Nearly half of employees say a bad onboarding made them want to quit

When it comes to starting a new job, first impressions matter. That’s especially true when it comes to the impression a company makes on new hires during onboarding procedures.

According to new research, onboarding procedures such as welcoming new employees, and training them can have long-term impacts. The quality of an employee’s onboarding can affect their long-term motivation and even how long they plan to stick around.

A new survey from Software Finder of 1,010 employees who were hired within the last two years found that employees’ onboarding experiences varied greatly. While almost half (46%) found onboarding procedures to be welcoming, and about a third (34%) said their onboarding was well-structured, many described the experience in negative terms. About a third (29%) said the process was disorganized, 26% described it as rushed, and 21% called it underwhelming.

Shockingly, only 28% of new hires said the onboarding process prepared them for their role. In fact, two-thirds (67%) of respondents said the procedures didn’t accurately represent their responsibilities or the company as a whole.

A bad onboarding experience can impact how long employees want to stay with the company, the survey found. Nearly half of employees (48%) who said they had a bad onboarding experience, said they wanted to leave the company within six months.

However, employees with positive onboarding experiences felt differently. Nearly 4 in 10 (39%) said an effective onboarding actually increased their desire to stick around long term. And over half of employees (55%) with a positive onboarding experience said they’d want to stay at the job long term. By comparison, only 10% of new hires with negative onboarding experiences felt similarly.

In fact, 77% of employees who had a positive onboarding experience said they felt more connected to the company after the onboarding. Likewise, 61% of employees said the impact of onboarding has an impact on their future work ethic and engagement.

Interestingly, employees seem up for reengagement. Seven out of 10 said they’d favor a re-onboarding experience after their first six months at a new job to help them align more fully with the company. That might be good news for companies who got it wrong the first time around.