12 Employee Onboarding Statistics
Written by Backlinko Team
The importance of comprehensive onboarding cannot be overstated, as it plays a crucial role in the long-term success of new employees and organizations’ productivity.
Ineffective onboarding experience may lead to increased turnover rates and damage the employer brand and its business bottom line.
What’s the state of employee onboarding in 2024? In this blog post, you’ll find recent statistics, where we’ll uncover the importance of employee onboarding, how employees feel about their onboarding experience, and cover some insights about the use of AI in onboarding processes.
Employee Onboarding Statistics
70% of employees think that the onboarding process can significantly impact a new hire’s experience (Paychex)
A significant 70% of employees hold the view that the onboarding process is crucial in impacting a new hire’s experience.
66% of employees say they had an official onboarding program at their organization (Talmundo)
One study found that 66% of employees had an onboarding program when they started a new role at their organization, while 34% reported there was no onboarding program in place.
Among those employees who didn’t have onboarding, 83% stated that onboarding would have been useful.
These responses indicate that the vast majority of employees expect some kind of onboarding program but in some cases, these expectations aren’t met by HR professionals at their organization.
Only 12% of employees firmly believe that their organization excels in the onboarding process for new hires (Gallup)
Gallup study found that the vast majority of employees believe their organization didn’t provide exceptional onboarding for them to be fully prepared for a new role. In fact, only 12% of employees strongly agree that their employer does a fantastic job of onboarding new hires.
79% of organizations indicate that the onboarding program facilitates quick integration into the company culture (Talmundo)
Around 8 in 10 businesses agree that a positive onboarding process enables fast integration of new employees into the company culture.
In 52% of organizations, the typical onboarding program takes up to 1 month (Talmundo)
38% of organizations indicate that their onboarding period usually lasts for 1 month. At 14% of companies that’s as short as 1 week.
Here’s a complete breakdown of typical onboarding time:
| Onboarding Period | Share of Organizations |
|---|---|
| 1 week | 14% |
| 1 month | 38% |
| 3-6 months | 29% |
| More than 6 months | 19% |
Only 31% of employees say they’d describe their latest onboarding experience as “engaging” (Paychex)
Despite the importance of employee onboarding, only around one-third of employees indicate that their onboarding experience was “engaging”. Moreover, only 32% of employees claim that their onboarding process was “exciting”.
On average, the onboarding process costs a business $1,830 (Leena AI)
The cost of an onboarding program varies depending on company size. HR professionals at small and medium-sized businesses report spending $600-$1,800 per new hire, whereas a typical onboarding budget at a large-size organization starts from $3,000 per new employee.
62% of organizations say they’ll heavily invest in employee onboarding in 2024 (Brandon Hall Group)
Onboarding ranks as one of the top investment priorities (in time and money) in talent acquisition in 2024, with 62% of organizations planning moderate or heavy investment in that area.
45% of HR professionals already use AI for onboarding new employees (Paychex)
According to a recent survey, nearly half of HR professionals report using AI in their onboarding processes. Another 25% plan to add AI-driven onboarding in 2024.
65% of HR professionals think that use of AI in onboarding will positively impact employee retention (Paychex)
Nearly 7 in 10 HR leaders believe that AI use in onboarding will boost employee retention rates.
40% of employees report not getting the absolute minimum to start a new role (Talmundo)
An alarming 40% of employees claim they didn’t get the absolute minimum support required for the new job. Moreover, 43% of employees say it took over 1 week to get “basic workstation logistics and tools in place”.
47% of HR professionals claim they do not evaluate onboarding processes at their organization (Talmundo)
Nearly half of organizations state that they do not assess the effectiveness of onboarding programs.