Employee onboarding is how a company welcomes a new hire and gives them the tasks, training, and context they need to get up to speed and feel part of the team.
Onboarding starts the moment someone accepts an offer and runs through their first weeks or months on the job. Good onboarding covers the practical side, like paperwork, accounts, and equipment, and the human side, like introductions, a clear first-week plan, and regular check-ins.
Done well, it shortens the time it takes a new hire to become productive and makes them far more likely to stay. Done poorly, people feel lost and early turnover goes up. Most teams now run onboarding as a repeatable journey with clear owners for each step, rather than a pile of forms on day one.