Onboarding practices final

SHRM Survey Findings: Onboarding Practices

April 13, 2011

SHRM Survey Findings: Onboarding Practices | ©SHRM 2011 2

Key Findings

• Are employers providing onboarding programs and practices to their new hires? More than 80% of organizations reported that they have either formal (i.e., written, documented, standard) or informal onboarding programs and/or practices.

• At what point does onboarding begin for new hires, and how long does it last? Nearly one-third of organizations begin their onboarding activities upon offer acceptance, and an additional one-third begin onboarding on the new hire’s first day on the job. Almost one-half of organizations reported that the total cumulative duration of their onboarding programs for most new hires is less than eight days.

• What are the most crucial onboarding practices for ensuring the success of newcomers? The vast majority of organizations indicated that providing communication, training and resources is extremely important for the successful adjustment of new hires.

• What prevents organizations from formally offering more onboarding activities? More than one-half of organizations reported that time constraints and insufficient HR staffing are barriers to offering more formal onboarding activities.

SHRM Survey Findings: Onboarding Practices | ©SHRM 2011

Does your organization have formal (i.e., written, documented, standard) or informal onboarding practices and/or programs?

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Yes; 81%

No; 19%

Note: n = 475.

• Multinational organizations (92%) were more likely than organizations with U.S.-based only operations (78%) to report that they had formal onboarding practices and/or programs.

• Organizations with multiple units in the United States (85%) were more likely than single-unit U.S. organizations (71%) to report that they had formal onboarding practices and/or programs.


How many different onboarding practices does your organization’s HR department formally provide in each of the following categories?

A guide: Practices that provide a personal guide for newcomers (e.g., a buddy, mentor or welcome coordinator) (n = 317)

Welcoming activities: Practices that provide opportunities for newcomers to meet and socialize with other organizational members and/or celebrate their arrival (n = 318)

Training: Practices that reflect planned efforts to facilitate the systematic acquisition of skills, behaviors, knowledge by newcomers (n = 319)

Communication efforts: Practices that facilitate communication with newcomers (e.g., one-way provision of information as well as opportunities for two-way dialogue) (n = 320)

Resources: Practices that make materials or assistance available to newcomers should they take the initiative to seek out those resources (n = 318)

35%

25%

8%

7%

7%

41%

34%

31%

33%

31%

17%

31%

34%

43%

17%

3%

6%

13%

9%

10%

3%

4%

13%

8%

9%

No formal practices 1 formal practice 2-3 formal practices 4-5 formal practices More than 5 formal practices

Note: Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding. Data sorted in ascending order by “no formal practices” category.


How many different onboarding practices does your organization’s HR department formally provide in each of the following categories?

Differences Based on Organization Staff Size

Differences Based on Organization’s Operations

Location

Differences Based on Union Status

Communication efforts: Practices that facilitate communication with newcomers (e.g., one-way provision of information as well as opportunities for two-way dialogue):

More than 5 formal practicesMultinational operations (12%) > U.S.-based only organizations

(2%)

Resources: Practices that make materials or assistance available to newcomers should they take the initiative to seek out those resources:

1 formal practice Non-union (33%) > union (17%)

More than 5 formal practices

Multinational operations (12%) > U.S.-based only organizations

(3%)

Welcoming activities: Practices that provide opportunities for newcomers to meet and socialize with other organizational members and/or celebrate their arrival:

4 to 5 formal practices25,000 or more employees

(31%) > 1 to 99 employees (3%), 100 to 499 employees (4%)

A guide: Practices that provide a personal guide for newcomers (e.g., a buddy, mentor or welcome coordinator):

1 formal practice Non-union (44%) > union (27%)

Comparison by Selected Organizational Demographics

Note: Blank cells indicate that there were no significant differences in this category.


To what extent is follow-up or monitoring done to make sure formal onboarding activities or programs are actually happening as designed in your organization?

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0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

17%

37%

31%

15%

Note: n = 320.

• Publicly owned for-profit organizations reported greater average degrees of follow-up or monitoring than privately owned for-profit organizations.


In general, when do your onboarding programs begin?

Other

Only after successfully completing an initial probationary period

During the first few weeks of employment

On the start date

After acceptance but before start date

Upon offer acceptance

During recruitment

0% 10% 20% 30% 40%

1%

1%

7%

32%

15%

31%

14%

Note: n = 323. Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding.


In general, what is the total cumulative duration of your onboarding program for most newcomers?

It depends on a number of factors

More than a year

More than 6 months, up to a year

4 to 6 months

2 to 3 months (90 days)

Between 8 days and a month

4 to 7 days

2 to 3 days

1 day or less

0% 10% 20% 30%

6%

1%

2%

6%

19%

17%

11%

20%

18%

Note: n = 322.

• Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding. Nonprofit organizations (14%) and government agencies (14%) were more likely than privately owned for-profit organizations (2%) to report that the total cumulative duration of their onboarding programs depends on a number of factors.


Which of the following areas are specifically addressed by your organization’s onboarding programs?

Other

The newcomer's division

The newcomer's business unit

The newcomer's specific geographic location (e.g., branch or plant)

The newcomer's immediate workgroup

The newcomer's department

The newcomer's specific job

The organization as a whole

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

1%

27%

28%

39%

56%

64%

73%

81%

Note: n = 307. Percentages do not total 100% due to multiple response options.


Does your organization approach onboarding differently for different types of employees?

Yes No

Management vs. nonmanagement 63% 37%

Job or job family (e.g., KSAs, competencies, job requirements) 51% 49%

Employment status (e.g., full time vs. part time vs. contingent employees) 51% 49%

Employees vs. board members 49% 51%

Entry level vs. mid level vs. senior level 47% 53%

Recruitment source (e.g., new hires vs. internal transfer vs. re-hire vs. employees from a merger/ acquisition)

41% 59%

Functional or business unit 37% 63%

Hourly vs. salaried 30% 70%

Geographic location (e.g., different regions or countries) 29% 71%

New-hire personal characteristics (e.g., experience, expectations, potential, learning style)

23% 77%

Union vs. non-union 14% 86%

Other 7% 93%

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Note: n = 153-306. Table sorted by “yes” column.


Does your organization approach onboarding differently for different types of employees?

Differences Based on Organization’s

Operations Location


Differences Based on Industry

Differences Based on Organization Sector

New-hire personal characteristics (e.g., experience, expectations, potential, learning style) Multinational operations

(26%) > U.S.-based only organizations (10%)

Employees vs. board members Union (65%) > non-union (46%)

Government (71%) > privately owned for-profit

(40%)

Geographic location (e.g., different regions or countries)

U.S.-based only organizations (50%) >

multinational operations (23%)

Publishing, broadcasting, other media (67%) > health care and social assistance (8%)

Publicly owned for-profits (44%), privately owned

for-profits (33%) > nonprofits (11%)

Hourly vs. salariedManufacturing – other

(53%) > health care and social assistance (10%)

Publicly owned for-profits (37%), privately owned

for-profits (39%) > nonprofits (15%)

Union vs. non-unionU.S.-based only

organizations (23%) > multinational operations

(9%)

Union (48%) > non-union (5%)




How has onboarding of new employees changed over the past five years in your organization?

Strongly disagree

Disagree AgreeStrongly

agree

Onboarding is longer and/or more intensive than before, with more done to help facilitate the adjustment of newcomers.

3% 23% 43% 30%

We use onboarding more now as a key part of our retention strategy. 4% 24% 48% 24%

Onboarding has become more engaging, interactive and individualized. 5% 27% 48% 20%

We now start onboarding earlier, with more attention to recruitment, providing information to ensure fit and set expectations.

5% 34% 44% 17%

Onboarding has a longer-term focus than before, with more emphasis placed on career paths, development and advancement opportunities early on in the process.

6% 37% 42% 16%

Onboarding has become much less personal, with greater use of electronic communications and delivery of material.

13% 59% 21% 7%

Onboarding has not changed much in our organization over the past five years. 25% 48% 22% 4%

Onboarding is shorter than before, with more responsibility given to newcomers to figure things out for themselves.

29% 57% 10% 4%

Onboarding has a shorter-term focus than before because expected tenure has declined.

20% 69% 10% 2%

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Note: n = 251-270. Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding. Table sorted by “strongly agree” column. Excludes responses of “not sure/don’t know.”

• Compared with smaller organizations (those with 1 to 2,499 employees), organizations with 2,500 to 24,999 employees reported greater average levels of agreement that they use onboarding more now as a key part of their retention strategy.

• Compared with multinational organizations, organizations with U.S.-based only operations reported greater average levels of agreement that onboarding is shorter than before, with more responsibility given to newcomers to figure things out for themselves.


To what extent is feedback collected from newcomers or their supervisors for the purpose of evaluating and revising your onboarding activities?

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0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

28%

39%

25%

8%

Note: n = 283.

• Compared with privately owned for-profit organizations, publicly owned for-profit organizations and nonprofit organizations reported a greater average extent of evaluation of onboarding activities.


In your opinion as an HR professional, how important are the following activities for the successful adjustment of newcomers and for facilitating their performance, engagement and retention?

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

2% 1% 0% 0% 0%5% 5%

1% 1% 1%

35% 33%

15% 14%10%

59% 61%

84% 85%88%

Not at all important Somewhat unimportant Somewhat important Extremely important

Note: Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding.

• Compared with HR professionals from organizations with U.S.-based only operations, HR professionals from multinational organizations reported greater average importance for onboarding activities that involve training.


In your opinion as an HR professional, when are the following activities most useful for newcomers?

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

1% 2%6%

1%

32%

5% 15%

31%

4%

32%

59%

48%

37%41%

17%

18%

26%

18%

32%

7%7% 7%5%

15%

4%1% 2% 2%

7%

1%

During recruitment Post hire, but before start On 1st day Later in 1st week Weeks 2-4 Months 2-3

Note: Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding.


In your opinion as an HR professional, when are the following activities most useful for newcomers?


Operations Location


Differences Based on Organization

Sector

Differences Based on Region

Providing resources: Practices that make materials or assistance available to newcomers should they take the initiative to seek out those resources:

During recruitmentNonprofits (15%) >

privately owned for-profits (4%)

Post hire, but before start

Multinational operations (36%) > U.S.-based only

organizations (18%)

Nonprofits (41%), government (45%) >

publicly owned for-profits (15%)

Later in 1st week

Northeast (27%), Southeast (19%),

Midwest (23%) > West (3%)

Providing training: Practices that reflect planned efforts to facilitate the systematic acquisition of skills, behaviors, knowledge by newcomers

During recruitmentGovernment (6%) >

privately owned for-profits (1%)

On 1st dayNon-union (44%) >

union (28%)

Weeks 2 to 4

Publicly owned for-profits (26%), government (29%)

> privately owned for-profits (10%)

Welcoming activities: Practices that provide opportunities for newcomers to meet and socialize with other organizational members and/or celebrate their arrival

During recruitment

U.S.-based only organizations (5%) >

multinational operations(1%)

On 1st day

Publicly owned for-profits (68%) > privately owned

for-profits (45%) , nonprofits (43%)




Please rate the following areas according to their importance for newcomers to learn in order to facilitate their performance, engagement and retention.

Very unimportant

Somewhat unimportant

Somewhat important

Very important

The knowledge, skills and abilities needed to successfully perform required job tasks 9% 1% 6% 84%

The formal workplace rules, policies and procedures 8% 1% 11% 80%

What the organization offers to employees in exchange for their contributions, including pay, benefits, development opportunities and opportunities for recognition

7% 2% 16% 74%

The organization’s current product/market mix, competitive position, mission, goals and strategies

8% 5% 21% 67%

The formal structure, including the physical layout and where formal responsibility and authority is assigned

5% 5% 29% 61%

The unique technical language, acronyms, slang and jargon used at work 7% 4% 28% 60%

The organization’s culture, including values, customs, symbols and myths 6% 6% 32% 56%

Information about others necessary to establish effective working relationships (including the learning of colleagues’ expectations, needs, working styles, etc.).

8% 4% 35% 53%

The informal rules, norms and procedures of the workplace. 5% 2% 44% 49%

The informal power structure, including where actual control of resources, decision-making and influence over decisions reside

5% 9% 40% 46%

The organization’s history, traditions, origins and changes that have occurred. 3% 13% 53% 31%

Information about others necessary to develop a network of social relationships at work (e.g., common interests, family, etc.).

7% 27% 48% 18%

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Note: n = 298-318. Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding. Data sorted by “very important” column.


Please rate the following areas according to their importance for newcomers to learn in order to facilitate their performance, engagement and retention.



The organization’s history, traditions, origins and changes that have occurred. Nonprofit > government

The organization’s culture, including values, customs, symbols and myths. 2,500 to 24,999 employees > 100 to 499 employees


Note: The table represents differences in average reported importance, in which larger numbers indicate greater average importance. Blank cells indicate that there were no significant differences in this category.


Please rate the following areas according to the level of difficulty for newcomers to learn on their own, aside from being covered in an onboarding activity.

Very difficultSomewhat

difficultSomewhat

easyVery easy

The formal workplace rules, policies and procedures 7% 25% 40% 28%

What the organization offers to employees in exchange for their contributions, including pay, benefits, development opportunities and opportunities for recognition

9% 23% 42% 26%

The organization’s history, traditions, origins and changes that have occurred 8% 27% 42% 24%

The formal structure, including the physical layout and where formal responsibility and authority is assigned.

6% 27% 45% 22%

Information about others necessary to develop a network of social relationships at work (e.g., common interests, family, etc.).

4% 26% 55% 16%

The organization’s culture, including values, customs, symbols and myths 7% 32% 45% 16%


12% 38% 36% 13%

The informal rules, norms and procedures of the workplace 7% 37% 46% 10%

The knowledge, skills and abilities needed to successfully perform required job tasks 13% 48% 32% 8%

The informal power structure, including where actual control of resources, decision-making and influence over decisions reside

15% 46% 33% 6%

Information about others necessary to establish effective working relationships (including the learning of colleagues’ expectations, needs, working styles, etc.)

12% 53% 29% 5%

The unique technical language, acronyms, slang and jargon used at work 17% 50% 28% 4%

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Note: n = 270-297. Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding. Data sorted by “very easy” column..


Please rate the following areas according to the level of difficulty for newcomers to learn on their own, aside from being covered in an onboarding activity.


Operations Location



The informal rules, norms and procedures of the workplaceNon-union > union


Government > publicly owned for-profits, privately

owned for-profitsWhat the organization offers to employees in exchange for their contributions, including pay, benefits, development opportunities and opportunities for recognition

Multinational operations > U.S.-based only organizations


Note: The table represents differences in average reported importance, in which larger numbers indicate greater average importance. Blank cells indicate that there were no significant differences in this category.


If your organization does not formally offer as many onboarding activities as you think it should, what are the reasons more activities are not offered?

Other

Activities are not valued by newcomers

Past history of breakdowns in execution

Systemic or bureaucratic impediments

Anticipated breakdowns in execution

Too few new hires to fully develop formal onboarding activities

Lack of senior management support

Financial constraints

Insufficient HR staff to implement

Time constraints (i.e., cannot spare workers from their on-the-job duties)

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

8%

4%

13%

16%

17%

29%

30%

33%

52%

60%

Note: n = 226. Excludes responses of, “N/A, my organization formally offers all of the onboarding activities that we need.” Percentages do not total 100% due to multiple response options.


If your organization does not formally offer as many onboarding activities as you think it should, what are the reasons more activities are not offered?

Differences Based on Organization’s Operations

Location



Financial constraints Nonprofit (49%) > privately owned for-profits (27%)

Anticipated breakdowns in execution U.S.-based only organizations (29%) > multinational operations (14%)

2,500 to 24,999 employees (35%) > 1 to 99 employees (8%)

Too few new hires to fully develop formal onboarding activities 1 to 99 employees (56%) > 100 to 499 employees (26%), 500 to 2,499 employees (25%), 2,500 to 24,999

employees (16%)




Demographics: Organization Industry

IndustryHealth care, social assistance (e.g., hospitals, clinics) 14%

Manufacturing–other 12%

Services–professional, scientific, technical, legal 11%

Financial services (e.g., banking) 7%

Educational services/education 6%

Government/public administration—federal, state/local, tribal 5%

Insurance 4%

Retail/wholesale trade 4%

Consulting 3%

Publishing, broadcasting, other media 3%

Transportation, warehousing (e.g., distribution) 3%

High-tech 3%

23

Note: n = 320. Percentages do not total 100% due to rounding.


Demographics: Organization Industry (continued)

IndustryOther services (e.g., other nonprofit, church/religious organizations) 2%

Construction, mining, oil and gas 2%

Arts, entertainment, recreation 2%

Telecommunications 2%

Utilities 2%

Manufacturing—auto/auto-related 2%

Real estate, rental, leasing 1%

Services—accommodation, food and drinking places 1%

Biotech 1%

Pharmaceutical 0%

Other 7%

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Demographics: Organization Sector

Other

Government sector

Publicly owned for-profit organization

Nonprofit organization

Privately owned for-profit organization

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

5%

9%

17%

22%

46%

25



Demographics: Organization Staff Size

-10%

0%

10%

20%

30%

21%

27%

30%

16%

5%

26

Note: n = 256


Demographics: Other

27

Note: n = 324

U.S.-based operations 79%

Multinational operations 21%

Single-unit company: A company in which the location and the company are one and the same

28%

Multi-unit company: A company that has more than one location

72%

Multi-unit headquarters determines HR policies and practices

46%

Each work location determines HR policies and practices

1%

A combination of both the work location and the multi-unit headquarters determine HR policies and practices

53%

Is organization a single-unit company or a multi-unit company?

Are HR policies and practices determined by the multi-unit corporate headquarters, by each work location or both?

Does the organization have U.S.-based operations (business units) only or does it operate multinationally?

Note: n = 323

Note: n = 232

• 16% of organizations indicated that employees at their work location were unionized.

Note: n = 319


SHRM Survey Findings: Onboarding Practices

• Response rate = 18%.• Sample composed of 482 HR professionals randomly selected

from SHRM’s membership.• Margin of error is +/- 5%.• Survey fielded November 29 - December 20, 2010.• This poll was developed in conjunction with Howard Klein,

Ph.D., Chair, SHRM Foundation.

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Methodology

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Onboarding practices final