces the likelihood of errors. This integration streamlines processes and provides a more cohesive user experience.
Provide training and support resources
Offering comprehensive training and support resources for all user levels is essential for successful onboarding software implementation. This ensures that everyone understands how to use the software effectively and can maximize its benefits.
Continuously gather user feedback
Continuous gathering of user feedback is imperative for ongoing improvement of the onboarding software. This feedback loop allows for the identification of areas that need enhancement and ensures that the software remains aligned with user needs and expectations.
How to measure the success of onboarding software
When implementing new onboarding software, it's crucial to measure its effectiveness and impact on your organization. This allows you to optimize the onboarding process and demonstrate the value of your technology investment.
There are a few key ways to track the success of onboarding software:
🎯 Set KPIs and metrics
Define quantitative metrics aligned to your onboarding goals to measure over time.
Examples include:
- Time to productivity: How long it takes new hires to reach full productivity. The onboarding software should decrease this.
- Training completion rates: Percentage of required training completed within the first month on the job. Aim for 100%.
- New hire retention after 30/60/90 days: High retention means effective onboarding. Benchmark against historical averages.
- New hire satisfaction scores: Survey new hires on the onboarding experience. High scores indicate positive impact.
💬 Collect and analyze user feedback
Gather quantitative and qualitative feedback through surveys, interviews, and focus groups. Ask about:
- Overall onboarding experience with the software
- Most useful features and areas for improvement
- Adoption challenges and suggestions
Look for trends and actionable insights. Feedback should guide ongoing optimization.
🔁 Continuous improvement and optimization
Use KPIs, metrics, and feedback to refine the onboarding process. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
- Identify adoption challenges and adjust training
- Improve support resources for users and administrators
- Streamline complicated workflows and enhance user experience
- Add new features and functionality based on feedback
Regularly review this data and user perspectives to continually improve.
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Future trends in onboarding software
Onboarding software is rapidly evolving to leverage new technologies like artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and advanced personalization algorithms.
Here are some of the key trends shaping the future of onboarding solutions:
🤖 Artificial Intelligence and machine learning integrations
AI and machine learning are allowing onboarding platforms to deliver more customized and adaptive experiences. Software can better analyze user behaviors and preferences to tailor onboarding checklists, training content, and recommendations for each new hire.
Chatbots with natural language capabilities can answer common questions and be available 24/7 as virtual onboarding assistants.
👓 Virtual and Augmented Reality for immersive training
VR simulations can allow new hires to practice skills in an immersive, risk-free environment. AR overlays can provide on-the-job guidance and performance support. These technologies make training more engaging, effective, and tailored to different learning styles.
🫶 Personalized and adaptive onboarding experiences
Advanced algorithms enable onboarding software to build personalized onboarding journeys for each user. For example, the system can assess the new hire's background, role, and preferences to deliver relevant content while skipping over the irrelevant parts. Checklists and training modules can adapt in real-time based on the user's progress. This level of personalization will be key for onboarding the diverse workforces of the future.
The onboarding software landscape will continue to evolve rapidly. Organizations looking to maximize new hire success should keep an eye on these innovations and how they can be integrated into their onboarding processes. The next generation of solutions promises onboarding experiences that are intelligent, immersive, and personalized.
Onboarding software FAQs
Want to learn more about employee onboarding software? Here are our expert answers to your frequently questions about onboarding software:
How much does onboarding software cost?
Pricing varies greatly depending on the solution, number of users, and features. Many vendors offer customized quotes.
For example, if you’re considering Oneteam for your onboarding needs, you can see an overview of our pricing on our website.
Is onboarding software secure?
Reputable solutions invest heavily in data security and compliance and will typically detail these on their website (for instance, you can find our security and compliance policy here). Look for information about encryption, permissions controls, and audit trails.
How long does onboarding software implementation take?
With proper planning, onboarding software can be up and running in 2-4 weeks. Complex integrations may take longer.
What training and support is included?
Vendors typically provide administrator training, user guides/tutorials, live support, and knowledge bases.
How customizable is onboarding software?
Look for open APIs, integration capabilities, and configuration options to tailor the platform.
How is data migrated into the onboarding software system?
Vendors can assist with data migration and setting up integrations during implementation.
Where can I find more resources on onboarding software?
If you’re looking for more information about specific onboarding software, here are some resources to consider:
- Vendor websites provide product info, demos, case studies, and whitepapers
- Analyst reports from Gartner, Forrester, and IDC provide independent insights
- Onboarding software review sites like Capterra, GetApp, and Software Advice have user ratings and comparisons
- Join LinkedIn groups or follow vendors on social media for community insights
- Attend HR technology conferences and events to connect with experts
- Hire an onboarding software consultant to advise on selection and implementation
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