The sum of many parts, the success of onboarding can be hard to measure. In fact, for 36% of HR managers it’s one of their biggest onboarding challenges.
But you must measure it. Because, with so much at stake (not least, keeping hold of your newly hired employees) and so much invested (time, resources, and energy), you need to make sure you’re hitting the mark. And that you’re continually improving and adapting to meet the needs of both your new hires and your onboarding stakeholders.
Measuring onboarding success means two things: figures and feedback. But what kind of figures? And what kind of feedback? Below are 5 metrics you should look to include. Coupled with some ways of gathering that data.
5 metrics you should include in your onboarding process evaluation
1. Performance and productivity
What to measure: How long does it take for your new hires to perform at a similar level to longstanding employees in a similar role? And how long does it take for new employees to add value and start delivering results?
How to measure: Set Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for each role. Set incremental deadlines and measure KPIs at each point. Use data from internal reporting systems or tools (where applicable). Record the number of days it takes for a new hire to achieve those KPIs from their start date. To find the average, total the number of days for all new hires over a given time frame and divide it by the total number of new hires.
Stats only tell part of the picture, though. Source and record anecdotal and qualitative feedback from line managers, too.
Why measure: This metric has a dual purpose. It shows how your new hire is contributing to your company’s bottom line. But it also shows how engaged they are and how likely they are to stay with you.
What to remember: Keep in mind that KPIs will vary according to the different positions within your company.
2. New hire turnover
What to measure: This metric is all about retention. What’s the average length of time an employee stays at your company? How are these numbers split across departments, teams, or locations?
How to measure: Use HR data to divide the number of new hires still in post after one day, one week, one month, and beyond by the number of employees who have left.
Why measure: Tracking the average tenure of employees allows you to identify potential patterns in terms of flight risk. Then you can begin to implement feedback surveys and other retention-boosting techniques slightly earlier.
What to remember: There may be other issues that cause people to leave a job quickly, such as a bad culture fit or change in personal circumstances. But most of those can still be resolved through onboarding. Are you highlighting culture, mission, and values during the process? If so, are you doing this early enough? Have you emphasized company benefits and flexibility enough?
3. Knowledge assimilation
What to measure: What have your new hires learned about their role and place in your organization?
How to measure: Ask them to complete a short assessment. Produce a series of questions based on job-related activities and their day-to-day workflows. You can also include questions around company values and goals.
Why measure: This helps pinpoint common areas where onboarding isn’t quite working. And areas where you’re nailing it.
What to remember: If a number of employees are struggling with the same questions, most likely it’s not them, it’s you (or your onboarding process). But don’t take it personally. Perfect doesn’t happen overnight. But with the right feedback and assessments, you’ll get there in time.
4. Efficiency and impression: Impact on resourcing
What to measure: The consistency of approach and impact of onboarding on your existing employees. Do your stakeholders all have the same vision and expectations of your onboarding process? How much time do they have to commit to it, and how often? How many questions are they still having to field from new hires?
How to measure: Design and distribute an onboarding survey for non-HR stakeholders, including line managers, buddies, mentors, and other key figures. Or, use a 360-degree feedback model with the new team member’s peers and managers to gain an insight into how they’re performing.
Why measure: Doing this will help you identify what elements might be missing from your onboarding program. And at the same time, establish if there’s a consistent approach to the onboarding experience by those involved in it.
What to remember: Get the timing right. This won’t work after just a week or so into the process. 120 days after new hires’ start dates is a good time to carry out this kind of assessment.
5. Engagement
What to measure: How your new hires felt about the onboarding process in general. And, more specifically, the different stages and types of training they received.
How to measure: Make an (anonymous) onboarding survey a formal part of your onboarding process. Segment it up so you have questions about all the different phases and objectives. Share it with new hires at significant stages in the process. You could, for example, carry out one survey after their first week or month-long orientation and then survey them again 6 months or a year into their tenure.
If you don’t have time to design your own, use a pre-prepared onboarding survey and adapt it to make it your own. To get an even richer insight, you might like to use one-on-one interviews and training reports (what percentage of different courses were completed, for example) downloaded from your LMS– if you have one.
Why measure: Your new hires experience your onboarding program from start to finish and are perfectly placed to provide detailed insights into every aspect. Asking them for their opinion shows that you value them and their views, too. And this, in turn, paves the way to a stronger and long-lasting relationship. In fact, the stats show that getting feedback from new hires improves your relationship by 91%.
What to remember: This isn’t about what your new hires learned. Rather it’s about how they felt about the process and program.
Let’s recap!
Because of its multi-faceted nature, onboarding can be hard to evaluate. But knowing what to measure and how can help make it more manageable. Key metrics should include performance and productivity, turnover, knowledge assimilation, workflow efficiencies, resourcing, and engagement.