Onboarding is more than just paperwork and introductions. It’s the foundation for long-term success. A well-structured employee onboarding process helps new employees feel welcomed, understand their roles, and quickly become productive members of your team. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the key steps to create an effective employee onboarding process flow.
What is the Employee Onboarding Process
The employee onboarding process is the series of steps and activities to help newly hired employees be integrated into an organization. It is an important step in the employee lifecycle and involves activities designed to help the new employee adapt to their new role, understand the company culture, and become productive as quickly as possible. Effective onboarding can have a significant impact on an employee’s job satisfaction, performance, and long-term retention.
How to Run the Onboarding Process in HR
Step 1: Preboarding
Onboarding should begin as soon as an offer is accepted to boost engagement and set the stage for success. Pre-boarding which includes welcome kits, team intros, and early check-ins help build excitement, ease anxiety, and keep momentum. Use Creately’s employee onboarding checklist to map out the pre & onboarding process steps, assign owners, and track readiness in real time.
Step 2: Creating a Memorable First Day Experience
The first day shapes the onboarding experience. A warm welcome, clear goals, and team introductions foster confidence, while office tours and leadership greetings help new hires feel at home. Make sure the first day schedule includes,
- 9:00 AM : Welcome briefing and HR overview.
- 9:30 AM : Office tour and facility introductions.
- 10:15 AM : Workstation setup with IT support.
- 11:00 AM : Team meet-and-greet and mentor introduction.
- 12:00 PM : Team lunch with direct manager.
- 1:00 PM : Orientation on tools and systems.
- 2:30 PM : Culture workshop and values discussion.
- 4:00 PM : First-day objectives review and Q&A.
- 5:00 PM : Wrap-up and feedback survey.
Step 3: Provide a Clear Orientation
Begin with a structured orientation session where you explain the company’s mission, values, key achievements and culture. This helps new hires understand the bigger picture and feel connected to the organization from the start. Use one of Creately’s company timeline or profile templates to present this visually.
Step 4: Set clear expectations
Clearly define the new hire’s role, goals, and success metrics to set expectations from the start. Share essential policies and procedures to guide their behavior and decisions. Use an org chart to show where they fit in the team, including responsibilities, contacts, and reporting lines—helping them quickly understand their place and collaborators.
Step 5: Provide Training
The next step of the employee onboarding process flow includes targeted training to help new hires become productive in their roles. This may include hands-on training, online courses, or shadowing experienced colleagues. Use flowcharts or process maps to visually explain workflows and accelerate understanding.
Step 6: Grant Access to Resources
Ensure new employees have access to resources to continue learning and growing. Some of these might be company policies, HR policies, process manuals, leave policies etc. Use a knowledge map to access all these internal and external resources for the onboarding of new employees.
Step 7: Assign a Mentor and Have Ongoing Check-ins
Assign a mentor or buddy to support the new hire during their initial weeks—someone they can turn to for guidance. Pair this with regular check-ins to encourage open communication, gather feedback, and ensure they feel supported throughout the onboarding journey. Use a Kanban board to schedule and track regular check-ins. Coaching sessions could be structured using a GROW Model template.
Step 8: Support Growth and Celebrate Success
Monitor the new hire’s progress through regular follow-ups, offering feedback and adjusting support as needed to keep them on track. Celebrate key milestones like completing their first project or reaching 30/60/90-day goals to recognize achievements, boost morale, and reinforce their value to the team.
Step 9: Continue Support Beyond Onboarding
The employee onboarding process should extend past the first few weeks and evolve into a long-term support and development journey. Use regular check-ins, such as quarterly reviews, to assess progress and set new goals. Use Creately’s career path template to visually map growth opportunities, skill milestones, and role progressions, helping employees see a clear future within the organization.
Step 10: Use Creately’ AI-Powered Onboarding Template
Streamline your entire onboarding workflow using Creately’s AI employee onboarding template. You can automatically generate onboarding plans tailored to roles, teams, or departments with a simple prompt. This intelligent template helps you reduce manual effort, maintain consistency, and adapt quickly to any onboarding process flow at scale.
Benefits of a New Employee Onboarding Process
Improves Employee Retention
An effective onboarding process in HR helps new hires feel connected and supported, which reduces turnover and keeps valuable talent within the company.
Increases Productivity
When employees understand their roles and responsibilities from the start, they can contribute more quickly, boosting overall productivity.
Enhances Company Culture
The onboarding process introduces recruits to the company’s values and culture, helping them align with the organization’s mission and work well with their teams.
Reduces Learning Curves
A well-structured onboarding workflow provides clear guidance and resources, helping employees adapt faster and reducing the time it takes to get up to speed.
Boosts Employee Engagement
Engaged employees are more motivated and committed to their work. Onboarding fosters this engagement by making new hires feel valued and prepared.
Ensures Compliance and Consistency
Onboarding ensures that all employees receive the same essential information, ensuring compliance with company policies and legal requirements.
Builds Confidence in New Hires
A well-designed series of onboarding process steps gives new employees the tools and knowledge they need to feel confident and capable in their new roles.
Free Onboarding Process Examples
Helpful Resources for Onboarding
Learn what employee onboarding is, why it's important and how to do it.
Learn how to make remote employee onboarding efficient through best practices.
Use Creately’s AI-powered Employee Onboarding Template to streamline your onboarding process.
FAQs About the Employee Onboarding Process
Is there a difference between ‘employee onboarding’ and ‘onboarding in HR’?
Yes. While often used interchangeably, they have different focuses:
- Employee Onboarding is the new hire’s journey from offer acceptance to becoming a productive team member. It covers training, access setup, and culture integration.
- Onboarding in HR refers to how HR designs and manages the onboarding process, ensuring compliance, automating tasks, coordinating teams, and tracking success.
How long does the onboarding process typically last?
How can I create an onboarding plan that suits my company’s needs?
How can I ensure that new employees feel welcome and included in the company culture?
How can I measure the success of my employee onboarding process?
Resources
Cable, Daniel, et al. Reinventing Employee Onboarding. 2013.
Graybill, Jolie O., et al. “Employee Onboarding: Identification of Best Practices in ACRL Libraries.” Library Management, vol. 34, no. 3, 22 Feb. 2013, pp. 200–218, https://doi.org/10.1108/01435121311310897.
Pratiwi, Putu Yudia, et al. “An Analysis of the New Employee Onboarding Process in Startup.” 2018 10th International Conference on Information Technology and Electrical Engineering (ICITEE), July 2018, https://doi.org/10.1109/iciteed.2018.8534884.
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