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Designing an Engaging Onboarding Journey to Retain Employees
Onboarding does not end on an employee's first day. Structure a journey that clarifies expectations, facilitates introductions and supports taking up the role. Strengthen coordination between HR and managers to create a more consistent arrival experience and support engagement.
- Duration
- 2 days 14 hours
- Code
- DTRH003FR Code
Presentation
Onboarding is a strategic driver: employees who receive a good welcome become productive sooner and stay longer. Yet one third of voluntary departures occur before the sixth month because of an unstructured onboarding journey. This early disengagement turns recruitment investment into a loss and weakens the employer brand.
This intensive 2-day course helps you design an effective welcome: from pre-boarding to final assessment, build a complete programme, equip managers and involve teams. Initial assessments, skill development matrices and 30-60-90-day reviews are tested on your real cases and refined before you return to work.
You will leave with an HR onboarding toolkit containing templates, indicators and a sample schedule, plus an action plan validated by the instructor. The aim is lower turnover, faster independence and stronger collective performance from the next new arrival.
Objectives
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
- understand the strategic benefits of successful onboarding—faster skill development, retention and employer image—and master key stages: pre-employment, the day before arrival, 30-60-90 days and the initial review;
- design a complete, consistent onboarding journey with a welcome charter, operational welcome plan, buddy arrangements, targeted training and key cultural moments, tailored to the role and organisational culture;
- adopt a supportive, engaging management approach through clear communication, active listening, gradual delegation and prompt feedback, creating belonging and trust from the start;
- implement monitoring and evaluation tools such as NPS questionnaires, checkpoint meetings, skill development indicators and 6-month retention rates to measure effectiveness and continuously adjust the programme.
Program
Module 1: defining successful onboarding foundations
- Onboarding as a strategic driver for HR and management.
- Analysing causes of onboarding failure and their impact on performance.
- Defining manager, HR and employee roles and responsibilities.
- Selecting success and satisfaction KPIs for the journey.
Group discussions
- Share onboarding successes and failures.
Module 2: designing a structured, motivating onboarding journey
- Identifying key stages: before arrival, the first day and the first months.
- Creating an engaging welcome programme: content, stakeholders and materials.
- Defining onboarding objectives suited to different roles and profiles.
- Involving peers such as tutors and buddies, and line management, in the process.
Practical exercises
- Build a standard onboarding journey for a target role.
Module 3: managing onboarding and skill development
- Adopting the key approaches of a welcoming, facilitative manager.
- Providing close support and conducting constructive feedback meetings.
- Techniques to foster independence and cultural integration.
- Detecting and addressing early signs of poor fit or declining motivation.
Practical exercises
- Conduct an onboarding review, including first-impressions feedback and a 30-day follow-up.
Module 4: evaluating and improving the onboarding programme
- Assessing programme effectiveness through employee feedback.
- Measuring onboarding's impact on retention, turnover and performance.
- Applying continuous improvement principles to the programme.
- Building on best practices and demonstrating the value of the HR approach.
Practical exercises
- Develop an action plan to improve an existing onboarding programme.
Audience
This course is intended for professionals responsible for structuring the welcome experience and engaging new recruits, including:
- HR managers and HRBPs designing and managing the overall onboarding strategy to reduce turnover and strengthen the employer brand.
- Front-line managers welcoming new team members to support rapid skill development and team cohesion.
- HR development officers and talent managers structuring onboarding journeys to retain talent and convey organisational culture.
- Office managers or sales administration managers handling administrative and logistical onboarding arrangements to ensure a smooth employee experience.
Prerequisites
This course requires the following prerequisites:
- Professional experience: involvement in recruitment, onboarding or management is required to contextualise workshops and work on real onboarding cases.
- Basic knowledge:
- understanding of HR processes such as recruitment and administrative management;
- interpersonal communication fundamentals;
- knowledge of organisational structure.
Teaching and assessment methods
- Initial skills assessment
- Training materials provided to participants
- Continuous assessment throughout the course
- End-of-course feedback questionnaire
- Combination of theory and practical application
- Attendance records
- Post-course follow-up evaluation
- Practical exercises
- Case study
Course highlights
- People-centred approach: place the individual and organisational culture at the centre of each onboarding stage, from the initial welcome to the first review.
- Complete toolkit: leave with ready-to-use welcome charter, 30-60-90-day schedule and feedback templates, interview scripts and key indicators.
- Collaborative workshops: co-design a standard journey as a group, share best practices and validate your prototype through role play with immediate feedback.
- Real-world cases: analyse experiences from organisations recognised for effective onboarding and adapt their methods to your context.
Dates and sessions
Choose the date and delivery format that suit you.
No upcoming sessions are currently available.