How to choose the right employee onboarding software

Onboarding is one of your company’s most essential processes. Why? It sets the tone for your employees’ entire tenure. It gives them a sense of belonging and purpose, ensures they’re properly trained for their role, and communicates your company’s culture and values early on.

If your onboarding tools for new employees aren’t helping you to connect new hires with the resources and training they need to thrive, you’ll soon discover your turnover rate is much higher than it should be.

20% of employee turnover happens within the first 45 days of employment. That’s why designing a comprehensive and effective onboarding program is crucial. It should be about more than just paperwork and processes — this is where new hire training software can come in handy.

The right HR onboarding solutions streamline the entire process for both HR personnel and new hires. Best of all, modern hiring and onboarding software can be customized to meet the needs of a growing business. This means you can leverage the benefits of automation while providing a personalized experience for each new hire.

Why do employee onboarding systems matter? What questions should you ask before investing in an employee onboarding platform? What’s the best onboarding tool on the market?

Let’s begin to answer these questions.

Why your employee onboarding system matters

Consider your organization’s current onboarding tool and process. How does it align with what you’d want to experience if you were hired at your company today?

If your employees start on the wrong foot, you can bet their experience will be an uphill battle. However, a well-designed onboarding process sets the stage for success and clears the way for higher employee satisfaction and retention rates.

Yet many companies struggle to build, implement, and maintain employee onboarding solutions that make a long-term difference.

While some organizations may view onboarding as a mere formality, a well-designed employee onboarding system can significantly impact employee engagement, retention, and overall organizational success.

Makes a Positive First Impression

The employee onboarding process sets the tone for a new employee's experience with the organization. A well-structured onboarding program helps create a positive first impression, making new hires feel welcomed and valued. It establishes a sense of belonging and fosters a strong initial connection with the company, increasing the likelihood of long-term engagement and commitment.

Increases Productivity and Performance

A robust onboarding system ensures that new employees clearly understand their roles, responsibilities, and performance expectations from the beginning. By providing comprehensive training and resources, organizations can accelerate the learning curve and enable new hires to contribute to the team's productivity faster.

Fills Skill Gaps

The best onboarding tools identify where improvements need to be made. Self-assessments are one way to expose skill gaps and compare current skills against job requirements or future career goals. Once identified, the platform can recommend relevant training to help fill these gaps, allowing for targeted skill development.

Improves Employee Engagement and Retention

Studies have consistently shown that effective onboarding programs contribute to higher employee engagement and retention levels. By investing in a structured onboarding process, organizations demonstrate their commitment to their employees' success, fostering a sense of loyalty and job satisfaction.

Reduces Time and Cost

A streamlined onboarding program saves time and reduces costs associated with employee turnover. Effective onboarding enables new hires to quickly acclimate to their roles, minimizing the time and resources needed for extensive supervision and training. It also reduces the likelihood of early employee departures, which can be costly.

Enhances Employer Branding

An organization's onboarding process can significantly impact its employer brand. A positive onboarding experience creates advocates within the organization who are more likely to speak positively about their employer to others. This, in turn, helps attract top talent and enhances the organization's reputation as an employer of choice.

22 questions to ask before investing in onboarding tools for new employees

A powerful employee onboarding platform gives your company a leg up when onboarding new hires. However, with many solutions on the market, finding the best onboarding tool can feel like an endless search.

Before you invest in new hire training software, consider the following:

1. What are the key objectives and goals we want to achieve with our employee onboarding process?
2. What are the pain points or challenges we currently face with our existing onboarding process?
3. What specific features and functionalities are we looking for in an employee onboarding tool?
4. How user-friendly and intuitive is the new hire onboarding tool's interface?
5. Is the employee onboarding system customizable to suit our organization's unique needs and branding?
6. What’s the scalability of the onboarding tool? Can it accommodate our organization's growth and changing requirements?
7. Does the HR onboarding solution integrate well with our existing systems?
8. What type of content and resources can the onboarding tool support? Can it handle various formats like videos, documents, quizzes, and interactive modules?
9. Does the onboarding tool focus on building skills and identifying gaps?
10. Does the tool support manager coaching to provide continuous feedback loops and practice opportunities to measure progress over time?
11. Does the onboarding tool provide analytics and reporting capabilities to track the progress and effectiveness of the onboarding process?
12. How does the onboarding tool facilitate communication and collaboration between new hires, HR personnel, and other stakeholders?
13. What level of technical support and customer service does the onboarding tool provider offer?
14. What’s the cost structure, including any licensing fees, implementation costs, or ongoing maintenance expenses?
15. Are there any security measures in place to protect sensitive employee data?
16. Can the onboarding tool support remote onboarding and virtual training, if needed?
17. What is the track record and reputation of the onboarding tool provider? Are there any case studies or customer testimonials available?
18. Have we sought feedback or recommendations from other organizations?
19. How does the onboarding tool align with our organization's values, culture, and employee experience goals?
20. What’s the expected timeline for implementation and integration of the onboarding tool into our existing processes?
21. What’s the onboarding tool's roadmap for future updates and enhancements?
22. What’s the return on investment (ROI) we can expect from implementing this employee onboarding solution?

These questions can help guide the evaluation and decision-making process when considering the best software for onboarding.

Take our new hire training software for a spin

Ready to demo the best new hire training software? Meet Spoke® – an LMS that makes new employee onboarding a breeze.

• Customizable: Spoke® offers extensive customization options, allowing organizations to tailor the onboarding experience to their specific HR requirements.
• Personalized: Create personalized learning paths within Spoke® that deliver relevant content to new hires based on their career aspirations, skill gaps, or job requirements.
• User-friendly: The intuitive interface of Spoke® ensures easy navigation, enabling learners to focus on skill development without unnecessary complexities.
• Social: Spoke® fosters social and collaborative learning by facilitating knowledge sharing, question-asking, and peer support among learners.
• Supportive: With Spoke®'s coaching capabilities, learners receive a continuous loop of feedback from managers to enhance their learning journey.
• Secure: Spoke® leverages the robust security features of Microsoft and Amazon clouds, ensuring enterprise-level data protection.
• Scalable: Designed for long-term usage, Spoke® can adapt to the evolving requirements of businesses, accommodating growth and changes seamlessly.
• Measurable: Spoke® enables managers and learners to set individual development goals and track progress over time with intuitive reporting features.

Request a demo of Spoke® and ask about our custom onboarding training solutions.