You probably already know that investing in a successful onboarding program benefits your entire organization. Yet here’s the reality check: 22% of companies have no formal onboarding program at all, and 49% are only partially successful at onboarding new hires (Talentech, 2025).
Even more telling is that 83% of employees believe an onboarding program would be useful if their company doesn’t already have one in place.
Recent research revealed a striking disconnect: whilst 100% of HR professionals recognize that onboarding is important, 34% of employees have never experienced a proper onboarding program at their workplace.
There’s clearly a big gap between understanding the importance of onboarding and actually investing in it. From my own experience, I know how this happens. Our schedules are packed, and creating a meaningful onboarding experience genuinely takes time and effort.
That’s exactly why I’m sharing 6 compelling reasons to invest in onboarding today, each backed by statistics. Use these insights to build a strong business case for management and demonstrate the value of proper employee onboarding.
1. Improved Employee Retention
When a quality onboarding process is in place, there is an impressive 82% improvement in new hire retention (Brandon Hall Group, 2018). Even companies that cover the basics of onboarding well experience 50% greater new hire retention. Furthermore, research shows that 69% of employees are more likely to stay with a company for three years if they have a positive onboarding experience (SHRM, 2017).
Think about what this means for your organization. With proper onboarding, you’re not just keeping people around for a few months longer, you’re building a stable workforce that sticks with you for years. That’s less recruitment headaches, fewer knowledge gaps when people leave, and more experienced team members who actually know how your business works.
If you fail to get it right, you’re stuck in an expensive cycle of hiring and losing good people who might have stayed if you’d just given them a proper start.
2. Faster Time to Productivity
I’ve seen this so many times. Organizations pour loads of time, money, and effort into finding the perfect candidates, only to drop the ball once they’ve actually hired them.
What happens is that employees end up feeling completely lost. They don’t know where to find basic information or who to contact when they need to get things sorted. It’s genuinely frustrating for everyone involved.
Here’s the thing though, when employees haven’t been properly onboarded, it doesn’t just take them longer to get up to speed. It actually costs companies a lot of money.
The numbers prove it. It turns out there’s a 70% increase in productivity when new hires are onboarded properly (Brandon Hall Group, 2018). That’s massive. Plus, 51% of organizations report a decreased time to proficiency when they invest in decent onboarding (Talentech, 2025).
Good onboarding also creates clarity. 54% of respondents said it leads to a clear understanding of performance indicators (Talentech, 2025). One of the most striking findings is that organizations with a standard onboarding process experience 50% greater new hire productivity (Industry Today, 2022).
3. Cost Savings
Research from Glassdoor (2019) shows that the average U.S. employer spends about $4000 and 24 days to hire a new worker. Add to that the fact that most employees have a notice period and need time to get introduced to the job before they reach full productivity. Therefore, any leader or manager can tell you that turnover comes with plenty of hidden costs that don’t immediately come to mind.
Although it is difficult to calculate the total costs associated to replacing a new employee , research from Gallup (2019) shows that the total cost associated with replacing an individual employee can range from one-half to two times the employee’s annual salary. Add a highly competitive and tight labor market to the mix, and you know that most companies simply can’t afford to lose their good people.
4. Higher Employee Engagement and Satisfaction
Here’s where good onboarding also proves its worth. It’s not just about filling out forms, but about creating employees who genuinely want to stick around.
Proper onboarding increases engagement by 73% (Talentech, 2025) and employees with an exceptional onboarding experience are 2.6 times more likely to be satisfied at work (Gallup).
Research from BambooHR (2023) shows similar results: a staggering 89% of employees who had an effective onboarding experience are engaged at work. Why does this happen? It all comes down to clarity.
When you properly onboard someone, you’re not just showing them where the tea bags are, you’re giving them real purpose. Actually, 87% of employees who rate their onboarding experience positively say they feel very clear about what their job entails.
Great onboarding turns employees into engaged, satisfied employees who genuinely understand why their role matters to your organization.
5. Stronger Company Culture and Brand Reputation
Your onboarding process is actually one of your most powerful marketing tools. If you do it right, your new hires become your biggest advocates.
It starts before people even walk through the door. A strong offer letter drives 17 times more emotional connection. Once they’re in, proper onboarding works like magic for culture integration. 79% of organizations say their onboarding program helps new hires quickly become part of the company culture (Talentech, 2025). Furthermore, 91% of employees who receive company culture training feel genuinely connected to their workplace (BambooHR, 2023).
Another thing to consider it that 43% of people hear about new job opportunities through word of mouth (Onhires, 2023. Think about what that means. When someone has a brilliant onboarding experience, the chances are high that they become a walking advertisement for your company.
They recommend your company to their mates, speak positively about you at industry events, and become the reason other top talent wants to work for you. It’s like having a recruitment team you don’t have to pay.
Your onboarding program isn’t just an HR process, it can be your brand reputation in action.
6. Better Team Integration and Collaboration
I’ve written before about how a successful orientation day can transform team integration and collaboration. But here’s the thing, those benefits extend far beyond just one day.
When onboarding is done well, 91% of employees who receive company culture training feel genuinely connected to their workplace (BambooHR, 2023). It helps them feel part of the team from day one.
Among remote employees, a stunning 63% feel their onboarding training was inadequate. Even worse, 60% reported feeling disoriented after their most recent onboarding experience, and 36% found the whole process confusing (Paychex, 2023.
Important to consider is that remote employees need more intentional onboarding than those in the office, because they can’t drop by a colleague’s desk or easily pick up on team dynamics. Without strong support, they risk becoming isolated instead of connected.
On the other hand, great onboarding turns new hires into integrated team players, whether they’re sitting next to you or working from the other side of the world.
Conclusion
So there you have it: six compelling reasons why investing in onboarding isn’t just nice to have, it’s essential for your organization’s success. From boosting retention by 82% to increasing productivity by 70%, the statistics don’t lie.
Proper onboarding saves you money, creates engaged employees, turns your workforce into brand ambassadors, and builds genuinely collaborative teams.
Here’s what I find striking though: we’ve got all this evidence showing how powerful good onboarding can be, yet so many companies still do not recognize or understand its real value. The gap between knowing that onboarding matters and actually investing in it is costing them a lot of money and talent.
But here’s the good news: you now have the statistics to build that business case and convince leadership that onboarding deserves proper investment. Your new hires are worth it.
