Employee onboarding statistics for 2022

The employee onboarding experience is an important part of bringing on new hires no matter what organization or industry.

Here are some insightful onboarding statistics for 2022 from our group of executives:

1. The proportion of new hires who say they feel very prepared for their job has increased from 62% in 2020 to 67% in 2021.

2. The number of new hires who say they had a positive onboarding experience has increased from 74% in 2020 to 79% in 2021.

3. The number of organizations using virtual reality (VR) for onboarding has more than doubled from 5% in 2020 to 11% in 2021.

4. The number of organizations using augmented reality (AR) for onboarding has tripled from 3% in 2020 to 9% in 2021.

5. The number of organizations offering remote work options as part of their onboarding process has increased from 41% in 2020 to 54% in 2021.

6. Employees who go through a structured onboarding process are 69% more likely to stay with a company for at least three years.

7. 46% of new hires say they didn’t receive enough information about their job during the onboarding process.

8. 22% of new hires say their managers didn’t have time to meet with them during the first week of their job.

9. 57% of employees say that employer expectations were not made clear to them during onboarding.

10. 82% of organizations believe that improved communication during the onboarding process would lead to better engagement with new hires.

11. Onboarding has reduced their anxiety as new employees for 62% of Gen Z employees (TalentLMS - GenZ Workplace)

12. 62% of Gen Z employees agree that the onboarding they received has equipped them with resources and skills to do their new job well. (TalentLMS - GenZ Workplace)

13. 67% agree that onboarding made them feel welcome and valued in their new company. (TalentLMS - GenZ Workplace)

14. How Gen Zs receive onboarding: In-person onboarding: 55%; Hybrid onboarding: 24%; Virtual onboarding: 21% (EpignosisHQ)

15. 64% of the participating organizations plan to hire significantly in 2022, with manufacturing, retail, healthcare, and pharma sectors with the highest talent demand. (LeenaAI)

16. Due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the onboarding process 86% of organizations indicated that their shift to remote work has been successful or very successful. (LeenaAI)

17. More than 50% of organizations shifted to online applications, virtual hiring & virtual onboarding post-COVID-19. (LeenaAI)

18. 29% of HR professionals say they already started virtual hiring for at least 30% of the open positions, whereas 23% say they are doing almost 50% of the hiring virtually. (LeenaAI)

19. 87% of respondents are “very committed” to adopting AI for a smooth hiring and onboarding process. (LeenaAI)

20. Before their start date, only 26% of new employees recall receiving feedback about the candidate journey and hiring process.

21. An employer who asks for feedback is 91% more likely to build a positive relationship with new employees, reduce turnover, and boost long-term retention.

22. Companies with a well-designed onboarding process experience 50% greater new hire retention.

23. New employees need at least 8 months to become as efficient as their regular coworkers.

24. More than 66% of new employees suggest that one-on-one time with their CMO is a very crucial part of onboarding.

Employee onboarding trends for 2022

An efficient and effective onboarding process for employees is crucial for organizational success and employee retention. The overall theme for these onboarding trends seems to be focusing on the use of AI in learning and development, personalization, and a manager’s involvement.

1. Pre-boarding new hires

Presenting pre-boarding activities piques the interest of future employees in working for our company. We initiate our company's onboarding process by giving candidates the first steps of the onboarding process on a mobile device, sending company merchandise to their homes, or sending motivational text messages. These steps demonstrate our company's willingness to engage with potential employees and our dedication to having them on our team.

Tracy Acker, CEO & Recruiter - GetPayDayLoan

2. Increase in organizations using a full-service digital onboarding solution

The abrupt change to a fully remote working world has been a challenge for HR departments during the pandemic. The transition has been much easier for those that have an integrated digital onboarding solution in place than for others who have had to fully revamp their processes. Small and large businesses will increasingly turn to centralized, digital onboarding software solutions that interface with their existing systems and give HR more control.

Kenny Kline, President & Financial Lead - BarBend

3. Reliance on HR technology

We've had to rely on HR software solutions to assist the employee onboarding process, especially in tracking compliance and providing an engaging onboarding experience to enhance retention. 

Simplify the onboarding experience using pre-boarding, automated workflows, and streamline the onboarding checklist.

Owen Wilcox, Co-founder & HR Manager - USInstallmentLoans

4. New hire onboarding surveys

These new hire surveys have actually really helped our company improve our onboarding process. When you know the ins and outs of a company and have worked there for so long, you lose perspective on what new hires know and don't know, so getting their perspective is really helpful. 

We always ask questions about improvements we could make with our onboarding, what steps/areas are the most confusing, and what was most helpful. Especially when we hire multiple people around the same time period, it is usually easy to see trends in responses, which notifies us of changes that we should make.

Kyle MacDonald, Director of Operations - Force by Mojio

5. AI will change onboarding

Recruiting and employment practices are being digitally transformed by AI chatbots. I believe they're made to respond to frequently asked questions, provide automatic reminders, and alert new recruits to forthcoming training sessions. But it's more than that. It's also easier for new hires to ask typical questions and finish their onboarding at their own pace with a bot rather than a human. This saves time and money while also improving the overall work experience.

With the rise of remote work, unstructured knowledge that needs to be shared might easily go lost. Chatbots are an excellent tool for avoiding common misunderstandings. AI can also be used to gauge employee satisfaction to ensure that onboarding goes smoothly.

‍Paul Somerville, Technical Manager - Electric Scooter Guide

6. Machine learning (ML) in employee onboarding

Machine learning with employee onboarding assists new hires with the paperwork load to make the process less onerous. It also makes training more natural and provides information access based on need. Access to resources can be allowed based on a variety of factors such as personality type, employment level, role,

and a variety of other factors. ML algorithms may simply be used to create accounts, allow access, and answer simple queries, and this transformation has a significant influence on our company.

‍Jon Lynn, CEO & Founder - My Office Pod

7. AI chatbots to streamline employee onboarding

The procedures of remote recruitment and hiring are undergoing a digital transformation that is being driven by AI chatbots. They are intended to provide answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs), send automatic reminders, and inform newly hired employees about future training sessions.

Using a bot rather than a person for recruit onboarding makes it simpler for new employees to ask standard inquiries and finish the process at their speed. This saves time and money and improves the whole experience of working for the company.

‍Jeff Mains, CEO - Champions Leadership Group LLC

8. Prolonged onboarding times

HR experts understand that a lengthier onboarding time results in increased employee retention. Employees stay with their companies longer when they are given assistance, training, and clarity about their jobs. Given the high rate of turnover that most businesses are experiencing right now, expect them to go above and beyond to retain their new personnel.

Longer onboarding periods are connected to higher new hire productivity, in addition to retention. HR experts will continue to push for a standardized onboarding process because of these advantages. Companies may balance onboarding costs with the tremendous ROI we described by investing in HR technologies.

‍Jeffrey Nelson, CEO & Founder - NoLimitsTiming

9. Involvement of managers during the onboarding process

Employees who feel their bosses aren't actively involved in their onboarding are more likely to quit. When managers actively participate in onboarding, employees are more likely to stay in their jobs in 2022. This is especially true when supervisors interact with new workers and discuss opportunities for advancement.

While it may seem obvious that someone would like their job better if they were valued by their boss from the start, this has not always been the case. Traditionally, onboarding has been considered an HR duty. Onboarding will most likely become a collaborative process between HR and management in the future. To ensure a favorable employee experience, managers will likely conduct more regular check-ins throughout onboarding.

‍Brett Qunn, CEO & Founder - Strategy X

10. Displaying opportunities for advancement during onboarding

Employee retention is a terrific trend that many firms are establishing this year by demonstrating to people how their positions may evolve and grow over time. Use the employee onboarding process to provide them with a chronology of how other employees have progressed within the organization, as well as what types of promotions and internal job transfers they'll be eligible for in the future.

Of course, it's hard to anticipate the future and know whether they'll work out, but assisting them in forming an image in their minds of long-term employment with the company can help generate an emotional connection. People are more likely to work instinctively to achieve their goals when they can see a future for themselves, making career planning both a pep talk and a legitimate plan.

‍Matthew Daily, Managing Director - Tiger Financial

11. Implement a mentoring program for new hires

No amount of employee onboarding programs will be effective if you can not help these new hires feel like team members. Providing them with a position within the organization enables them to comprehend how their work affects others and advances the organization. 

Having a mentor program is a great way for many businesses to achieve this. This program successfully onboards new employees by pairing them with employees who have been with the organization for several years. You should ensure that their mentor enjoys working for the company and has a positive outlook on what the employees must accomplish. 

Without careful pairing, you may send the wrong message to new hires. Seeing the work through the eyes of someone who has been doing it for a few years can be motivating for new employees who aspire to achieve the same level of expertise.

‍Shaun Connell, Founder - Rental Property Calculator

12. Diversity, equity, and inclusion onboarding sessions

Diversity makes organizations more creative, efficient, and productive-- which is why onboarding programs are now beginning to have more of a major focus on it. Employees take part in diversity training, equity, and inclusion onboarding sessions, are linked to resources that explain the company's commitment to DEI, and are encouraged to be themselves at work. 

Organizations are also working to provide more check-ins and mentor structures for their new hires in order to foster a sense of acceptance and inclusivity.

‍Adam Rossi, CEO - TotalShield

13. Inclusive onboarding programs

We are collectively smarter, more creative, and more conscientious as a result of our diversity. It is due to the hiring processes that are used, but the majority of onboarding programs concentrate on how quickly employees can begin contributing. Even while time-to-productivity is the statistic that the vast majority of HR professionals choose to monitor because of its convenience, onboarding should be focused on employees' long-term productivity.

Furthermore, inclusive orientation sessions are a great tool for accomplishing this goal. I would recommend that you put newly hired employees through a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) onboarding training and ask them to participate in internal forums where they may talk about important problems.

‍Sahil Kakkar, CEO - Rankwatch

14. Individualization of the onboarding process

Personalization is an onboarding approach that can increase an employee's productivity. Choose a variety of techniques, such as creating workflows, to assist them in acquiring the necessary knowledge to be effective in their new position.

Additional examples of personalization include a film depicting an employee's typical day and a guide to achieving success while working for your corporation.

‍Christopher Pappas, CEO - eLearning Industry

15. Comprehensive guided onboarding

A personalized onboarding plan is prepared for each new hire. Onboarding training is based on self-learning with daily one-to-ones with experienced colleagues, during which new hires get familiar with their daily tasks, main workflows, frequently used tools, and more.

‍Vladimir Stepuro, HR Director - ScienceSoft

16. Custom onboarding guides for organizations

Something more companies are doing (including PandaDoc) is creating a unique onboarding guide that is catered to the incoming employee’s experience, position, goals, and more. I think the proper onboarding guide should have a template but can be catered to depending on the person, their position, and the current position the company is in.

Companies should work hard to update their onboard guide, keep tweaking it, and personalize it as needed so the employee is presented with the best information to prosper and step right into their position.

‍Yauhen Zaremba, Dir. of Demand Gen. - PandaDoc

17. Onboarding checklist of high-priority HR tasks

When onboarding a largely remote workforce, it’s critical you ensure everyone is on the same page–literally. Consider creating an onboarding checklist, featuring, most importantly, in-depth training on all apps, systems, and programs that you use. After all, investing in these fancy new technologies only pay off when they’re actually leveraged to their fullest potential.

‍Greg Gillman, Chief Revenue Officer - Mutesix

The overlapping themes for employee onboarding in 2022

After parsing through these onboarding trends and statistics, the top themes for 2022 based on the executive's perspective are:

• Manager inclusion during onboarding sessions
• Inclusivity of new hires during and after onboarding
• Shifting to remote hiring and onboarding
• AI improving the onboarding process
• Collecting feedback from employees about their onboarding experience
• Onboarding plays a vital role in employee success
• Personalized onboarding techniques

These make perfect sense as employees need to feel welcomed, included, and set up for success. When the HR team and executive members are present during onboarding, employees know their managers are there to connect and build a relationship.