onboarding best practices

Onboarding best practices are almost always framed as things to add. The faster improvement usually comes from stopping a few.

Stop the day one information dump. Fourteen policies, three systems and an org chart in one morning produces no retention and a signature that proves nothing.

Stop scheduling the manager conversation last. It is the part that matters and it gets pushed when the week gets busy.

Stop treating access as an IT ticket. Somebody unable to do their work for a week draws conclusions about the organisation.

Stop reusing a checklist that has not been reviewed. Half the items refer to systems that no longer exist.

Stop ending onboarding at week one. Most people who leave early have made the decision within the first three months.

The Safe Work Australia covers induction obligations. This is general information rather than legal advice, and obligations vary by state and territory.

See Sentrient’s onboarding management system and learning management system.