Onboarding best practices focus on integrating new hires into your company culture and workflows through a structured, multi-phase process that begins before their first day and continues through their first six months.
Key takeaways
- Effective onboarding starts with pre-boarding to reduce first-day anxiety and build early momentum.
- A successful programme balances administrative tasks with cultural immersion and social connection.
- Personalising the experience based on individual work personality types significantly improves long-term engagement.
- Ongoing support and clear milestones during the first 90 days are critical for reducing early turnover rates.
We have all been there – the awkward first morning spent staring at a locked computer screen while your manager scrambles to find your login credentials. It is a frustrating start that sends a clear, if unintentional, message: we weren't ready for you. In today's competitive talent market, you cannot afford to leave your first impression to chance. When you consider that a significant percentage of new hires decide whether to stay with an organisation within their first six months, the stakes for your onboarding process are incredibly high.
The problem is that many organisations confuse orientation with onboarding. While orientation is a one-day event focused on paperwork and office tours, true onboarding is a journey. It is about moving a new team member from being an outsider to a fully integrated, high-performing contributor. At Compono, we believe that the best onboarding experiences are those that treat the new hire as a whole person – acknowledging their unique strengths, anxieties, and motivations from the very beginning.
The period between a candidate signing their contract and their actual start date – often called 'the dead zone' – is a prime opportunity to build engagement. Pre-boarding is one of the most underutilised onboarding best practices. It involves sending a welcome pack, providing access to basic company information, and handling the bulk of the administrative 'paperwork' digitally before they even step into the office or log on remotely.
By clearing the administrative hurdles early, you free up the first day for what actually matters: building relationships. Imagine a new hire arriving on Monday morning knowing exactly where to park, who they are having lunch with, and already having their email account ready to go. This level of preparation demonstrates that you value their time and are excited about their arrival. It shifts the focus from 'filling out forms' to 'joining the mission'.
At Compono, we have seen how important it is to understand who is joining your team before they even start. By using a tool like work personality assessments during the final stages of hiring or pre-boarding, you can tailor the welcome experience to suit the individual. For example, The Doer might appreciate a practical list of immediate tasks, while The Helper would value a scheduled coffee catch-up with their new teammates.
While understanding the health and safety policy is necessary, it is rarely the reason someone feels inspired to do their best work. Onboarding best practices suggest that cultural immersion should take centre stage. New hires need to understand the 'why' behind your organisation – your values, your history, and the unwritten rules that define how your team actually works together. This is where you turn a job into a career.
One effective way to facilitate this is through a 'buddy' system. Pairing a new hire with a seasoned employee who isn't their direct manager provides a safe space for those 'silly' questions that people are often too shy to ask their boss. This social connection helps the new hire navigate the social landscape of the office and understand the nuances of the company culture. It builds a sense of belonging that is difficult to achieve through a handbook alone.
We have spent over a decade researching what makes teams thrive, and it always comes back to the Compono Culture, Engagement & Performance Model. When you align your onboarding with your core cultural pillars, you ensure that every new hire understands exactly how they contribute to the bigger picture. This clarity is the foundation of long-term performance and job satisfaction.
Onboarding doesn't end after the first week. One of the most critical onboarding best practices is the implementation of a 30–60–90 day plan. This roadmap provides the new hire with clear, achievable milestones that gradually increase in complexity. In the first 30 days, the focus should be on learning and observation. By day 60, they should be contributing to projects with guidance. By day 90, they should be taking ownership of specific tasks or outcomes.
This structure prevents the 'sink or swim' mentality that leads to burnout and early turnover. It also provides managers with a framework for regular check-ins. These shouldn't just be about task progress; they should be about the individual's experience. Are they feeling supported? Do they have the tools they need? Do they feel like they belong? Regular, structured feedback loops during these first few months are essential for catching any issues before they become reasons to leave.
For teams looking to scale their culture effectively, using a platform like Compono Hire ensures that the transition from candidate to employee is seamless. While we don't migrate historical data from other systems, our platform is designed to help you start fresh with modern workflows that carry the momentum of a great hiring experience directly into a structured onboarding journey.
Not every employee wants to be onboarded in the same way. A one-size-fits-all approach often ignores the psychological needs of different personality types. To truly optimise your process, you should consider how different people process information and build trust. This is where people intelligence becomes a competitive advantage in your retention strategy.
Consider how The Pioneer might want the freedom to explore and suggest new ideas early on, whereas The Auditor will likely prefer a very detailed, methodical breakdown of every process they are expected to follow. If you treat them both the same, you risk frustrating one and overwhelming the other. By acknowledging these differences, you show that you recognise them as an individual, not just a headcount.
Using the Compono Engage module allows you to keep a pulse on how these different personalities are settling in. By measuring engagement levels early and often, you can identify if a particular personality type is struggling with your current onboarding flow and make the necessary adjustments to keep them on track.
Key insights
- Onboarding is a long-term journey of integration, not a short-term administrative event.
- Pre-boarding reduces the 'dead zone' anxiety and allows the first day to focus on human connection.
- Buddy systems and cultural immersion are more effective at driving retention than compliance training.
- Personalising the onboarding experience to match work personality types improves individual performance and comfort.
- A structured 90-day roadmap provides the clarity and support needed to prevent early-stage turnover.
Building a world-class onboarding experience is an investment in your company's future. By following these onboarding best practices, you can ensure that every new team member feels valued, informed, and ready to contribute from day one.
While many companies stop after the first week, onboarding best practices suggest that a comprehensive process should last at least 90 days, and ideally up to a full year. This ensures the employee is fully supported through their first full cycle of projects and performance reviews, leading to significantly higher retention rates.
The most important element is social integration. While having their equipment ready is essential, feeling welcomed by the team and understanding their immediate support network (like a buddy or mentor) has the biggest impact on their initial psychological safety and engagement.
Remote onboarding requires even more intentionality. Focus on 'over-communicating' company culture, scheduling virtual coffee breaks with various team members, and ensuring all digital tools and access permissions are tested and ready before their start date to avoid isolation.
Yes, cross-departmental onboarding is highly recommended. It helps the new hire understand how their work impacts other areas of the business and builds a broader internal network, which is key for collaborative projects and long-term career growth within the company.
Success can be measured through new hire engagement surveys, 'time to productivity' metrics, and turnover rates within the first six to twelve months. Regular check-ins at the 30, 60, and 90-day marks also provide qualitative data on the effectiveness of the programme.