5 Best Employee Onboarding Software Tools for New Hires

If you have an onboarding program in place, does it leave new hires prepared to take on a new role — or are they left confused, with lots of questions about what to expect? Does it take place over at least 90 days or for a week or less like it does for more than half of employees? If your company is among the over one-third of companies that don’t have one, what’s stopping you?

If you’re putting it off because it seems like creating an awesome onboarding experience is a big undertaking, don’t worry. Today, many software providers offer solutions for managing every part of the onboarding process.

You’ll need some resources to get your onboarding plan off the ground, but good news: the initial investment has a huge payoff. A solid program is shown to increase engagement, performance, and retention.

• 70% of employees who had a great onboarding experience say their job is the “best possible job.”
• Employees who are confident they can be top performers in their role are almost two times more likely to say their onboarding was excellent.
• Employees who agree they understand how they can grow at the company are 3.5 times more likely to strongly agree they had a good onboarding experience.

You’re probably thinking that with these kinds of results, great onboarding programs — and onboarding software — would be ubiquitous at companies across all industries. But it may surprise you to learn that only 12% of employees say their organization is doing a good job with onboarding. As we mentioned, over 30% of companies don’t even have a structured program.

Get ahead of the competition, stand out to candidates, and foster engagement, motivation, and retention among new hires and throughout the employee lifecycle with a structured onboarding plan supported by robust software. Check out these onboarding software solutions that are available today.

1. ClearCompany

ClearCompany Onboarding software is part of a full-spectrum talent management platform that connects the entire employee lifecycle with modules to support data-driven recruiting, performance management, employee engagement, and workforce planning strategies. The award-winning software has everything your HR team needs for a seamless onboarding experience — and an excellent employee experience from start to finish.

ClearCompany’s cloud-based Onboarding system is designed to simplify and automate HR processes, eliminate paperwork, and set new hires up for long-term success at your organization. Its onboarding tools and features include:

• Employee self-service portal where new hires can access documents, company information, and employee handbooks and learn about their fellow team members
• Mobile accessibility so new hires can view welcome packets, watch team introductions, and sign documents from their mobile device
• Built-in Background Checks, E-Verify, and WOTC forms with autocomplete for faster completion and fewer errors
• Digital, cloud-based storage of important documents including offer letters, tax documents, and other required paperwork
• Automated task notifications to keep HR and new employees on track effortlessly
• Integrations with a variety of payroll and HRIS systems to easily sync new hire data between systems
• Interactive reports and dashboards for a birds’-eye view or in-depth look at onboarding data, including number of new hires, pending tasks, and more
• Part of an ecosystem of talent management modules built to handle the entire employee journey in one platform, from applicant tracking to workforce planning

ClearCompany equips human resources teams to create an excellent onboarding experience for every new hire and to build better systems that help them save time and money. Best of all, it also helps companies take advantage of their own people data so that their strategic decisions are driven by what’s really happening at their companies. With ClearCompany, organizations experiencing high turnover among new hires can drill down into the data to pinpoint potential causes and make changes that have a positive impact.

Product functionality and customer support have earned ClearCompany top ratings and reviews from clients and recognition as a top HR software provider from major software review sites. Some recent awards include:

• Named to the 2023 Capterra Talent Management Software Shortlist
• Recognized as a 2023 HR Software FrontRunner by Software Advice
• Named a Category Leader by GetApp for Talent Management, Onboarding, Performance Management, and 360-Degree Feedback

If you’re interested in learning more about ClearCompany Onboarding, sign up for a personalized demo today.

2. UKG Pro

UKG Pro is an industry-leading solutions provider for human capital management, people and performance management, benefits administration, recruiting, learning, and payroll processes. UKG Pro Onboarding provides a people-focused process that helps employees build a connection to their new company and relationships with colleagues.

Pro Onboarding’s features include a new hire dashboard where they can sign documents and get familiar with their onboarding plan. New hire portals can include dynamic content like videos. The software also has an integrated payroll system and allows managers to receive completion notification emails when new hires finish an onboarding task.

3. Eduflow

Training courses are part of the onboarding experience for many different roles, so we’re including this learning platform on our list. With Eduflow, companies can create social, collaborative learning experiences that engage new hires and help them retain knowledge. The software supports interactive peer learning to build stronger, more productive teams.

Eduflow makes it easy for new hires to jump into training programs as soon as they start a new role with personalized learning paths and an intuitive design. Companies can use the software to create their own courses, track progress, and give feedback.

4. ADP Workforce Now

ADP Workforce Now offers a suite of solutions for clients including payroll, time, HR, talent, and benefits, as well as ADP Onboarding. ADP Onboarding eliminates paperwork and makes it easy for new hires to fill out forms accurately and submit their information with confidence.

Some of its other key features include:

• A mobile-first design
• Turnkey integration with ADP systems
• Customizable onboarding workflows
• New hire templates for part-time, hourly, and international employees
• Welcome messages and videos for new hires

The software is only available for use to ADP Workforce Now clients who are using Payroll and Enhanced HR.

5. Eddy

Eddy is an employee management system that offers hiring, onboarding, payroll, and time-tracking services designed for small businesses and HR departments of one. Eddy’s paperless onboarding software helps its users start preparing their new hires for their roles prior to their first day.

The software streamlines onboarding by giving new hires the ability to manage their own onboarding process digitally. HR can keep an eye on new hires’ progress from their own dashboard. In addition to onboarding, Eddy users can manage employee time tracking and PTO and keep training certifications current with training tracking.

Why is Employee Onboarding Important?

Onboarding new employees with a structured plan is important because what happens during their first few days and weeks shapes their entire employee experience. It’s a critical time for retention because your new hires may have accepted their positions, but that doesn’t mean they’re committed to your company. 90% of new employees will decide if they’re staying at a company long-term during the first six months, and turnover can be as high as 30% in the first 90 days.

It’s critical that companies mitigate the high costs that come with high turnover, especially among new hires. Estimates vary, but replacing employees can cost as much as 300% of their salary. Replacing hourly workers is no different, with average costs ranging from $3,500 to $10,000. Your onboarding program has a significant influence on whether or not new hires will stay and on how they will perform in their roles — which means it also has a big impact on hiring budgets.

• After a positive onboarding experience, 69% of employees are more likely to stay at the company for at least three years.
• When companies focus on employee onboarding, they retain 50% more employees and can even experience a 62% increase in productivity.

The employee onboarding process is the most important time to help employees feel welcome, ensure they understand what’s expected of them, and show them how their work is connected to company goals. It’s your company’s chance to prove that the candidate experience truly reflects what it’s like to work there and that you care about every new employee’s success.

Taking the time to build a program and ease new hires into their role, rather than throwing them right into their new job duties, shows them that your company will not only allow but also empower them to do their best work.

What Does Onboarding Software Do?

Manual onboarding is a tedious task with lots of important steps, many of which are required for compliance reasons and need to be completed as quickly as possible. 40% of HR managers spend more than three hours onboarding each employee without software, while 16% spend an astonishing five or more hours. Onboarding software is designed to help your company create a seamless experience for new hires and make the onboarding process easier for HR teams and hiring managers, too.

These are some of the processes that onboarding software can help HR teams manage more efficiently and effectively:

• Compiling and sending documents, including offer letters and tax documents, to new hires
• Verifying employment status and completing background checks
• Adding new employees’ data automatically to other HR systems, like payroll and benefits software
• Welcoming new hires and introducing their team members and other colleagues
• Assigning and keeping record of each employee’s company-owned devices and equipment
• Setting onboarding goals to ensure new hires are prepared for their roles
• Getting new hires’ feedback on their onboarding experience

Switching to digital onboarding saves tons of time and money for the business while also helping your company put its best foot forward to new hires. The software helps organizations provide a streamlined, structured experience for every new employee that reflects your company’s commitment to their success long-term.

Benefits of Employee Onboarding Software

If you want to improve your employee onboarding experience, a software solution is the way to go. With onboarding software, HR teams reap tons of benefits:

• Eliminate or greatly reduce paperwork and inevitable errors that happen with manual data entry
• Store records more efficiently and make them accessible to all relevant employees
• Speed up lengthy hiring processes that can cause disengagement or even turnover among new employees
• Save tons of time (and money) spent manually onboarding employees so they can focus on the work that can’t be automated
• Get onboarding insights with reports and dashboards to help your team continuously improve its processes

Onboarding software also has many advantages for your new employees. With software, they can prepare for their roles before they even start:

• Sign and submit onboarding documents online before their first day with less chance of making mistakes thanks to intelligent forms
• Start to get familiar with company mission, vision, and values, as well as company culture, right away with digital resources in their new hire portals
• Watch welcome videos or read introductions from leadership and their new teammates
• Access new hire portals where everything they need is centralized in one location

The benefits of a software solution continue when new hires’ first day arrives. With onboarding software, HR and new hires can:

• Stay on track and ensure compliance with automated notifications about onboarding tasks
• Set goals for the first few months to ensure new hires are progressing as expected
• Keep a digital employee profile that always shows the most accurate, up-to-date information with a cloud-based system
• Create an “employee journal” — a digital record of the employee’s journey at the company that begins with their application if the software is part of a full-spectrum talent management platform

Onboarding software automates the boring parts of the process that can’t be skipped. It allows HR to create more efficient workflows so new hires can get to the important parts of onboarding — learning about their new job duties, coworkers, and company.

How to Choose Employee Onboarding Software

With so many options on the market, you may be wondering how to choose the best employee onboarding software. There are lots of considerations to make, but here are a few of the most important when looking for a new onboarding solution:

• What problems does your organization the onboarding software to solve?
• Can this solution meet the needs of your business now and in the future?
• How many employees will be using the software, and which ones?
• Does the software provider offer the right amount of client support and training?

ClearCompany developed a guide that walks you through the steps you can take to find the best employee onboarding software for your business. Read our Onboarding System Buyer’s Guide to learn what to look for and how to make the right choice.

Maximize your employees’ talent by empowering people at every stage of the employee journey with ClearCompany. The ClearCompany Onboarding platform helps users connect people and streamline processes. ClearCompany integrates data-driven best practices, expert-informed content, and tailored software tools to recruit, ramp, recognize, and retain employees, uniting people and processes to achieve business success.

Sign up for a personalized demo of ClearCompany’s Onboarding platform with an expert today.