7 Reasons Why Effective Onboarding Training Is Important 

Anna Schosser 19.10.202318 min read

7 Reasons Why Effective Onboarding Training Is Important

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7 Reasons Why Effective Onboarding Training Is Important

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Quick Answer

Onboarding training is the process of introducing new hires to a company's culture, values, people, and role expectations while giving them the knowledge and resources to succeed, typically running up to 12 months. It matters because 31% of new employees leave within 90 days due to poor onboarding, so structured programs with active manager support drive retention and performance.

Example. A new sales rep joins in January. Her manager meets with her each week for the first three months to review priorities, answer questions, and clarify expectations. By day 90, she knows exactly what good performance looks like and stays, rather than quietly leaving because the role felt unclear.

Employee onboarding is more than just a task on a management's to-do list and a few days of orientation. Employee onboarding is an ongoing process that helps your organization develop new hires to become key assets within the organization who are committed to the company's success.

31% of new employees leave their jobs in the first 90 days at a new company due to poor onboarding, and 38% of employees stated that their managers did not play a major role in their onboarding experience or provided sufficient support.

Moreover, 76% of professionals believe that organizations are underutilizing onboarding programs.

These statistics are disappointing, considering the amount of time, money, and resources that companies invest in sourcing, interviewing, and training their new hires. Therefore, having comprehensive onboarding programs where managers play a critical role in supporting the training onboarding process will be the first step in retaining top talent, and witnessing better outcomes in both the short term and long term.

What's in this post:

What is onboarding training?

Onboarding is the process of introducing new hires to a company's culture, values, facilities, and people. The process usually involves activities that new employees participate in to help them acclimate to their new positions, and understand their roles and employer's expectations.

The onboarding process can typically last up to 12 months. During this time, new hires will receive the training, knowledge, and resources needed to help them succeed in their new position. Doing so helps managers foster high employee engagement, increase job satisfaction, and increase retention rates.

On the other hand, training is the process of management providing continuous education to new hires. A new employee does not experience training only once. It is a continuous program that goes on long after a new hire begins their job. Training helps to keep new hires updated on the emerging trends and skills of their industry.

But when it comes to onboarding training, think of it as the two processes combined to create a powerful elixir. As you onboard a new team member, you are simultaneously training them to perform their tasks to meet the expectations of their manager and organization effectively, and continuously improve their performance.

Why is onboarding training important?

Statistics have revealed that 69% of new hires are likely to stay with a company for at least three years if they had a great onboarding experience.

Onboarding training is important for numerous reasons. Not only does it allow new employees to become well-integrated into their team right from the start, but it also helps boost the efficiency of your employee onboarding process.

Onboarding is an opportunity for companies to communicate their expectations to new hires and share what they have to offer in return. This communication can lead to companies experiencing lower turnover rates and higher levels of engagement.

Here are a few more reasons why onboarding training is vital for the healthy development of your new hires into top-performing employees.

Decreases turnover rates

Having low turnover rates is what all companies strive to achieve because having loyal, and committed employees means that you are doing something right. There has to be a reason why new hires are motivated to stay and contribute to your organization's success.

Boosts employee engagement

Statistics from LinkedIn have revealed that engaged employees are 88% less likely to leave the company.

Improves employee retention

Employee training, especially for new hires is an important foundation to establish and keep running.

Research conducted by Brandon Hall Group confirms that organizations that have a strong onboarding training process improve new hire retention by 82% and productivity by over 70%.

Strengthens company culture

79% of new employees agree that onboarding programs have helped them integrate and understand the company culture well.

Attracts top talent

Moving on to the next big reason why companies should have effective onboarding training - attract top talents.

Reduces management stress

We can all understand the stress that managers go through when it is time to onboard a new employee. First comes the stress of preparation for onboarding training, and then comes the worry of not investing enough time to welcome new hires.

Reduces costs

Onboarding training is, without a doubt, one of the best ways a company can save costs.
Effective onboarding training program Ineffective or no onboarding training program
69% of employees are motivated to stay for at least 3 years. Companies experience 20% of employee turnover within the first 6 weeks.
58% of employees are motivated to stay for more than 3 years. Replacing a lost executive costs an organization up to 213% of their annual salary.
New hires who have been successfully onboarded are 50% more productive and 54% more engaged in their work. Organizations lose 25% of their new employees within the first year.

How does onboarding training benefit employee performance?

The struggles that HR departments experience when it comes to manually handling all the new hire paperwork can be avoided.

Here are a few ways that AI can help streamline the onboarding process:

Generative AI in the onboarding process

According to IBM research, "Generative AI refers to deep-learning models that can generate high-quality text, images, and other content based on the data they were trained on."

Generative AI within the onboarding process allows you to invest an equal amount of time into every single employee.

When it comes to anything employee or leadership training related, Retorio's AI Coaching platform knows what it's doing.

FAQ's related onboarding training

What is the role of HR in the onboarding process?

What is the best way to onboard new employees?

What should a sales onboarding program include?

How does AI improve sales onboarding?

What’s the difference between sales coaching and sales training?

How do I handle underperforming sales reps?

What are the essential components of a high-impact sales onboarding program?

How can I tailor onboarding for different sales roles (e.g., SDRs vs. AEs)?

What KPIs should I track to measure onboarding success?

What’s the ideal onboarding timeline for a sales rep?

Anna Schosser Anna Schosser writes about AI-powered coaching, behavioral intelligence, and measurable performance in enterprise sales, service, and leadership teams.