10+ Best Onboarding Software for New Hires in 2025
Fact-based employee onboarding software reviews from SSR experts plus insights from thought leaders and everyday users to make the most out of your onboarding tool.
Best Employee Onboarding Tools
Achieving business success starts with your people — but not just what they bring to the table. How you welcome and engage them so they stay focused and produce their best work can make or break your company’s ability to grow for the long term. It’s no surprise then that companies and hiring managers are building formal onboarding processes (from the software tools listed below to simple gifts send to new employees) to welcome and train new hires — and that they’re using employee onboarding software to automate these processes.
With the best employee onboarding software, you can make a new hire feel welcomed even before they start, set them up for success in their new roles, and empower them to give their all every day. Not only that, you’ll prevent them from wanting to leave. In fact, new hires are 58% more likely to be at the company three years later if they went through an onboarding program.
As you likely know, employee turnover can wreak havoc on your company’s productivity and recruiting costs. So it goes without saying that having a formal employee onboarding process is critical. In this guide, we break down everything you need to know about the top onboarding software providers so you can empower new hires before they even start, create high-growth teams, and save yourself a lot of time and money in the process.
To choose the best employee onboarding software, we’ve booked demos with several vendors, sought the expertise of HR tech leaders, did independent tests, and chatted with other end users. The features we think make the biggest difference for employee onboarding software are ease of use, customizability, feedback collection, and reporting and analytics.
- Ease of use: The best employee onboarding systems integrate new hires into your company quickly and smoothly, helping them access the relevant paperwork, e-sign documents, become familiar with your company’s policies, and more. Accessibility on mobile devices is also important, so extra points were given to platforms that enable employees to complete tasks on-the-go.
- Customizability: We’ve looked for employee onboarding software with customizable workflows, allowing your HR team to tailor the onboarding process according to various job roles and departments. The majority of these tools also allow you to customize and deliver training materials and courses that’ll acquaint new hires with your company's mission, goals, and how their role fits in the bigger picture.
- Feedback collection, reporting, and analytics: We know that listening to what your employees have to say about your onboarding process is key to making it better, so we’ve looked for tools that support feedback collection and analysis, either through built-in capabilities or integration. The tools on this list also have robust reporting capabilities, helping you track various onboarding metrics including completion time and rate.
We only recommend the best products in a given category. For more information on how we evaluate and select those products, check out our editorial guidelines.
Connecteam
Remote
Rippling
Trainual
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Deel
Whale
Enboarder
ClearCompany
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Atlas
Workleap
BambooHR
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Connecteam
Connecteam streamlines employee onboarding with mobile accessibility, user-friendly course creation, and centralized learning materials. Its micro training units, compliance tracking, and always-on access ensure faster training, increased productivity, and a consistently skilled workforce, all while saving time and resources.
PROS
- Connecteam offers a user-friendly platform that's mobile-oriented for deskless employees.
- Comprehensive feature set including team management, communication, training, and engagement.
- Transparent pricing across all plans and there’s a free-forever plan for small businesses.
- 14-day trial offered without requiring a credit card.
- One of the only fully-mobile HR tech tools for deskless workers
- Very adequately-priced for all it entails, SMB-friendly
- Quite open to feedback, having implemented user suggestions as features in the past.
CONS
- Initial learning curve can still be experienced due to the abundance of features available.
- Certain crucial features are restricted to higher-priced plans.
- Some users reported customization limitations, such as the inability to create shared document folders for onboarding and having to assign documents to specific employees instead.
- In the communication hub, the app offers no confirmation that messages were sent and/or seen.
- Certain features that some teams consider essential, such as GPS-tracking, are only available in the higher-tier pricing plans.
Connecteam offers a host of specialized tools that support the onboarding and training of deskless workers. The platform stood out for us for its mobile-first approach, which allows employees to access and complete training courses from anywhere, at any time. This flexibility is especially valuable for frontline teams who may not always have access to a computer.
Among the things we liked about it is its user-friendly course creation tools. Businesses can easily create and share their own educational materials, eliminating the need for expensive third-party content. The platform also offers a variety of pre-made courses and templates, saving time and resources on research and content creation. These courses are based on best practices and micro-learning principles, ensuring that employees receive engaging and effective training.
Connecteam centralizes all learning materials into one digital space, making it easy for employees to access the information they need. The platform's microtraining units allow for shorter learning times, while always-on access accelerates time to competence. This means that employees can get trained faster and remain productive, even as they continue to learn and grow within the company.
Compliance is another area where Connecteam shines. The platform ensures that everyone is trained consistently with one unified program, and makes it easy to revise content to align staff on new policies and procedures. Progress monitoring and follow-up features help ensure completion, while a detailed record of all mandatory training keeps the company covered.
Sodexo, Subway, Hilton, Chick-Fil-A, and Foot Locker
The onboarding features, including training courses, can be accessed through Connecteam’s HR & Skills hub. The pricing for this hub is as follows:
- The Small Business Plan: Free forever for up to 10 users.
- Basic: $29 per month for the first 30 users and $0.5 per month for each additional user.
- Advanced: $49 per month for the first 30 users and $1.5 per month for each additional user.
- Expert: $99 per month for the first 30 users and $3 per month for each additional user.
Best For
Connecteam’s platform is highly scalable, and its plans suit the needs of most businesses, regardless of size and industry.
Remote
Remote is ideal for multinational teams who want to get their entire onboarding process taken care of with one platform. From sending, filling, signing, and storing documents, Remote onboarding is paperless, mobile-friendly, and workable for remote employees and contractors in 60+ countries.
PROS
- As an owned-entity provider, Remote offers a lean onboarding process without the worries of IP and data passing to third parties.
- Employee self-service options.
- iOS and Android apps with self-onboarding for employees.
- Responsive customer service available via live chat and email.
- Global employment resources, specific to each region, are free and easy to access.
- Equity-based compensation option.
- Fast and compliant payroll in 170+ countries.
- Live chat support with local payroll experts.
- Flexible, localized benefit packages.
- Flat-rate pricing structure, no deposits or hidden fees.
- Mobile app streamlines expense reimbursement with autofill from receipt photos.
CONS
- Remote doesn’t offer a free plan or free trial.
- The platform doesn’t provide phone support.
- The mobile apps were hard for some to find on both Google Play and App Store.
- No features to support employee feedback for the onboarding process.
- It has very few pre-built integration options (Greenhouse, BambooHR, and HiBob).
- Doesn’t have a free trial.
- Redundant for organizations solely recruiting within the U.S.
- Help center documentation isn’t easiest to understand.
Remote is a great platform for companies that plan to hire and onboard a substantial number of international employees in the near future.
They have built a reputation with their flat-rate, straightforward global payroll, but their onboarding features are also top-notch. Their platform handles payroll, onboarding, taxes, benefits, and more – all with compliance and IP protection in mind.
One particularly appealing feature is the availability of experts in each region they operate. Sometimes, only a local will do this when it comes to the complex standards and customs of local laws and practices, and they have assured that resource is available to their customers by offering local support in each of the 60+ countries in which they operate. According to our research, the majority of Remote users who contacted these local experts for support were pleased with the service. Users also had positive feedback about Remote’s technical support.
Remote can be a sound option for effective global onboarding, whether you want to establish a new branch or employ one person in a different country. It has a dedicated self-service portal to keep workers connected. It provides robust data protection and security.
However, businesses looking for features like employee training or pre-built integrations won’t find Remote helpful, as the tool isn’t a training-focused onboarding platform, and rather than offering a range of native integration options, it provides customers with free custom API.
Arduino, GitLab, Paystack, Loom, cargo.one, Secureframe, Phaidra.
- Contractor Management plan: $29/contractor/mo.
- Employer of Record plan: $599/employee/mo (when paid annually).
- Global Payroll and Remote Enterprise plans: Custom prices – contact Remote.
- Startup and nonprofit discount: Eligible startups and nonprofits can get 15% off EOR and Contractor Management services for 12 months.
- Refugee discount: Up to 10 employees free when hiring refugees.
Best For
Remote is a good fit for globally distributed teams looking to hire, pay, onboard, and retain international talent with country-custom benefits, seamless onboarding experience, and payroll.
I use Remote as a tool for our international hiring process, and we require international candidates at least once per month. Remote allows me to control the entire recruitment process from the job position posting until the onboarding process. It also helps me source candidates that match our job description and manage and organize the applicants through their integration with our ATS system.
I love Remote because I can post job openings in different countries, which helps me attract more candidates and create a talent pool. I like that it is user-friendly, and the features are easy to use and understand; you do not need to watch YouTube videos to learn how the platform works. Finally, it helps me create job postings that are more attractive to candidates using AI.
Our Customer Service department requires bilingual and, in some cases, trilingual profiles. This skill can be challenging to find in the market if you focus your search on just one country. I have been using Remote for the past four years, and it has helped us find seasoned candidates on different continents, opening the possibility of hiring international employees and meeting our recruitment goals.
It can increase the number of ATS systems that they can integrate with the platform. Remote has amazing additional services, but they offer them as an enterprise plan (extra cost); I believe some of them, such as global payroll, could be included in the talent acquisition plan. Although customer support is available 24/7, sometimes it takes a few days to get back to you with a solution.
I have used different platforms to hire international employees. Remote.com allows me to contract directly with the employee for my organization, while other platforms only allow me to hire the candidates as freelancers or contractors, and we require full-time employees.
If you want to increase your talent pool and hire remote workers, Remote.com is a good option. In addition, if you need help processing payroll according to the employment laws in each country, Remote.com takes care of it with global payroll.
Remote.com has changed the way of remote work. Before, there was just one option: hiring someone as a freelancer or contractor. However, their platform is available in different countries and has opened the possibility of hiring full-time employees. Companies can now count on team members to be 100% focused on their needs.
Remote.com is for any type of organization, whether an international or multinational company or a business startup, because their platform adjusts to the organization's needs.
I believe it would not be a good fit for an organization that is looking to hire from a specific country where Remote.com does not have a presence.
Rippling
Rippling can not only handle onboarding but payroll, benefits, and HR for both US-based and global businesses. The platform has extensive integrations, an intuitive UI, and multiple modules to be purchased jointly or separately. Rippling is found most helpful for fast-growing teams with under 2,000 employees.
PROS
- Rippling provides employees with a self-service portal for digital onboarding.
- Automated onboarding surveys.
- US payroll includes I-9s and W-2s, built-in auto-warnings to prevent businesses from violating state laws and regulations.
- Global payroll works for both employees and hourly workers.
- Can connect with 500+ apps.
- Built-in compliance training for employees and managers.
- Has a mobile app.
- Ability to purchase modules separately or as a full suite.
- All-in-one platform for employee management + PEO services offered, and even a suite of other IT products
- With 500 integrations, it’s very likely that they integrate with other key tools from your tech stack.
- Operates globally with any currency
- Workflow automation
- Analytics opportunities
- Provides a holistic view of company outflows—headcount costs included
CONS
- Payment is available via direct deposit or check only.
- No free trial.
- Phone support is a paid add-on.
- Not the best bet for teams with 2,000+ employees.
- Limited features on the mobile app compared to the web browser version.
- Total buy-in to Rippling is essential
- Very SMB-oriented, in case you’re a larger company.
- New features tend to be buggy in ways that tech teams are not accustomed to fixing
Rippling is renowned for its comprehensive payroll and HR features, particularly among fast-growing teams. While employee onboarding is not a standalone tool, it is included in the Rippling Unity module, which offers automation, documentation, and a workforce directory.
We are impressed by Rippling's lifecycle automation within the Unity product. It encompasses onboarding, payroll, benefits, training, and offboarding, accessible via web browsers and mobile devices. The platform provides a pre-built library for custom workflows, surveys, and HR documents, expediting the setup process. The automation capabilities allow us to tailor onboarding workflows and collect feedback automatically from new hires.
Employee self-service is facilitated through Rippling's benefits administration module. It allows employees to view and update payroll, benefits, and documents directly in the portal. Mobile access to compliance training courses is also available. However, the choice of withdrawal methods is limited to direct deposit or check, and the mobile app can be sluggish at times, affecting certain features like receipt scanning and paystub access.
Vox, Maximum Games, Superhuman, Compass Coffee, Highnoon.
Rippling pricing starts at $8 per employee per month. Get in touch with Sales for more details.
Best For
Rippling is most useful for growing teams that have fewer than 2,000 employees. It can work for US-based, international, remote, and office-based organizations.
We used Rippling to input new hires and manage current employees. Employee information was stored on the platform. We used it to enroll employees in benefits and provide the team with an easy way to enroll in their plans or download their plan summaries. We also used it for payroll and to process yearly bonuses. Additionally, we relied on Rippling for compliance purposes. Their team would provide advice on compliance issues, HR support, and updates on new laws applicable to us.
I love the ease of use and the way it's laid out. I appreciate that there’s one place for all information. I also like that they have many useful tools, so as the company grows, they can adapt other features within their system (like performance evaluations, tracking, and learning management trainings).
Our company needed an HRIS system that would allow us to handle payroll, administer benefits, and provide compliance advice. We used Rippling for one year. The key benefit Rippling provided was a one-stop shop where everything could be tracked and kept together in one place, rather than having to visit different sites for various tasks (e.g., payroll, compliance, etc.). We were originally using an Excel file to track employee data. We switched to Rippling to store this data on their platform in a more secure and user-friendly way.
We used it as a PEO, and the health plans offered weren’t as competitively priced as if we had brought benefits in-house. Additionally, the benefit rates increased during open enrollment. I also dislike the $65 per employee, per month fee, which I find a bit steep.
Rippling is very comparable to other PEOs. What sets it apart is that they allow you to continue using their HRIS platform for HR, employee data tracking, and payroll even if your company decides to leave the PEO and bring benefits in-house. This flexibility is helpful, as it allows you to start with them as a PEO and transition to their standalone platform without searching for a new system, making the process easier.
The fees per employee per year are important to consider. If you’re in a period of rapid growth, make sure to account for expected new hires in your budget. You’ll also want to decide which features you’ll actually use. For example, we didn’t use their recruitment feature because we had a different system for that, but Rippling does offer a recruitment tool. The more features you use, the higher the cost, so be mindful of that.
I think their customer service improved from the time we started using them until we stopped. Initially, they didn’t have a designated rep for companies, so you had to go through their experts and didn’t always get the same person helping you, which could be frustrating. By the end of the year, we noticed improvements in their customer service, which was a positive development.
Rippling is great for any company with more than 10 employees. It’s ideal for small companies using a PEO, especially if employees are spread across multiple states. For larger companies that want to stop using a PEO and bring benefits in-house, Rippling is still very effective as an HRIS system for data tracking.
Rippling may not be worth the cost for companies with fewer than 10 employees. In that case, it might be better to avoid the PEO fees. If all employees are in one state, I would recommend using a broker for insurance and managing employee data and recruitment in-house instead.
Trainual
Trainual accelerates employee onboarding like nothing else. All you have to do is document your onboarding process and leave the hard work of repeating and scaling up to Trainual.
PROS
CONS
As you may have guessed from the name, Trainual is generally focused on the learning that happens within your organization. And, one of the key ways they help employees learn is during onboarding. Their platform will allow your employees to learn and reference the core processes that will be essential to their role.
Trainual is used by the UPS Store, Stanford University, Design Pickle, RE/MAX, and Harmon Brothers.
Trainual's pricing starts at $99/month, billed annually, with the Pro plan. If more features are needed, as well as phone support and personalized coaching, the Premium Plan is $149 per month. Both of them include the first 25 users.
Best For
Small, medium, large businesses, and enterprises looking for an all-in-one solution for training, onboarding, and process documentation.
Trainual helped our small organization improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our training and onboarding processes. It reduced the time and resources required to manage them. This platform standardized our training process and ensures that all employees receive the same training materials, regardless of their location or role in the organization. With Trainual, we automated many of the administrative tasks associated with onboarding new employees, such as sending welcome emails, setting up accounts, and assigning training modules. Trainual allows us to create our own training materials to fit our organization's needs and culture.
- Analytics and insights are the number one pro for us. Trainual provides detailed analytics and reporting features that can help us track employee progress, identify knowledge gaps, and measure the effectiveness of our training programs.
- Efficiency is the other pro. By automating many of the administrative tasks associated with training and onboarding, Trainual helped us save time and resources. This freed up our HR to focus on more strategic initiatives.
- Building engaging policies and employee handbooks right there on the platform. There is no limit to your creativity here. It is a fun way to deliver the employee handbook to new hires.
My small organization was looking to reduce spend as well as condense the growing number of third-party vendors we used to run our operations. It became increasingly hard to keep track of log-ins for different tools and websites. We were struggling to find a one-stop-shop solution for onboarding and training our new employees and we heard that Trainual can offer a solution to our problem. We have been using this tool for 6 months now and couldn't be happier.
- While Trainual does offer some integrations with other software platforms, such as Slack and Google Drive, the number of integrations available is limited compared to other training platforms.
- The minimum number of users/seats is 10 so if you have less than 10 employees in your company you may be overpaying.
- There is only a 7-day trial which may not be enough to fully understand if Trainual can give you what your organization is looking for.
Trainual focuses on small to medium organizations while most of the other training platforms are targeting large corporations.
It allows you to pay monthly while you are learning the ropes and figuring out your needs. It also includes a range of automation features that can help streamline the training and onboarding process, such as automated reminders, progress tracking, and the ability to assign training modules based on employee roles.
- First, consider the specific features that are most important to your organization. For example, do you need a platform that can automate onboarding tasks, provide detailed analytics and reporting, or allow for customization of training materials? Or do you need a platform that already offers ready-to-use training materials?
- Consider whether the platform can integrate with other software tools that your organization uses, such as HRIS software or communication tools like Google Meet or Microsoft Teams.
- Consider the cost of the platform, as well as any additional fees for implementation, support, or upgrades. Make sure the cost aligns with your budget and the value you expect to receive from the platform. How many employees do you have? Is your company planning to grow in the future? Can this platform accommodate the growth and how will the cost increase?
- Consider the level of customer support offered by the platform, such as training resources, technical support, and a user community.
I have not used it long enough to see major changes.
Startups, small to medium sized companies and growing organizations, especially ones with remote teams.
- Business with less than 10 people that is not planning to grow.
- Trainual may not be the best fit for very large enterprises with complex training needs, as the platform's features and scalability may be more limited compared to more robust enterprise-level solutions.
- Organizations that don't prioritize training.
Deel
It's awesome that Deel offers its onboarding and other HR tools for free to all customers. But what really sealed the deal for us in recommending Deel in this guide is its flexibility and remote team focus. The tool works for various types of international workers, and it even lets you onboard new hires directly in Slack.
PROS
- Supports different types of workers, including EOR hires, salaried employees, and independent contractors.
- Bulk upload worker information available for mass onboarding.
- Option to onboard a new hire within Slack (via a plugin).
- Compatible with 96 HR and recruiting systems, including popular accounting, ATS, and remote workforce management software.
- Excellent 24/7 customer service with fast onboarding (2-3 days) and local payroll experts in each jurisdiction.
- Deel HR is free for companies of all sizes.
- Seamless integration with platforms like QuickBooks, BambooHR, and Greenhouse, plus custom integration options.
- User-friendly, self-service features enable quick setup; identity verification often takes under 24 hours.
- Automated invoices simplify payments, provided they're in English.
CONS
- The tool cannot be purchased separately as a stand-alone product; it’s accessible only as a part of their Core HR plan, although that’s free to use.
- Not the best money spent for teams with only locally hired employees.
- Key features like onboarding automation are add-ons, which may increase costs.
- Limited flexibility in modifying contracts or service agreements; changes often require an addendum.
- Invoices cannot be generated in languages other than English.
As a distributed team, we have a special appreciation for Deel's completely free onboarding tool. It caters to pretty much any hiring need you might have: EOR workers, PEO hires, full-time salaried employees, or even independent contractors. And more importantly, the tool does that nicely, with transparency and flexibility being the highlights.
When we logged into Deel with an employer account, we were greeted right away with the onboarding progress of all our workers. We could instantly see who was missing what from their checklists (see screenshot). It makes it so easy to stay on top of the onboarding status and spot areas where we should simplify to better the new hire experience.
Digging deeper into the app, the level of transparency Deel provided users truly stood out to us. With a click on a worker, we could view more detailed information about how they were in their onboarding checklist: what's been done and what's still pending. And if it looked like they needed a nudge to finish up their tasks, sending them a reminder was just a button click away.
The Onboarding by Deel plugin is such a convenient tool. After we set up workflows for each department and location, the plugin automatically segmented and sent onboarding notifications and reminders directly to new hires through Slack. We could even monitor everyone's progress without leaving the comms app.
We wish this tool were more approachable, though. With the current pricing structure, Deel’s onboarding is part of its HR software and is only available to those using other Deel products, such as EOR and PEO. So, even if you’re willing to pay for this tool separately, that's not an option.
Also, if your team is fully locally hired and you don’t plan to hire employees or contractors from other countries, check out our reviews of Eloomi and ClearCompany above— they could be a much better fit for you.
35,000+ companies, including OpenAI, Zapier, and LEGO.
Deel's onboarding software is free for users of its EOR, Payroll, PEO, and Contractor services.
Best For
Organizations seeking to recruit or currently employing workers and independent contractors globally.
Whale
We found Whale a highly effective onboarding tool for growing teams, especially those prioritizing consistency, clear documentation, and role-specific training. The platform’s AI-powered automation and interactive learning features make it engaging for new hires, while its strong support framework ensures teams are set up for success.
PROS
- Automates role-based training for efficient and tailored onboarding.
- Engages new hires with AI-generated quizzes and gamified badges.
- Offers intuitive process documentation tools, including step-by-step guides and a step recorder.
- Scalable pricing, with a free plan for small teams and affordable options for mid-sized businesses.
- Strong implementation support, including a four-week onboarding framework guided by a Customer Success team.
- Automates role-based training for efficient and tailored onboarding.
- Engages new hires with AI-generated quizzes and gamified badges.
- Offers intuitive process documentation tools, including step-by-step guides and a step recorder.
- Scalable pricing, with a free plan for small teams and affordable options for mid-sized businesses.
- Strong implementation support, including a four-week onboarding framework guided by a Customer Success team.
CONS
- Limited customization options in the content editor.
- Best suited for mid-sized and scaling companies, less ideal for very small teams who lack well-defined onboarding processes.
- Relies heavily on structured workflows, which may not suit informal or dynamic teams.
- Pricing can become expensive for larger organizations with many users.
- Limited customization options in the content editor.
- Best suited for mid-sized and scaling companies, less ideal for very small teams who lack well-defined onboarding processes.
- Relies heavily on structured workflows, which may not suit informal or dynamic teams.
- Pricing can become expensive for larger organizations with many users.
If you’re a growing company ready to invest in structured onboarding, we think Whale is absolutely worth considering. It’s a tool designed to make onboarding efficient, organized, and tailored, and we found plenty to like about how it delivers on these promises.
One of the main reasons for our recommendation is how well Whale handles role-based training automation. As part of our testing, we set up onboarding for a sales team and assigned specific training modules based on their roles. The platform smoothly tailored training paths for new hires so everyone received exactly what they needed without having to sift through irrelevant material. For teams with limited HR resources or those looking to streamline their onboarding process, this level of automation can be a huge lifesaver, we’d imagine.
Another feature we thought was great was the platform’s use of AI to enhance learning. We tested the AI-generated quizzes and badges, which added an engaging, gamified element to the onboarding experience. For example, after completing a training module on customer handling, the system generated a quick quiz to reinforce key points, rewarding high scores with badges. This approach made learning interactive and fun— a refreshing touch for what is often considered a tedious process.
Teams wanting consistency in their training materials will love Whale’s focus on process documentation. The ability to create step-by-step guides and standard operating procedures felt intuitive and effective. During our test, we used the step recorder to capture a guide for using a CRM system. The result was a readily shareable, easy-to-follow document that we’d imagine new employees would find helpful.
In terms of pricing, Whale’s model starts at $99 for 10 users—quite accessible for most businesses looking to standardize their onboarding process affordably. Plus, if you’re a smaller team with fewer than five users, you can get started for free, no strings attached.
On the customer service front: our experience was quite positive. During our free plan trial, Whale’s support rep guided us through a four-week kick-off process, helping us create thematic structures, onboard users, and document workflows.
That said, the content editor was one of the first limitations we noticed about the onboarding tech. While functional, it lacks advanced customization options, which could be frustrating if you need highly personalized onboarding materials tailored to your brand or industry.
Additionally, though Whale does offer a free plan for teams of five or fewer, we believe the software works best for larger teams, ideally with 25+ employees and scaling. In our tech tests, we noticed that features like the step recorder are most valuable for ones with well-defined processes already in place. Smaller organizations or those without structured workflows might find Whale’s robust framework an overkill instead.
The number of customers is not disclosed, but our research indicates that most are small and midsized teams based in the U.S. and Europe. Notable clients include Oxygen Service Company, RIHM, Theiner ICT, Image Solutions, SJA Solutions, and Posternock Apell.
Whale is free for small teams, starting with documentation and knowledge sharing. The Scale plan costs $99 for up to 10 users, with an additional fee of $10 per month for each extra user. Enterprise pricing is available on request.
Best For
Whale’s employee onboarding software works best for growing businesses, especially those that prioritize consistency, clear documentation, and role-specific training.
Enboarder
Enboarder digitizes your onboarding process and makes it more personalized. It facilitates communication between your existing team and new hires to guide them through the transition and make them feel welcome.
PROS
CONS
Enboarder is a cloud-based platform that streamlines how you onboard, offboard and reboard people - all while delivering great experiences. The platform is quite versatile; you can use it to transition employees at different levels, as well as partners, customers or any other relevant stakeholder. Enboarder is also easy to use; it features a drag and drop mechanism, allowing you to customize it to your liking with little to no help from your IT department.
Hugo Boss, EventBrite, Mcdonald’s, LVMH Fashion Group, ING
The pricing of Enboarder’s solutions isn’t disclosed upfront. Contact their Sales team to get a custom price quote based on the size and needs of your business.
Best For
Enboarder serves businesses of various sizes, from SMBs to Enterprises.
ClearCompany
Modern, easy-to-use, and efficient, ClearCompany's employee onboarding software has many useful features some of which are: device and equipment management, compliance management, automated task notifications, bulk onboarding.
PROS
- Offers several integrated HR solutions you can pick from and combine as needed.
- Intuitive, easy-to-navigate interface.
- Highly rated support team for speedy, quality responses.
- They provide implementation support so you can get your instance up and running quickly.
- ClearCompany offers a host of HR solutions that work well with another. You can choose the solution you need or combine them all to have a comprehensive talent management platform in your stack.
- The majority of users find ClearCompany’s interface to be quite intuitive and easy to navigate.
- Many users have highly rated ClearCompany’s support team for speed and quality of response. Several users have also reported a smooth implementation experience.
CONS
- Pricing is not readily available and you can’t create a trial account on your own.
- Reporting customization options are limited.
- The candidate search functionality could be improved in accuracy and speed.
- There isn’t a mobile app, but the platform is mobile-optimized.
- ClearCompany’s pricing is not readily available on their website. You also can’t create a trial account on your own from the website and have to go through the sales team for more info.
- Some users felt that the reporting feature is limited in customizations.
- According to a few users, the candidate search function doesn’t always bring up the correct candidate(s) and could use some improvement.
- ClearCompany doesn’t currently have a mobile app, but the platform is well optimized for mobile use both for hiring managers and candidates.
ClearCompany's solution can provide a paperless onboarding experience for new hires. Their mobile friendly experience helps take care of compliance issues (I9, W-4, etc) all the way through directions to the office and new team member introductions.
Jamestown Community College, Supreme Court of the State of Arizona, Jackson Hospital, Vigor Industrial, Goodwill 9.
Choose from buying a single module, several, or the whole platform. That being said, ClearCompany's prices aren't provided upfront.
Best For
Companies looking for more than just an onboarding tool to add to their HR tech stack.
We use Clear Company for every new hire to get through all the communication and compliance portions with them. We send offer letters through Clear Company that are customizable, and we receive communication back from applicants via Clear Company as well. Once an applicant has accepted an offer, we also use Clear Company to streamline their background check. Clear Company provides a nice portal where we can clearly see where we are in the hiring process for an applicant.
The applicant tracking system works well for our small (less than 500 employees) business. It integrates well with our background check processes. It improves our communication with potential hires.
My company started using Clear Company because we wanted to make the onboarding process smoother for new hires. Prior to using Clear Company, we had a disjointed process. We had to individually craft emails to applicants in the recruitment process, and check in constantly on where we were in the process of recruiting them and completing background checks. Clear Company allowed us to streamline the process. We were able to set up customizable templates for ongoing communication with new hires. We were also able to streamline the background check process.
It takes some time to learn how to use it. We have not tried integrating with our payroll/HRIS software because it doesn't seem like it will function that well. It doesn't integrate with our social media.
I have not used other tools just like Clear Company, but we added Clear Company to our tool chest because it offers functionality that our HRIS software does not when it comes to applicant tracking and onboarding.
If you're considering using Clear Company, think about what functionality it will add that you don't already have with your other HR software. In our case, it adds additional applicant tracking and background check integration functionality that we wouldn't otherwise have. I would also consider the price. It is well-priced for our smaller business where we only pay for the essentials for a few users each month. The price could add up quickly in larger businesses, so you need to consider if the value-add of the product is worth the price tag.
I know they integrate with more payroll/HRIS systems than they used to (but still not with ours). They have improved the user interface over time as well.
I think Clear Company is good for small to medium-sized businesses. It is right-priced for this size of business and adds functionality that most businesses this size might be lacking in their other HR software.
I don't think Clear Company would be necessary or very useful for very small businesses who are not hiring very regularly. My business is smaller but experiences high turnover, so Clear Company is a good add for us. If you are not doing a lot of hiring, I don't think it would be much of a value add for the price.
eloomi
Eloomi's onboarding solution helps you define learning paths and automate workflows based on job roles, making it easy for new hires to enroll in all necessary training on their own. You can also customize materials and use interactive modules to make the process more engaging.
PROS
- Comprehensive modules for onboarding, training, performance, engagement, and recognition.
- Pre-made templates to create online training faster.
- Customizable and private surveys for honest employee feedback.
- Can request peer feedback on employee skills.
- Microlearning content prevents overwhelming onboarding.
- Eloomi is quite comprehensive, with modules for onboarding, training/learning, performance management, employee engagement, and recognition.
- The platform comes with a library of ready-to-use templates to help you create online training faster. It also has a mobile app for your employees to access training materials on the go.
- Their surveys are customizable and private, helping you get specific and honest feedback from employees.
- You can request other members of the organization to provide feedback on certain skills of employees.
- You can make use of Eloomi’s micro-sized online training content to prevent overwhelming onboarding experiences.
CONS
- Steep learning curve due to its vast feature set.
- Some bugs and slowness may be experienced when generating large reports, but support is responsive.
- Pricing is not transparent, and no free trials are offered currently.
- Because of the sheer number of features Eloomi offers, there’s a steeper learning curve for the average user to get the hang of the platform and understand it to its fullest.
- A few users reported experiencing bugs and speed issues when generating reports, especially ones with a large volume of data, but have noted that Eloomi’s customer support team is quick to resolve such issues.
- The platform’s pricing isn’t transparent and free trials aren’t available at this time.
With Eloomi’s employee onboarding solution, you can make your onboarding process reflective of your company culture. You can break the entire training process into bite-sized pieces to make it easier for your new hires to grasp all of the new information you share with them. You can also track their progress through your onboarding and training phase in real time and have conversations with them around it.
Eloomi’s customer list includes BONUS Vorsorgekasse AG, Breakout Games, Carne Group, ElectricBrands, Nufarm, Domino’s, and more.
Eloomi offers custom pricing, so the best way to find out how much it costs is to request a demo.
Best For
Eloomi is designed for HR leaders and managers in mid-sized and large businesses. Its purpose is to simplify employee onboarding, foster engagement through regular feedback, and monitor personal development.
Eloomi was more integrated into our workflows when we first implemented it, but after setting up some basic modules, it became more of a maintenance task in our backlog. We primarily used it to shorten the onboarding period, helping transition new hires from pre-hire status to fully functional team members. It was critical for getting employees up to speed on essential business processes. After initially setting up high-priority modules, we explored expanding its use cases but ultimately didn't have enough time with it to delve deeper.
- Eloomi has a sleek, user-friendly interface that is easy to teach employees to use.
- Eloomi is straightforward to maintain as an administrator.
- Customer service at Eloomi is excellent.
We used Eloomi at my former employer. The organization wanted an entry-level LMS to cover learning, onboarding, and other "journey" needs. The buying process largely came down to what features the organization could afford, and for a small organization, it was essential to prioritize cost-effective features that would help bring new employees up to speed without exceeding budget. I personally used it for about six months.
- It has limited flexibility compared to more advanced LMS options.
- Pricing is somewhat high, considering the features offered (in my opinion).
- System speed can lag at times.
Eloomi is well-suited for companies that need a robust LMS for relatively simple needs, with a focus on user experience and accessibility. It’s also a good "set it and forget it" option, requiring minimal ongoing management.
- Consider your LMS priorities and how you plan to use it.
- Determine the scope and importance of training in your organization.
- Evaluate the learning curve and impact of the user interface, as well as the level of customization you require.
Eloomi has made progress with API and integrations to enhance accessibility in LMS. They have focused on gradually improving core learning functionalities while staying true to their primary features.
Eloomi is ideal for organizations with a few essential learning processes that need a robust, user-friendly LMS, allowing for minimal ongoing maintenance.
Eloomi is not suitable for organizations with a high volume of users requiring extensive customization and a flexible user interface, particularly for those planning to use their LMS across a wide variety of applications.
Atlas
Atlas is a good mix of industry expertise and tech. They empower companies to hire and pay employees internationally while complying with local labor regulations.
PROS
- Legal entities in more than 160 countries
- Specialized services for employee onboarding and payroll processing
- Atlas has legal entities in over 160 countries. They’ll help you take care of employee onboarding and payroll processing in any of those countries, eliminating the need to engage any local service providers.
- The platform simplifies how you hire, manage and pay employees and contractors abroad, without needing to set up an operation where they are located.
- Atlas helps you stay compliant with local labor laws and frees you from employer liability.
CONS
- Some users have noted that communicating with support can be tricky and time-consuming since they have an expert for each country. This means new people must sometimes be looped in, depending on the situation. Nevertheless, our research suggests that this is constantly improving.
- Limited pre-built integration modules, Atlas only offers API integration.
- Atlas currently doesn’t offer global managed payroll for non-employer of record (EoR) clients; so if your company doesn't need Atlas to take on from you as EoR, but need to use Atlas' global payroll services, you can't do so at this time. Do note though that the team at Atlas is planning to offer this service next year.
- Atlas currently has limited prebuilt integration modules but they do offer API access for users to plug in third-party tools.
Atlas is a global payroll and direct employer of record (EOR) platform that helps companies ensure legal compliance as they hire and pay employees worldwide. They provide end-to-end management for local labor laws in global markets, from onboarding to payroll processing.
Atlas is suitable for companies of any size. The platform offers a compliance-assured EOR solution for those looking to hire and pay employees globally. The platform is continually growing, and they recently added contractor payments to the mix.
Atlas is used by over a thousand companies, including Toyota, CACI, Bath & Body Works, Coupa, PAE, and Namely.
- Essential: For $99 per month, this plan encompasses features and services that help users navigate the labor & employment laws in over 160 countries (+50 US States), manage employee lifecycle, compliance information between countries, be compliant with their accounting for travel and business expenses, receive personalized notifications, as well as have moderate access to expert insights and HR templates (which are priced separately).
- Premium: For $149 per month, this plan packs everything in the Essentials plan, plus compliance audit interactive checks, people analytics and planning features as well as dedicated account management.
- Enterprise: The pricing of this plan varies according to the number of purchased licenses and customer needs. You can reach out to Atlas’ Sales team for a custom price quote.
Add-ons:
- Contractor Pay: Starting at $49 per contractor per month
- Employer of Record: $595 per employee per month
- Visa & Mobility Sponsorship: Starting at $2,500 per visa
Best For
Atlas is great for teams of any size who’ve determined EOR is the right way to manage global payments.
Atlas HXM is primarily used for two key purposes: managing our global payroll and ensuring compliance. I check it almost daily. The platform provides frequent compliance updates and streamlines both payroll and compliance processes, offering an overview of all compliance requirements in one place. Many companies use Atlas HXM as a one-stop solution for managing their global workforce.
Atlas HXM has an employee self-service portal, which reduces the daily headaches of HR. It is present in most prominent countries. It is very useful when it comes to global payroll and compliance, which used to consume a lot of HR's time, leaving little time for strategic discussions. It also gives country-specific labor and employment updates.
My organization was in the expansion phase when Atlas HXM was introduced. The main pain point for HR was maintaining global compliance and managing global payroll. Our organization was initially in the US and India, and we were planning to expand to the UK and South Africa.
Hence, we were looking for reliable options to help ease the admin-related activities of employees with respect to payroll and compliance. The best part of using Atlas HXM was that it provided country-wise labor and employment updates, which was always helpful. Since Atlas HXM helped us with compliance, HR had a lot more bandwidth for strategic activities.
There is a certain amount of time required for training and gaining acceptance for Atlas HXM. It could be simpler than it is currently. It might be a little costly for a small organization or a start-up. It doesn’t have many options for customization.
I haven't used any similar tools that could be implemented internationally so easily and in a way that gives us an overview of all the locations.
- How much are you ready to invest in compliance?
- If going international, how are you going to manage compliance?
- Which countries are you planning to expand to?
- Customer service of the tool.
- How much cost can you bear?
The firm has used Atlas HXM for a limited time and hasn't seen much evolution.
Organizations that have employees in multiple countries will find Atlas HXM to be a great fit.
A small organization that isn't planning international expansion won’t benefit from Atlas HXM.
Workleap
We found Workleap particularly impressive for its range of customizable templates and thoughtful e-learning tools, which make the onboarding journey more like an online course. This makes it an easy recommendation for teams that want to improve their new hire experience through generative AI and fresh employee feedback.
PROS
- Multiple searchable onboarding templates are available.
- A new hire survey will automatically be included in all future onboarding plans.
- The freemium plan includes core features of Workleap Onboarding, with easy activation— just create your account (no credit card required).
- Integration options for HRIS, video conferencing, calendar, and email are available.
- Workleap is easy to use and has a free plan that a team of up to 10 users can use.
- To ensure that feedback is truely anonymous, without the manager, or anyone with higher access being able guess who submitted what response, a minimum of 5 responses need to be sent in before the survey manager is able to access the anonymous feedback.
- The platform has a feature for peer-to-peer recognition, giving your employees the ability to praise one another for outstanding work.
CONS
- No e-signature feature.
- There is no mobile app.
- The free plan is limited to one onboarding template.
- Lack of phone and dedicated customer support.
- Some users have reported that Slack integration sometimes malfunctions.
- Workleap does not include a complete performance management solution among their offerings. They have an OKR tool that lets you set goals but there isn’t a mechanism in place to track thos
- e goals or conduct performance reviews.
- There currently isn’t a mobile app that managers and employees can use on the go.
Workleap provides an intuitive onboarding solution that makes the entire process easy and efficient for HR teams.
Onboarding templates are a no-brainer these days, as they save recruiters from starting everything from scratch every time a new hire is onboarded, and Workleap didn’t disappoint in that aspect.
There are plenty of templates, all very well-developed and easy to customize. During our testing of the tool via the free trial, we particularly appreciated the ability to assign multiple templates to a new hire. We typically have a general onboarding template for all hires and a specialized one for specific roles, and this approach just complimented our process— it allowed us to tailor onboarding to each role without reinventing the wheel every time. Not to mention, the fact that these templates are available even on the free plan is a huge plus.
For those looking to onboard several new hires more efficiently, you’ll agree with us that Workleap’s bulk assignments and role-based activities are truly labor-saving. The onboarding tool comes with multiple predefined roles and the option to create custom roles.
In our tests, instead of assigning tasks to each individual, we assigned activities to roles within templates. As soon as a specific person was assigned that role, all the related activities were automatically assigned to them.
Employee feedback is critical to improving the onboarding process, and we found that Workleap did an excellent job here. The platform includes native Pulse Surveys automatically enabled for new hires, allowing us to gather valuable insights on how new employees were progressing, their satisfaction levels, and their feelings about their new roles and company culture. We could also see aggregated reports as well as individual feedback, which gave us a comprehensive view of the new hire experience.
Unfortunately, Workleap does not offer e-signature functionality. The platform also lacks a mobile app, although we found that its responsive UI worked well enough on our smartphones to compensate for this.
Furthermore, the support is only available on weekdays during regular hours. For teams spread across different time zones who may need assistance outside of those hours, this limitation can be quite frustrating.
Workleap’s customers include Rewind, CSL Group, Thirdbridge, and Assent. The total number of customers is not disclosed.
Workleap's pricing plans are mostly differentiated by the number of onboarding templates available. The free plan includes one template, while the Starter ($49/month), Essential ($139/month), and Pro ($479/month) offer three, ten, and unlimited templates, respectively. Other features remain consistent across plans, including unlimited users, making it easy for teams of any size to get started.
Best For
Growing teams looking to streamline their onboarding workflows while collecting valuable insights from new hires.
BambooHR
BambooHR helps you save countless hours in onboarding. It comes with customizable pre-boarding packages, built-in e-signatures, onboarding process templates, and automated messaging to help new hires through onboarding tasks.
PROS
- Flexible packaging and custom pricing: you can add features as needed to your base plan
- Customizable checklists for the onboarding process
- Centralized information repository, good tool for optimized document organization
- Automate workflows and set up reminders for efficient task management
- Easy to use
- Flexible packaging and custom pricing is the way they roll. You can pick out one or two packages and pick other modules as add-ons based on your needs.
- Very simple and straightforward tool, easy to use.
CONS
- For advanced onboarding workflows, customization may be limited.
- Companies outside the United States might find it too U.S.-centric. For example, payroll is only available for U.S.-based employees, and customer support is only offered during U.S. business hours.
- Certain components like time tracking, performance management, and surveys are only available as add-ons.
- Payroll is only available for US-based employees
- Customer support is only offered during US business hours.
- Some modules like time tracking, performance management, and surveys are only available as add-ons.
For years, BambooHR has stood out for covering the complete employee lifecycle, encompassing core HRMS functions like recruiting and performance management. We’ve always found their design intuitive and easy to use, which helps explain why they remain one of the top names in HR software.
Onboarding features are limited to specific plans, so teams who are looking for this feature a la carte should look elsewhere. However, Bamboo is a great choice for teams in the market for or open to adopting an HR suite of user-friendly tools designed to streamline processes, optimize efficiency, and foster employee engagement.
Among the 20,000+ companies that use BambooHR, you’d find names like Quora, Universal Group, Reddit, Asana, Change.org, University of Maryland, Grammarly, Stance, Postmates, Wistia, the Jacksonville Jaguars, and ZipRecruiter.
Pricing is not disclosed upfront, but they do offer a free trial of their all-in-one software and then go out of their way to find a version that will suit you. Before they come up with a personalized quote that will align with your budget, however, they are also likely to extend your free trial upon request or even give you a free demo of the advanced features.
Best For
BambooHR is a good bet for organizations seeking a customizable HR solution offering flexible pricing. It’s popular among teams embracing partial or complete remote work arrangements.
If I recall correctly, we intended to use BambooHR primarily as an ATS. However, the basic package did not include an ATS, so we added the ATS, Onboarding, and Employee Self-Service modules.
The ATS component was used almost daily to manage job postings and candidate pipelines. That said, the Employee Self-Service and Onboarding modules were underutilized, partly due to the variety of positions we hired for and differing needs across roles.
- The ATS system was easy to use and well-suited for a small business, with flexibility to manipulate information as needed.
- The increased visibility provided by BambooHR greatly improved our candidate pool and reduced time-to-fill metrics.
- The Employee Self-Service page was intuitive and straightforward to navigate.
As an HR Business Partner for a smaller company that relied entirely on manual processes, we sought a software solution to support hiring and employee records management. Major pain points included the lack of a proper ATS and an effective system for managing employee records.
At the time, individuals would physically drop off applications or apply through Indeed, limiting our talent reach significantly. Additionally, employee records were maintained as physical files, posing significant challenges for tracking and audits. This tool addressed these issues and helped streamline our processes.
- BambooHR was costly compared to other tools, considering its features and practicality for a small business.
- A better onboarding and training process for the team could have improved the use of the Employee Self-Service tools.
- For a company with both tech-savvy and labor employees, the tool could have been more agile to meet diverse needs effectively.
From a small business perspective, I would rate it a 7 out of 10. It is easy to use and allows for quick adjustments, but the cost is high for what it offers. While its user-friendliness is a plus, it may not be suitable for larger companies with complex requirements.
Cost is a crucial factor to consider. It is essential to evaluate whether employees and HR team members will use all the functionalities of the tool effectively. Assess the types of employees in your company, their technical skills, and their familiarity with workflows or self-service tools.
If you have a team that is technologically adept and values independent workflows, this tool could be a great fit. Additionally, for companies transitioning to more technologically enhanced processes, this tool can be beneficial if the cost aligns with your needs and expected usage.
Based on feedback I’ve heard, the tool has remained consistent with the features and functionality I experienced during my time using it.
This tool is ideal for smaller to mid-sized companies with independent, technologically proficient employees who value easy-to-use self-service and ATS tools. It also supports organizations looking to modernize their processes.
Larger companies with complex organizational structures may find this tool too basic for their needs. It is less suited for businesses requiring advanced functionalities or extensive customization.
Leapsome
Leapsome is used by some of the best companies in the world and rightly so. It lets you build personalized learning paths, set learning schedules with fixed timelines, create quizzes based on the learning, and get data for analysis purposes.
PROS
- Feature-rich platform with modules for employee onboarding, training, surveying, performance, goals, and more.
- User-friendly and clean interface.
- Numerous third-party integrations to choose from, including Slack.
- Transparent pricing, and you only pay for what you need.
- Leapsome is quite feature-rich; the platform packs modules for employee onboarding, learning management, engagement, performance management, goals tracking and much more.
- The majority of users find Leapsome’s UI to be friendly and easy to navigate.
- There are lots of third party integrations options to choose from, including Slack, which many users appreciate.
- The platform has transparent pricing, and you only pay for the modules you need.
CONS
- You can’t include images or files in your feedback.
- Steeper learning curve due to expansive features.
- No mobile app for on-the-go access yet.
- Free trials require booking demos with the sales first.
- There is currently no way to post or upload an image or file into your feedback.
- Since Leapsome can do so many things, you may need some time to get used to it. The implementation process can also take some time.
- There currently isn’t a mobile app that users can download and access Leapsome quickly on-the-go.
- Free 14-day trials are available but you need to book a demo with the sales team first to sign up for one; you can’t do so on your own.
Leapsome is a performance management and employee engagement software tool that also has a robust employee onboarding solution. Their product is really focused on teaching new hires the right skills through programming at different points in their onboarding process and then testing what has been taught. For example, a new sales person may learn the product, then the pitch, then the pricing for their new company.
Spotify, Babbel, Trivago, PlusDental+, Mercedes-Benz.
Leapsome starts at a 24-day free trial. Once that is over, pricing will depend on the number of employees you'll have using the tool and the modules you'd like to use. Their modular pricing starts at 7 USD user/month if billed yearly.
Best For
Leapsome can be a good bet for all manner of companies looking for a modern alternative to their onboarding.
Use-Cases: Why Use Employee Onboarding Software
If building a successful company with motivated, inspired, and productive team members is important to you, then you’re going to want a structured onboarding workflow that engages new hires. But if you’re still not sure if you need software to help manage, automate and streamline that process, here are common use-cases that may convince you to invest:
- Culture Building: Company culture starts with your people and how you engage them. Having a company mission and values is one thing, but sharing those with your employees from day one and ensuring that they understand them is another. With employee onboarding software, you can share your mission and values cemented into communications so new hires and existing employees alike know the company’s “why” — and in turn, their own reason for coming to work. You can also schedule welcome events for new hires, create welcome messages for new employees to your team or the entire company, match new hires with an internal “buddy” that they can lean on as they get acclimated to their new job, and more. All of these actions can contribute to the culture you want to create.
- Ensuring Employee Has Necessary Paperwork: There is a legal & compliance piece of onboarding that you need to follow, specifically when it comes to paperwork. Such paperwork includes employment contracts, non-disclosure agreements (if applicable to your company), health and safety training, I-9s and W-2s, company policies, benefits and payroll forms, and more. As you likely know, there’s a lot of administrative work when bringing on a new hire, and if you’re hiring a lot of people at once, it can really eat up your time. HR onboarding software can help streamline and automate this process for you.
- Training: A huge part of onboarding is, of course, employee training — and there’s a lot of it. After all, new hires need to learn the company mission and values, its product and/or service, and its customers as well as team processes, systems, etc. An employee onboarding platform can help you create a training plan, mentoring opportunities with senior leadership, skills assessments, etc. Of course, consider that all of these HR processes can become an automated workflow if you have the right onboarding app.
- Stay Organized: New hire onboarding checklists and processes built into a tool means you don't have to spend as much time making sure every box is checked. If something isn't done, the system will alert the human resources org.
- Automation: If your current onboarding checklist is literally a paper checklist, you are no doubt spending a lot of time and effort on tasks that can be automated through onboarding software. Collecting employee data, e-signtures, background checks, etc are all processes that your HR team can spend a lot less time on.
Considerations & Common Mistakes
There is a big difference between onboarding and orientation. If you don’t realize this, then your new hires’ experiences will be suboptimal. Fortunately, there are common challenges and mistakes associated with onboarding that you can learn from — and avoid. Here are a few:
- Not making employees feel welcomed: Employee onboarding software can only do so much to make employees feel welcomed. There is a required human element that you should make sure managers incorporate into the onboarding experience. For example, taking a new hire out to lunch with the team on their first day, walking them around the company to meet employees, hanging up welcome signs at their new desk, etc.
- Not setting the right expectations: Make sure new hires know from day one — or even before they start — what they can expect at different parts of their onboarding journey. This can help them prepare necessary paperwork, and generally cut down on the anxiety that comes with starting a new job.
- Before they start: To help new hires walk through your company doors with confidence on their first day, tell them ahead of time about anything they need to prepare for day one, where they should go, who they should check in with, what they should wear (if there’s a dress code, that is), etc.
- First day: Who should they meet with on day one to get a rundown of their role? It goes without saying that they should meet with their managers, but if there are other employees they’ll be working with regularly, make sure to pre-schedule the right meetings/meet-and-greets.
- Focusing on paperwork vs. employee experience: As we’ve mentioned, employee onboarding software can take the burden of paperwork off of your plate. But it can also do a lot when it comes to your employee’s overall experience with the company. So don’t shy away from software providers that offer more than just paperwork help — and don’t forget to incorporate any relevant culture activities, like happy hours, team lunches, etc.
- 30/60/90 days: Managers should create a clear 30/60/90-day plan that maps out clear goals and milestones for a new hire’s first three months of employment. Your onboarding software provider should have templates and manager trainings that can help get this started.
Benefits & ROI
At the end of the day, employee onboarding software can help your new hires achieve productivity faster than they would without a formal training and welcoming process. And, as we’ve mentioned, employees are more likely to stay at your company long-term if they’ve undergone a formal onboarding process. Increased retention of course saves you time and money on recruiting, prevents lost work from employee turnover, and contributes to a more productive and successful company overall.
While there’s no defined return on employee onboarding software, the benefits from it (better employee retention, more employee engagement, and more streamlined HR processes) are huge. To help you get an idea of what that translates to in dollars, use our HR tech ROI calculators here.
Pricing
How much to budget for employee onboarding software depends on a number of factors, such as what components you actually need and how many users you’ll have. Some of the software providers we’ve mentioned here charge for each individual module they offer while others charge a per user per month fee (which we’ve seen for as low as $0-$8/user/month) and/or an annual fee. All this to say, don’t forget to discuss pricing on your demo based on your specific needs so you can get a clear sense of total cost.
Features: What You Can Expect from Employee Onboarding Software
At a minimum, employee onboarding software can help you optimize the process of welcoming and training a new hire. This means automating paperwork, streamlining training, and more. But some vendors have a broader set of offerings that cover pre-boarding and recruiting. It really depends on your company’s needs and overall onboarding goals. In general, you can expect to see the following features from employee onboarding software:
- Automated Workflows: Employee onboarding software can help streamline a lot of the workflows that are vital to your job but that also take up a lot of your time. This includes:
- Email & Text Capabilities: Some employee onboarding software allows you to streamline communications with new hires (and even job candidates) through automated email and text capabilities. With email templates, calendar syncing, even text-to-apply functionality, you can more efficiently handle a lot of the admin work involved in recruiting and onboarding.
- Legal Documentation & Other Paperwork: Before new employees actually start, let them complete their paperwork from home. You can send them everything from I-9s and W-2s to your employee handbook, non-disclosure agreements, and more.
- Training: Create training materials (in some cases, with the help of preloaded templates) and offer synchronous or asynchronous training sessions so new hires can get up to speed on everything from company mission and values to core work functions. You can even administer simple tests to increase accountability and make sure everyone is on track as they transition into their new role.
- Performance Management: Offering continuous and real-time feedback to all employees (not just new hires) is a great way to increase engagement and retention — after all, the last thing you want is for an employee to be blindsided at a mid-year review for something that may have happened months prior. Fortunately, some employee onboarding systems offer a performance management feature where you can set goals for individual team members and map them to broader team and company goals. From there, you can track progress, note successes, and discuss lessons learned so team members have a clear path for growth and continuous contribution.
- ATS & Recruiting: Depending on your needs, you can find employee onboarding software that offers applicant tracking components to help you streamline your entire hiring process and lay a strong foundation for onboarding new hires. These features include everything from employer branding and career sites, to interview scheduling and video interview functionality, to talent communities and candidate management, to recruiting analytics, background checks, offer letter management, even referrals.
Demo Questions: What to Ask During Demos
Before you have any software demos, make sure to prepare a list of questions so you can get a clear picture of each vendor and what they offer. That way, you can more confidently invest in the solution that’s right for your company and its unique needs.
To help you get started, here are some sample questions to ask:
- How are new employees automatically put into an onboarding process?
- What parts of the product address training?
- How are connections with colleagues fostered?
- Do I need to buy a broader platform to use this?
- When does onboarding start and end from the employee’s perspective?
- How does this integrate into my existing HR software and payroll? What integrations will I need?
- How will others in the organization use this solution?
- What are the key features I want to ask about?
- What are the things that would make me nervous about buying this sort of solution?
Implementation
There are two key implementation steps you’ll need to take with employee onboarding software. On one hand, you’ll need to get the software up and running, which might include integrating with existing HR software you already use. On the other, you’ll need to set up workflows for different employees and create all necessary training and onboarding content.
In most cases, implementation depends on your company, the software provider you choose, and how the two need to integrate for success. To get a clear sense of what implementation will look like for your company, use your demo to find out how integrations work, who you’ll need to tap internally for help (i.e. will IT need to help with any software integrations), etc.
Employee Onboarding Tools FAQs
What is employee onboarding software?
Employee onboarding software provides tools to automate and improve the process of bringing new hires into an organization. It typically includes features like digital paperwork, company resource distribution, training assignments, and onboarding checklists.
What are the benefits of using onboarding software?
Benefits include a faster, smoother, and more consistent onboarding experience for new hires. It reduces manual tasks for HR and managers, improves engagement, and allows customizing onboarding per employee role.
How is onboarding software different from an LMS?
A learning management system (LMS) focuses specifically on training while onboarding software has a broader scope. It facilitates all aspects of onboarding, not just training - paperwork, company policies, equipment, peer connections, etc.
What features should I look for in onboarding software?
Key features of onboarding software include customizable templates, digital document signing, automated task triggers, new hire portals, team/manager collaboration tools, surveys, analytics, mobile access, and HRIS integrations.
Does onboarding software integrate with my HR stack?
Most onboarding systems integrate with leading HRIS/HCM platforms to allow the passing of new hire data seamlessly and keep records updated across systems. API integration is also often available.
Is onboarding software secure?
Reputable onboarding software vendors ensure the security of sensitive new hire records and data through encryption, permission controls, and other measures like SOC 2 compliance.
What is the typical pricing model for onboarding software?
The pricing of onboarding software usually follows a per-user-per-month model. Some products may base their pricing on features but it isn’t common. Enterprises can expect custom pricing if they require advanced features, particularly around permissions/security.
Next Steps
At the end of the day, new hire onboarding is critical for business success. It’s also a long-term process with multiple stages that can last an entire year — from preboarding (making an offer, handling paperwork, and preparing for their first day), to welcoming them on their first day, to providing ongoing training and support as they get up to speed. Therefore, it makes sense to spend the time getting the right employee onboarding solution live sooner than later.
Eventually, your focus will shift from onboarding to engagment and satisfaction, for a which high-quality employee engagement software is essential — but remember that what you do now for a new hire’s first few months will have a lasting impact on their productivity and longevity with your company. With the right onboarding software, you can maximize success for both your new hire and your company, reduce attrition, and build a productive and welcoming company culture.
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