Employee onboarding process: a complete guide

Employee onboarding is the process of bringing a new hire into the role, the team and the way the company works. It runs from the moment a candidate accepts the offer to full independence in the job, and it involves HR, the line manager, a buddy, IT and payroll together.

In Gamfi's “Onboarding in Poland 2025” survey (1,050 employed adults, in Polish), 22% of people had considered quitting within their first three months. The onboarding process covers stages, a 30-60-90 day plan, a checklist, the employer's legal obligations in Poland and the metrics that show whether it works.

Employee onboarding at a glance

What is employee onboarding?

Onboarding, orientation, preboarding and role training: how they differ

Employee adaptation is, in practice, a synonym for onboarding. It stresses support in finding one's place in the company and the team.

The 4C model: four levels of onboarding

Talya Bauer, a professor of management, described onboarding in a four-C model in a paper for the SHRM Foundation. SHRM presents the model as four levels, from compliance to building relationships:

• Compliance: rules and company policies;
• Clarification: understanding the role and what is expected of the new hire;
• Culture: the values and norms of the company;
• Connection: relationships with the team and with the people the new hire gets information from.

Gamfi describes the 4C model in more detail in the guide “Onboarding na nowo” (in Polish).

Why effective onboarding pays off: onboarding in numbers

New hire onboarding often fails at the start: in the Gamfi survey, half of employees had less than a week for it, and 11% had no onboarding at all. When it fails, the company pays twice: for the onboarding and for a new recruitment.

Early turnover among new hires

Doubts appear fast. In Poland, 22% of employees had considered leaving in their first three months, according to Gamfi's “Onboarding in Poland 2025” survey. In hospitality and catering it was 43%, in logistics and transport 37%. You can read the full results in the “Onboarding in Poland” report (in Polish), and ways to reduce new hire turnover on the page devoted to that challenge. How to keep people after the onboarding period is covered on the page about employee retention.

The cost of onboarding and the cost of doing it badly

According to Gamfi's 2021 estimate, a three-month onboarding costs nearly seven average monthly salaries. On top of that comes the cost of replacing a person who left. SHRM estimates it at 50-200% of annual salary, depending on the role (US data). Good onboarding also frees managers and HR from repetitive tasks, as in the page on how to cut manual HR work.

How to calculate the cost of early exits in your company

For the board, your company's data matters more than market averages. Good onboarding lowers these costs only if it ends with an independent employee. Count the people who left within 90 days of their start date over the last twelve months, and multiply by the cost of one recruitment plus the cost of onboarding: the time of the manager and buddy, training and salary during the period of reduced productivity. Finance will ask about the source of each item, IT about integrating the onboarding tool with the HR system and phone access, and the operations director about the time of shift supervisors. In Gamfi, HR and the manager see on one dashboard how the onboarding of each new hire is progressing. How to show the board the result of HR work in numbers is covered on the page about how to prove HR impact to the board.

Onboarding as an employer branding tool and a way to build company culture

The first weeks show a new person what the company culture really is. Good onboarding is the first proof that the company was ready for the new hire. For more on how onboarding relates to the employee's experience, see the post on employee experience in onboarding.

How long does onboarding take?

Onboarding lasts until the employee does the job independently, and that depends on the role. Talya Bauer writes, in a paper cited by SHRM, that an employee has about 90 days to prove themselves in a new job. According to Gallup (US data, no sample given), reaching full potential takes about twelve months. In Poland half of employees had less than a week for onboarding.

Each company should decide what “independently” means in a given role and measure time to productivity on that basis. In the Gamfi survey, 11% of employees never went through onboarding, 26% needed more than three months to feel ready to work on their own, and 10% never felt ready. More on how long onboarding should last is in a separate post.

When onboarding starts

Onboarding starts when the candidate accepts the offer. A long time can pass before the first day, because the candidate may still be serving a notice period of several months with the previous employer, and may consider other offers in the meantime. The first steps, contact, a welcome message and preboarding, should start right after the offer is accepted. In Gamfi you start the welcome right after the hiring decision, and the new hire completes part of the paperwork from home or from a phone, even without a company email address. Onboarding new hires takes cooperation between recruitment, HR and managers.

Onboarding stages: the onboarding process step by step

A planned onboarding has several stages. Each has a different goal and a different owner.

Preboarding

Preboarding is the time between the end of recruitment and the first day of work. It is worth using well, because it keeps you in touch with the future employee. See the post on using the potential of preboarding. During this time you can:

• send a welcome message from the manager or buddy,
• ask the person to fill in questionnaires and consents, preferably online,
• issue a referral for the medical examination,
• send the plan for the first day: time, place or meeting link, dress code and documents needed,
• prepare the workstation and system access.

First day

The first day should make the new person feel at ease. It is not meant to pass on all the knowledge: burying the new hire in materials and tasks is the worst thing you can do. Start introducing the new hire to the company with a meeting with the manager. How to run it well is covered in the post on the new employee's welcome day. Make sure that:

• the new hire meets their manager, buddy and team in the first hours, for example over a shared lunch,
• the contract and other formalities are completed,
• the new person gets system access and help with the first login,
• they see their workplace and know what the first week looks like.

Week one and company-level onboarding

Company-level onboarding introduces the new hire to the processes, rules and values of the company. It looks similar for everyone, regardless of the role. HR runs it, and in companies with many locations the location manager does too, using materials from HR. A new employee settles into the team faster when they know its rules from the start. In the first weeks a new person can learn about the company's history and values, its structure and clients, the tools and systems, and the rules on remote work, leave requests and information security.

Role-specific onboarding and new hire training

Role-specific onboarding is the longest stage, led by the direct manager. The manager introduces the employee to the duties, assigns tasks, reviews them and answers questions. New hire training is split into a part common to the whole company and a part specific to the role. This is where gaps appear most often: in the Gamfi survey, 27% of employees named the lack of role-specific onboarding as the biggest gap. How to run it:

• build an onboarding plan with milestones and split the goals into areas: getting to know the company, the role, and doing the job,
• gradually increase the amount of knowledge, the difficulty of tasks and expectations,
• plan role training and company-wide training on procedures,
• encourage questions and give feedback regularly, and collect it from the new hire too.

Probation and the review after onboarding

The probation period starts with the job itself, not at the end of onboarding, but the two processes overlap. A probation contract in Poland lasts at most three months, and for a fixed-term contract it can be shorter (art. 25 of the Labour Code). A review conversation after onboarding lets you assess whether the employee has reached independence and agree on further development. More in the post on probation and onboarding.

30-60-90 day onboarding plan

A planned onboarding splits the process into stages with specific goals and dates. The plan below is an example. A new hire reaches independence faster with a plan, a buddy and regular conversations with the manager. Adjust it to the role: on shift-based roles the plan is counted in shifts and independence comes earlier, and with fixed-term contracts probation can be shorter than 90 days.

Onboarding checklist for HR, managers, buddies and IT

An onboarding checklist organises the tasks and shows who is responsible for what. In chains and dispersed companies, new hire onboarding is often led by the location manager, who acts as the line manager. Before the start, prepare the workstation, access and the plan for the first day. Every element of the onboarding plan has an owner and a deadline, and the whole process needs one owner. The list below is a starting point to complete with tasks from your company. More examples are in the post on the onboarding checklist.

Who is responsible for onboarding?

Several people are responsible for the onboarding process, each with a different scope. Onboarding new hires is a shared interest of HR and the business, so both sides should work together. Effective onboarding needs a clear split of roles. See the post on onboarding roles.

HR

HR usually runs preboarding, the welcome and induction into the company culture: sends the welcome pack, organises the first week and basic training for new hires. After handing the employee over to the manager, HR keeps supporting the manager in role-specific onboarding.

The manager

The manager runs role-specific onboarding, the last and longest stage. The role of the new hire should be described before the start. The manager's task is to prepare the employee to meet the goals and support the team like everyone else. This role is often neglected: in the Gamfi survey, 52% of employees did not meet their line manager during onboarding.

Buddy and mentor for a new hire

A buddy accompanies the new person through the whole onboarding. The buddy is a link to the manager, helps the new hire find their place in the team and passes on the unwritten knowledge of who does what. The buddy is responsible for introducing the new hire to the team and for explaining the unwritten rules. A mentor supports professional development over a longer time and can be a different person than the buddy. How to motivate a buddy for the role is described separately.

IT, payroll and HR admin

IT provides equipment and access. Payroll and HR admin collect data and documents, complete the employment formalities and take care of GDPR compliance. What matters most for them is complete documents and correct data.

Support during onboarding: department director and new team members

The department director decides what independence means in their area and assesses whether onboarding leads to results. New team members need the help of the whole group to settle in. In the Gamfi survey only 28% of employees were onboarded with the involvement of the new team, and 23% named the lack of relationship-building with the team as a gap. Team integration is therefore a separate task in the plan.

Legal formalities after hire: employer obligations in Poland

Formalities after hire are the part of onboarding that is required by law. The table below shows the main employer obligations when hiring under the Polish Labour Code and other regulations. You will find the law in the consolidated text of the Labour Code (in Polish).

The information on the terms of employment can be given on paper or electronically, if the employee can print and keep it and the employer has proof it was delivered or received. Since 12 December 2025 the confirmation of initial health and safety training can also be electronic (Journal of Laws 2025, item 1640). The training itself runs on the same rules as before, and the change applies only to how it is confirmed. In Gamfi you prepare the starter documents from a template, and the new hire signs them electronically as part of their path (see documents and e-signature).

Since 5 November 2026, amended rules on preventing bullying at work apply (Journal of Laws 2026, item 1046). An employer with at least ten employees sets the rules and procedures in a collective agreement, in the work regulations or, if they are not there, in a separate set of regulations. It is worth including them in the materials for new hires.

Onboarding for production, retail and field employees

In production, retail and the field, onboarding looks different from the office. The employee often has no company email or computer, works shifts, and their manager runs a large team. The data show that early thoughts of leaving are common here: in the Gamfi survey, 43% of employees in hospitality and catering and 37% in logistics and transport had considered leaving within their first three months. According to data from LeasingTeam Group reported by the Polish portal Infor (in Polish), in some segments as many as 20-40% of temporary workers leave in the first month (the source does not give its methodology). Onboarding of production employees starts with health and safety training and learning the workstation, and after the first week the manager checks that the employee does the tasks according to the instructions. Well-planned onboarding of production employees also has clear shift rules and a named trainer.

Remote onboarding and hybrid onboarding

Remote onboarding of new hires needs a more careful plan than onsite onboarding, because the new person will not see the company or the team in person. Effective remote onboarding relies on a clear schedule and constant contact with the buddy. What to prepare for remote onboarding:

• prepare the workstation: send the equipment and access before the first day,
• plan the first week hour by hour, with meetings,
• appoint a buddy the new person can talk to over video,
• make sure all new hires have equal access to knowledge.

More tips are in the post on how to run remote onboarding.

Reboarding and offboarding

Reboarding is onboarding for an employee who returns to work after a longer absence, for example after parental leave. It is described in the post on reboarding.

Offboarding is the process of ending the cooperation, no matter who made the decision to part. In Gamfi you run the employee's departure similarly to onboarding: tasks for HR, the manager and IT with deadlines and reminders, documents and an exit interview (see employee offboarding). The full process is described in the post on offboarding.

How to measure onboarding: evaluation and feedback

Effective onboarding needs measurement. It lets you control the onboarding of a specific person and, more broadly, improve the whole company process. Evaluation of onboarding should also cover the manager and the buddy, because when one element fails, the whole process suffers. It starts with the goal: what the employee should be able to do after 30 and 90 days. Assess each element of the onboarding process separately: the welcome message, the training and the conversation after 30 days. Evaluation of onboarding after each group of hires shows what to improve.

Collect feedback both ways: from the employee about the process and from the manager about the employee. You can check the mood of new people with short surveys, as in engagement surveys. Methods of evaluating a new hire's work are described in the post on how to measure a new employee's performance.

Onboarding and HR management

Onboarding is part of human resource management. Managing HR processes covers hiring, development and departure, so the onboarding process should use the same data and roles as the other processes. Managing the onboarding process needs one owner who is responsible for the whole, not for single tasks. Managing adaptation means making sure the new person finds their place in the role and the team, and checking after 30 and 90 days that the employee knows what is expected and has support. Training should sit in one plan, with initial and role-specific training together. Talent development starts with a conversation about goals after 90 days, and company culture starts with the first contact with the company.

Common onboarding mistakes

The same mistakes repeat from company to company. The data show how often:

1. No plan and onboarding that is too short. In the Gamfi survey half of employees had less than a week for onboarding, and 11% had none.
2. Formalities only, instead of learning the role. The contract and equipment are the start of onboarding, not all of it.
3. Too much information at once. A new person will not remember everything on day one, so spread the materials over the following weeks.
4. No contact with the manager and the team, described above.
5. No role-specific onboarding, which 27% of employees in the Gamfi survey named as the biggest gap.
6. No measurement and no feedback. Without them the company does not know what in the process does not work. Typical slips are also described in the post on ten onboarding mishaps.

How to plan and automate the onboarding process

An effective process starts with a plan. Onboarding spread well over time limits chaos: everyone knows what to do, and the new hire learns the knowledge and skills step by step.

The onboarding process map, step by step

1. Set the elements of the onboarding: stages, messages to the employee and milestones.
2. Put the elements on a timeline, to the day and where needed to the hour.
3. Add short surveys that show mood and progress.
4. Assign an owner to each stage and build an onboarding team.

Automating the onboarding process

Manual onboarding burdens HR and managers with repetitive tasks: collecting data for the contract, equipment requests, scheduling training. This burden grows with the scale of hiring. In the Gamfi survey, only 10% of employees went through onboarding in an app. Automation lets you:

• start onboarding as soon as the hiring decision is made,
• cut repetitive tasks and free up participants' calendars,
• onboard many people at once without repeating the same steps for each,
• standardise training for new hires and measure it continuously.

In Gamfi, in the employee onboarding platform, you prepare separate paths for roles, departments and locations, and HR, managers and buddies see their tasks and progress in one place.

If you are choosing a tool, check whether the onboarding module covers tasks for all roles, documents and measurement of results, connects with the HR system and works on a phone without a company email, and processes data in line with GDPR. A good onboarding module does not require a company email from the employee, and it should give HR and managers a shared view of progress.

Personalizing onboarding and motivating the employee

Even the best-automated onboarding will not work without human contact. Personalized onboarding makes the process look as if it was made for the person. Where it is possible:

• send a personalised welcome message, even as a video,
• offer a choice of welcome pack contents and work equipment,
• call the new person before the first day.

You support an employee's motivation by showing them progress: clear goals for the first weeks, short summaries and quick feedback.

Employee onboarding: frequently asked questions

Sources of the data in this guide

• Gamfi, “Onboarding po polsku 2025” (Onboarding in Poland 2025): Poland, 1,050 employed adults, Ariadna panel, January-February 2025.
• SHRM (2017 and 2025), Gallup (2021) and LeasingTeam Group via the portal Infor (2026): data and opinions from the US, or without a stated sample or methodology.