How to Develop an Employee Onboarding Plan

Getting new hires up to speed starts long before their first day. A clear onboarding plan keeps everyone on track and helps new employees feel welcome right away. Here’s a quick overview of the key steps in building an effective onboarding plan for your company:

• Define the objectives for onboarding and outline what successful onboarding should look like.
• Map out a timeline with key milestones for the first days, weeks, and months.
• Assign roles and responsibilities within your team to make sure nothing falls through the cracks.
• Develop clear documentation and resources so new hires always know where to find answers.
• Design early training activities to build knowledge, confidence, and team relationships.
• Measure progress and adjust the onboarding process based on feedback and results.

Set your new teammates up for success with a plan that welcomes, teaches, and supports from day one.

Build a structured training foundation first.

Read: Step-by-Step Training Plan A clear onboarding plan sets the tone for growth and engagement. In 2025, employees look for workplaces where they feel prepared and valued from the start. A structured approach gives new hires direction, confidence, and a sense of purpose before they even reach their desk.

Teams that invest in onboarding enjoy stronger performance and higher retention. Early organization shows employees that the company is dedicated to their success, which builds trust and reduces turnover. For businesses, this means less wasted time on rehiring and a better return on their training investment.

Build a structured training foundation first. Read: Step-by-Step Training Plan

Recommended Reading: Plan Employee Training Before Onboarding

Preparing your team for success starts before the first day. Designing a reading plan for incoming hires sets the foundation for smooth onboarding and strong engagement. With the right pre-onboarding resources, employees walk in confident, knowing what to expect and how to contribute.

What to Include in a Pre-Onboarding Reading List

A well-organized reading plan covers the essentials without overwhelming your new hire. It introduces your culture, explains workplace standards, and gives a preview of what’s coming next.

Here are key components for an effective pre-onboarding reading list:

• Company Background: Share the company’s story, core values, mission, and vision. This helps new hires understand their impact and how they fit into the bigger picture.
• Policies and Compliance: Provide easy-to-read guides on your main policies, safety instructions, and any legal or compliance training required for their role.
• Role-Specific Details: Include job descriptions, daily workflows, common tools, and expectations so employees know how their day will look.
• Team Introductions: Offer an organization chart or welcome messages from key colleagues. This helps new hires put faces to names and makes it easier to start building relationships.
• Technology and Logistics: Send clear instructions about logging in, setting up devices, and accessing accounts so technical barriers don’t slow anyone down.
• Cultural Onboarding: Highlight company rituals, norms, and communication styles. Even a short video or guide can make your workplace feel inviting.

The Impact of Early Learning Materials

Sharing these materials early provides clear benefits for both new hires and your team:

• New employees feel included before their first day, which eases anxiety and boosts morale.
• People reach productivity sooner, as much of the basic training is out of the way before day one.
• Teams spend less time on repeat questions or troubleshooting basics, which leaves more energy for meaningful work.

This approach shows that preparation and care matter, which leads to happier, more loyal employees in the long run. For even more ideas on how a solid training plan supports a smooth transition, check out this step-by-step employee training development plan: step-by-step employee training development plan.

Quick Example Reading List Table

Below is a sample table summarizing what you might include in your own reading plan:

This combination of resources sets the stage for productive onboarding and lasting employee engagement. It’s all about making sure people feel ready to succeed before they even step into the office.

Key Steps to Build an Effective Employee Onboarding Plan

A structured employee onboarding plan is more than a checklist of tasks. With the right steps at the right time, you can ease new hire nerves, build strong connections, and guide each person toward confident independence. Here’s how to set up a process that turns new hires into productive team members quickly, while making them feel valued from the start.

Start Before Day One: Preboarding Essentials

Preboarding actions are often overlooked, but they set the stage for everything that follows. As soon as a candidate accepts the offer, send a welcome email that shares genuine excitement. This message should let them know you’re prepared for their arrival and outline what’s coming next.

Set up system access early so new hires aren’t left waiting. Provide login details, instructions for email and communication tools, and links to the employee handbook. Share a list of what to bring and when to arrive on their first day. Small steps like these show your organization cares about a smooth transition.

A thoughtful preboarding process does more than fill a gap. It calms first-day anxiety and gives new employees a clear path forward. When folks know what to expect, they walk in ready and excited to start.

Preboarding checklist might include:

• Welcome email with intro video or team photo
• Access to communication apps or intranet
• First-day schedule and where to check in
• Paperwork and benefits information sent digitally

Personalize the Onboarding Experience

Every new hire is different. Make the experience count by tailoring it to each person’s role, location, and whether they’re working remotely or onsite.

Use onboarding checklists and create timelines for key events like training, meetings, and check-ins. Include role-specific content; for example, a sales hire might get product decks while an engineer receives access to code repositories. If your team is remote, offer virtual tours, team intros by video, and clear guidance for digital collaboration.

Easy ways to personalize onboarding:

• Adjust the training path based on department or role
• Offer office maps or virtual tours
• Share role-specific reading materials or videos
• Update timelines for remote versus in-office hires

Meeting people where they are makes them feel seen, not just processed.

Set Clear Goals and 30-60-90 Day Milestones

Clear expectations keep new hires focused and motivated. Outline what success looks like at 30, 60, and 90 days. These checkpoints help everyone see progress and spot hurdles early.

Share a simple timeline that breaks down what to achieve at each stage. For a customer support hire, the first 30 days might be all about learning the product and shadowing calls, while the 60-day mark could shift focus to handling tickets alone. By 90 days, you might expect them to run a shift or handle escalations.

Sample 30-60-90 day milestones:

• 30 days: Complete compliance and team training
• 60 days: Lead small projects or support key clients
• 90 days: Set individual goals and join ongoing team initiatives

Communicate these objectives early and check in to help new hires stay on track.

Embrace Digital Tools for Consistent Delivery

Using onboarding software streamlines the entire experience, from paperwork to tracking progress. A good platform manages forms, assigns training modules, and lets you automate reminders for both the new hire and the team.

Digital tools keep records organized and make feedback easier to collect and analyze. For growing companies, this consistency means you can scale up onboarding without losing quality. Tracking completion rates, scheduling training, and updating course content instantly helps you adjust the process as needed.

Popular digital onboarding features:

• Automated document signing
• Self-paced training modules
• Progress dashboards for HR and managers
• Templates for repeatable onboarding tasks

This approach gives every new hire the same high-quality experience, no matter how fast your team grows.

Assign a Mentor or Buddy

Pairing each new employee with a mentor or buddy accelerates their adjustment. This person serves as a friendly first contact, answers practical questions, and introduces team culture in an informal way.

Mentors can give insight on both work processes and company habits. They help new hires feel included, reinforcing company values and smoothing over social uncertainties. Even in remote teams, this connection can be maintained through regular video chats or instant messaging.

Assigning a buddy keeps new hires from feeling lost in the shuffle. It’s one of the simplest ways to build loyalty right away.

Showcase Company Mission, Values, and Culture Early

Introducing your company’s purpose and culture on day one makes expectations clear. Share a short video about company history or host a session where new hires meet founders or key leaders. Bring in short stories about how your team embodies company values in daily tasks.

Use culture decks, visuals, or even interactive sessions to break down what your core values look like in practice. New hires are more likely to buy in and stay when they feel connected to your mission.

Examples of culture-first onboarding:

• Welcome video from the CEO
• Interactive session on “how we work”
• Employee spotlights highlighting living the values

Schedule Check-Ins and Gather Feedback Often

Regular check-ins with managers or HR help ensure new hires settle in. These can be quick one-on-one meetings at the end of week one, and then bi-weekly or monthly through the first 90 days.

Use surveys or quick pulse polls to capture how new employees feel about their onboarding. Honest feedback helps you fix bottlenecks and update resources for the next group.

Ways to gather ongoing feedback:

• Scheduled feedback sessions after key milestones
• Quick digital surveys (weekly or at 30/60/90 days)
• Anonymous suggestion boxes for honest insights

Routine check-ins and prompt feedback make onboarding feel supportive, not like a box-ticking exercise.

Using Metrics and Feedback to Improve Onboarding

Effective onboarding isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it process. The best plans are flexible and shaped by real experience. Tracking onboarding results and listening to feedback lets you spot what’s working, fix issues, and create a process that feels both welcoming and productive for each new hire.

Why Onboarding Metrics Matter

When you measure onboarding success, you gain real insight instead of relying on guesswork. Tracking key metrics can reveal what parts of onboarding lead to confident, engaged employees and where confusion or frustration might slow things down. Using a few clear measurements means improvements aren’t based on gut instinct, they’re tied to what people actually experience.

Here are some common onboarding metrics to track:

• Time to productivity: How long it takes for new hires to reach expected performance.
• Completion rates for training modules: This highlights where people get stuck or skip resources.
• New hire turnover rates: Spot if certain groups are leaving early, which points to possible onboarding gaps.
• Employee self-assessment scores: Let new team members grade their experience and understanding.

A simple tracking sheet or dashboard can make a huge difference. Reviewing these numbers after each onboarding wave makes it easy to adjust schedules, clarify confusing content, or offer extra support where it’s needed.

Collecting and Using Feedback

Numbers tell part of the story, but real progress comes from listening directly to the people experiencing your onboarding program. New hires see your process with fresh eyes and can point out unclear steps or missing details that veterans overlook.

Try these ways to gather feedback:

• Short surveys after the first week, 30 days, and 90 days
• Quick pulse polls on specific sessions or activities
• One-on-one check-ins with managers or mentors
• Open-ended suggestion forms where people can comment freely

Take their suggestions seriously. Review responses with your HR or onboarding team, look for patterns, and decide which areas need action. Quick fixes (like clearer meeting invites or extra tutorials) build trust and show you value people’s input. More involved changes (such as adjusting your whole training sequence) can be planned for the next onboarding group.

Want to go deeper into how training supports better onboarding and performance? Learn more about the importance of employee training for business.

Making Improvements That Stick

Don’t collect data just for reporting—use it to create a better experience for the next new hire. Share results with department leads so everyone can own a piece of the process. Update resources, change timelines, or add new support sessions based on what you learn.

• Recognize patterns: Are many new hires struggling with the same step? Adjust instructions or add mentor support at that point.
• Celebrate wins: If survey scores for peer mentorship are high, make it a standard part of your plan.
• Close the loop: Let current and future new hires know you act on feedback, which encourages honest input and keeps your process improving.

Every round of onboarding is a chance to sharpen your plan. Over time, this creates a culture where new hires are welcomed, supported, and able to succeed faster. Regular reviews of metrics and feedback keep the process alive and aligned with your company’s evolving needs.

Final Steps: Launching and Adjusting Your Onboarding Plan

The work doesn’t end once your onboarding plan is built on paper. Rolling out your process in the real world takes focus, clear communication, and a willingness to adjust as you go. Launch day is just the beginning, not the finish line. It’s about making sure all the pieces come together smoothly so new hires can thrive right from the start.

Prepare for a Smooth Rollout

Before you launch, review each step of your plan with the team. Check that every document, training, and welcome message is ready and accessible. Make sure managers, mentors, and support staff know their roles and what is expected of them during onboarding. Test digital tools, links, and sign-ins to avoid first-day frustrations.

A launch checklist can keep things organized:

• Confirm schedules and calendar invites for all sessions
• Pre-load all reading materials and resources into your system
• Set up new employee accounts and double-check access
• Schedule reminders for ongoing tasks and check-ins

A strong start sets the tone for the weeks ahead. Organization and clarity help everyone feel confident.

Communicate Early and Often

Keep everyone in the loop as you launch. Announce onboarding dates and the process to both new hires and current staff. Sharing a kickoff email with the onboarding timeline, training modules, and key contacts helps put everyone at ease. Be upfront about what to expect and where to find help if needed.

Use a welcome meeting or video call to bring the team together and introduce new hires. This promotes early connections and encourages open communication. When everyone is on the same page, there’s less confusion and stress.

Monitor Progress in Real-Time

Track onboarding in real-time, not just at the end. Managers should check new hire progress regularly to ensure each step is completed and to catch any issues early. Onboarding platforms and digital dashboards make it easy to see which tasks are done and where someone might need extra support.

Regular check-ins allow you to:

• See who’s on track and who needs help
• Answer questions and clear up confusion quickly
• Adjust timelines if certain steps take more or less time than planned

Your goal is to make adjustments before roadblocks turn into real problems.

Gather Feedback Quickly and Make Small Tweaks

Ask for input right away while the experience is still fresh in everyone’s mind. Send short surveys after each major onboarding activity, and encourage both new hires and trainers to share what worked and what was missing. Even quick informal chats can surface helpful ideas.

Look for patterns in this early feedback. If multiple new hires struggle at the same point, address it in your next session. Small tweaks—like clearer instructions or a re-ordered checklist—can make a big impact.

Be Ready for Bigger Adjustments

Sometimes your plan needs more than a quick fix. As you review progress after the first few weeks, larger adjustments might be needed. This could mean adding extra support sessions, updating outdated materials, or shifting responsibility for certain tasks.

Set a routine review after each onboarding group to look over what went well and where pain points still exist. Keep your process flexible so it can improve with every hire. In time, your onboarding plan will fit your company culture and support all kinds of new employees.

For more ways to develop strong training processes that blend easily with onboarding, take a look at structured tips on step-by-step employee training development.

Celebrate and Communicate Successes

Recognize both big wins and small victories as you launch. Thank everyone who supported onboarding, share stories of new hires who settled in quickly, and spotlight changes that made things smoother. Positive feedback encourages your team to keep looking for ways to improve the process.

Small celebrations—like a welcome lunch or group call—build a sense of belonging and help new employees feel like they’re truly part of the team from day one.

Conclusion

A structured onboarding plan helps new hires feel ready and confident from day one. With clear steps, regular feedback, and ongoing adjustments, you build a process that welcomes people, speeds up their learning, and encourages long-term retention.

Continuous improvement sets great companies apart. Each round of feedback and every metric you track lead to a stronger onboarding program that fits your culture and supports every employee’s growth.

Set the stage for strong performance and loyalty by making onboarding a priority, not an afterthought. When you invest in people from the start, your team and business both see lasting results.

We’ll help you design onboarding journeys that ramp new hires fast in LMS Light. Plan Onboarding with Us

For more on building a high-performing system that reduces onboarding time and improves the learning experience, explore the essential LMS features every organization needs.

For immediate answers to common onboarding questions, visit our FAQ on onboarding with LMSLight.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What Is Employee Onboarding and Why Does It Matter?

Employee onboarding is a planned process that helps new hires understand their role, the team, and the organization’s culture from day one. Onboarding is much more than signing forms or watching a few training videos. It’s a structured journey that starts with preboarding (before the first day), covers training, and supports social connections. The best onboarding plans help people feel like they belong, boosting confidence and job satisfaction.

A clear onboarding plan has real business value:

• Reduces new hire anxiety by mapping out what’s ahead
• Shortens the time to productivity so new teammates can contribute faster
• Improves retention, lowering the cost and hassle of replacing staff

Q: How Long Should a Good Onboarding Program Last?

While some companies think onboarding ends after the first week, top HR practices recommend at least 90 days. Many organizations extend structured onboarding up to six months or even a year, helping employees go from “new and learning” to “confident and independent.”

A breakdown of the most effective timelines:

• First day to first week: Introductions, paperwork, work area setup
• First month: Initial training, role-specific learning, early performance feedback
• 30, 60, and 90 days: Deeper skills building, regular check-ins, and feedback
• Beyond 90 days: Continued mentorship and career development conversations

Q: What Are the 5 C’s of Effective Onboarding?

The 5 C’s framework helps teams cover all parts of onboarding:

1. Compliance: Completing forms and legal paperwork
2. Clarification: Explaining job expectations and responsibilities
3. Culture: Introducing company values and ways of working
4. Connection: Helping people build relationships with peers and leaders
5. Checkback: Following up and gathering regular feedback on the process

Covering each “C” ensures no part of the onboarding experience is overlooked and sets up new hires for lasting success.

Q: What Are the Most Common Onboarding Mistakes?

Even with good intentions, some onboarding programs fall short due to a few common mistakes:

• Sharing too much information at once, overwhelming new hires
• Failing to assign a mentor or buddy for support
• Ignoring cultural integration, so new hires feel left out
• Skipping regular feedback sessions, which leads to missed improvement opportunities
• Not using digital tools to organize tasks and track progress

New hires appreciate when onboarding feels organized, paced, and friendly—not a mad dash or a long to-do list.

Q: How Can Organizations Keep Onboarding Engaging?

Keep onboarding fresh and engaging by adding a personal touch:

• Use welcome kits or small gifts to make people feel valued
• Organize team lunches or virtual socials for casual relationship building
• Provide interactive tutorials, not just manuals, for important digital tools
• Let new hires “shadow” experienced team members or attend different department meetings
• Gamify certain training components to add variety and fun

For more ideas on keeping training and onboarding interactive, read about how to find the best learning platform.

Q: How Should Managers Gather and Use Feedback During Onboarding?

A great onboarding plan always leaves room for improvement. Managers and HR should collect feedback at multiple stages—after the first day, at 30, 60, and 90 days. Use digital surveys, quick check-in calls, and open-ended suggestion forms. Track metrics like completion rates and time to productivity to identify trends.

By listening to new hires early and often, teams can spot and fix small issues before they grow, building trust from the start.

Q: What Should Be Covered on the First Day?

The first day has a big impact; get the essentials right:

• A warm welcome and team introduction
• Role overview and a clear schedule for the day
• Immediate workspace setup (including tech logins and access)
• Walkthrough of key policies and where to get help
• A clear outline of what to expect during the first week