Ultimate Guide to Onboarding Process in 2025: What It Is and Why It Matters

Quixy Editorial Team

April 1, 2025

The employee onboarding process is more than just welcoming a new hire—it’s a growth driver. Companies that deliver an effective onboarding experience can see revenue growth up to 2.5 times higher than those that don’t. That’s because onboarding shapes how quickly and confidently new employees contribute to the business.

What is Onboarding Process?

The process of onboarding is a structured and strategic approach that organizations implement to integrate new employees, clients, vendors, or users into their systems, services, or culture. It serves as a critical first step in fostering engagement, building long-term relationships, and ensuring seamless transitions.

Purpose of Onboarding:

A well-designed onboarding process is essential for:

• Reducing uncertainty and confusion for new employees, clients, or vendors.
• Enhancing productivity and efficiency by providing necessary resources and training early on.
• Strengthening relationships and fostering loyalty by setting clear expectations and providing support.
• Ensuring compliance with industry regulations and internal policies.

In this guide, we’ll walk through what onboarding looks like, why it matters, and how to apply it effectively across different contexts—from employees to clients and vendors.

What Is an Employee Onboarding Process?

Research shows that only 29% of employees feel fully prepared to excel in their new roles after onboarding. That’s a sign that traditional approaches may be missing the mark.

The employee onboarding is a structured approach organizations use to welcome and train new employees. It typically begins after a job offer is accepted and can last anywhere from a few days to several months. The goal is to help new hires feel comfortable, understand their responsibilities, and integrate into the company culture.

This process involves more than just completing HR paperwork. It includes setting up tools and access, introducing team members, offering training, and scheduling regular check-ins. When done well, onboarding increases employee engagement, boosts retention, and reduces the time it takes for new hires to become productive.

Think of the onboarding process as a first impression that sets the tone for the employee’s journey. The stronger and clearer it is, the easier it becomes for new employees to succeed and feel like valued members of the team.

Core Elements of an Onboarding Process

To make onboarding effective and scalable, it helps to break it down into key stages. Each step plays a role in preparing the new hire for long-term success, while helping your organization stay organized and efficient.

1. Pre-Onboarding

Before the first day, take care of the basics:

• Send a welcome message
• Prepare equipment and logins
• Share the schedule for the first week
• Include paperwork and orientation links

A solid onboarding process checklist helps ensure nothing slips through the cracks. This is especially true for remote or global teams.

2. The First Day

Day one is all about introductions and comfort. Greet the new hire, introduce the team, and give a tour of the workspace—whether physical or virtual.

Provide a simple new employee onboarding process flowchart to show what’s coming up. Clarity goes a long way toward reducing stress.

3. Training and Tools

Every role has its learning curve. Help employees get up to speed with training that matches their role. That’s where a structured employee onboarding process flow comes in.

Clear instructions and milestones are also essential in the sales onboarding process, client onboarding process, and even the supplier onboarding process. Everyone performs better when they know what to expect.

4. Team Integration

People perform best when they feel like they belong. Encourage meet-and-greets, set up a team lunch, or assign a buddy to answer questions.

Even in a remote onboarding process, regular check-ins and virtual coffee chats can help build bonds. Relationships are just as important as responsibilities.

Best Practices for Onboarding Success

Once you’ve set up the structure of your process, the next step is making it effective at scale. Whether you’re optimizing the process, designing a client onboarding flow, or improving your sales onboarding process, best practices can help ensure consistency and quality across the board.

1. Use a checklist

A detailed onboarding process checklist standardizes your workflow. Whether you’re onboarding an employee, client, or vendor, checklists reduce errors and improve consistency.

2. Automate Where It Makes Sense

An automated onboarding process saves time and ensures tasks don’t fall through the cracks. Use digital tools to handle routine steps like document signing and account setup.

This can make your digital client onboarding process or vendor onboarding process more efficient—and more pleasant.

3. Get Feedback Early

Feedback helps you make real improvements. Ask new hires for input after their first week, then again at 30 and 90 days. Use what you learn for onboarding process improvement.

Also Read: What is Business Process Optimization? 5 Proven Techniques & Insights 

Different Types of Onboarding

The process for onboarding isn’t one-size-fits-all. While the fundamentals remain the same, the structure and steps vary based on who you’re onboarding—be it employees, clients, vendors, or customers. 

Understanding these differences can help you tailor the experience, whether you’re refining your employee onboarding process flow or building a new client onboarding process from scratch.

HR Onboarding

The HR onboarding process ensures all employment forms are complete, benefits are explained, and policies are understood.

Also Read: Dominate your Human Resource Management System with our Ultimate Guide

Client Onboarding

A smooth client onboarding process sets the stage for a long-term relationship. The typical client onboarding process flow might include:

• Kickoff meeting
• Project timelines
• Product training

The goal is to make it easy for clients to work with you. That’s where a clean, simple digital client onboarding process stands out.

Customer Onboarding

The customer onboarding process helps new users get value from your product quickly. Done right, it increases satisfaction and loyalty.

Vendor and Supplier Onboarding

A clear vendor onboarding process or supplier onboarding process gets external partners up to speed quickly. Use a checklist to collect needed documents, confirm tax forms, and align on expectations.

Also Read: Business Process Management Systems

Sample Onboarding Process Steps

While every business is different, a typical onboarding process follows these steps:

1. Send offer letter and welcome email: This step sets a positive tone and ensures the new hire has all necessary information before their first day.
2. Set up accounts and equipment: Prepare IT logins, tools, and workspace so everything is ready on day one.
3. Conduct first-day orientation: Introduce company culture, values, and policies to build a sense of belonging.
4. Provide role-specific training: Equip the new hire with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in their role.
5. Facilitate team introductions: Help the employee meet colleagues and understand team dynamics.
6. Schedule check-ins: Plan regular touchpoints to answer questions and offer support during the transition.
7. Gather feedback and refine the process: Use new hire insights to improve your process steps and overall experience.

Organize these steps into a visual onboarding process flowchart to make it easy to follow. The same steps can be adapted for the onboarding process for new employees, clients, or vendors.

Challenges to Watch For

It’s not just the quality of onboarding—it’s also how it’s delivered. In fact, 81% of new hires say they feel overwhelmed with information during the process. That overwhelm can lead to confusion, reduced engagement, and slower productivity.

Here are a few process challenges to watch for:

• Information overload: New hires may receive too much information at once, making it hard to retain or prioritize key details.
• Unclear expectations: Without defined goals or responsibilities, employees may struggle to understand what’s expected.
• Delayed access to tools: A lack of preparation can lead to gaps in system access or missing equipment on day one.
• Poor communication between teams: When HR, IT, and managers aren’t aligned, important steps in the employee onboarding process flow can be delayed or missed.
• Remote onboarding gaps: For distributed teams, the absence of face-to-face interaction can lead to a sense of isolation.

To address these challenges, build a well-documented remote onboarding process with digital checklists, regular touchpoints, and clear ownership of each step. Early preparation leads to smoother transitions and stronger engagement. 

Why a Good Onboarding Process Matters

When onboarding is done right, the impact lasts. Studies show that 69% of employees who experience exceptional onboarding are likely to stay with a company for at least three years.

• Boosts retention: A clear employee onboarding process makes new hires feel valued and reduces the chances of early turnover.
• Increases productivity: Structured training and support help employees hit the ground running.
• Builds confidence: New hires feel more prepared when they understand expectations and company culture.
• Improves engagement: A welcoming process for new employees leads to higher morale and stronger team connections.
• Enhances consistency: Whether it’s the client onboarding process, vendor onboarding process, or sales onboarding process, a standard approach creates a reliable experience.
• Saves time: An automated onboarding minimizes repetitive tasks, freeing up HR teams to focus on personal interactions.
• Supports growth: A well-designed onboarding flow aligns new hires with your business goals faster, helping your organization scale efficiently.

Also Read: Why Choose Quixy as Your Business Process Management Software?

Quixy For Enhancing the Employee Onboarding Process

Platforms like Quixy can play a key role in improving your business process. As an AI powered no-code low-code platform, Quixy enables HR teams to design and deploy custom onboarding process flows without relying on developers. You can build automated forms, task workflows, and approval systems that match your onboarding needs—whether it’s for employees, clients, or vendors. 

With built-in integration features, Quixy ensures data flows seamlessly across systems, reducing manual work and the risk of errors. From welcome emails and document uploads to training schedules and checklists, Quixy helps you manage it all in one place.

Get a Quixy demo today!

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