How to create an effective onboarding plan
Last updated:
30/6/2022
How to create an effective onboarding plan: the 7-step framework
Step 1 — Send a welcome message before day one
A comprehensive pre-boarding message includes all documents requiring completion such as contracts, tax forms, and bank details; location details, arrival time, and parking or transport information; a description of the first day's schedule so the new hire knows what to expect; the contact details of the person who will meet them on arrival; and access to any introductory materials such as a company handbook or team overview. This information, sent clearly and promptly after contract signing, significantly reduces the administrative burden on the first day itself.
Nothing undermines a first impression more effectively than a new hire arriving to find their workstation unready, their system access unconfigured, or their desk unassigned. Prepare everything in advance: set up the computer, configure email and system access credentials, arrange necessary equipment, and assign a physical workspace or set up the digital collaboration tools for remote workers. For shift-based roles, ensure the new hire is already set up in the scheduling system and can see their first few weeks of shifts on their mobile phone from day one.
The first day should balance practical orientation — building access, health and safety briefing, workplace systems — with a clear overview of the role, team structure, and organizational culture. Avoid overwhelming new hires with a full organizational briefing in a single session: prioritize what they need for their first week and schedule deeper context for subsequent days and weeks. The first day should end with the new hire knowing who their manager is, who their immediate colleagues are, what they are expected to do in their first week, and who to ask when they are unsure about something.
Step 4 — Develop a role-specific training plan
Step 5 — Set 30-60-90 day goals in the first week
Step 7 — Integrate scheduling from day one
Practical onboarding tips for Belgian HR managers
- Frequently asked questions
Research consistently suggests the optimal onboarding period is 90 days for most roles, with some organizations extending formal support to 12 months for complex or senior positions. The first week is critical for first impressions and basic orientation. Days 8 to 30 are critical for role clarity and initial competency building. Days 31 to 90 are critical for full integration and independent performance. Organizations that consider onboarding complete after week one lose a significant portion of the retention benefit that a full 90-day program would have delivered.
Orientation is a single event — typically the first day or first week — covering administrative formalities, workplace logistics, and initial introductions. Onboarding is the full process of integrating a new hire into their role, team, and organizational culture over 30 to 90 days. Effective onboarding encompasses orientation but extends far beyond it to include role-specific training, goal-setting, performance feedback, and progressive integration into team dynamics and organizational processes.
Remote and hybrid onboarding requires more intentional structure than in-person onboarding because the informal learning and acculturation that happens naturally through physical proximity must be deliberately engineered. Schedule more frequent check-ins during the first month, ensure all digital tools and access credentials are ready before day one, assign a remote buddy who proactively reaches out daily during the first two weeks, and create structured opportunities for the new hire to meet team members via video — don't leave relationship building to chance.
For shift-based roles, getting a new hire set up on the scheduling system is one of the most operationally important onboarding steps. A mobile-accessible scheduling platform gives new employees immediate clarity on their upcoming shifts, allows them to register their availability preferences, enables digital clock-in from their first shift, and integrates with payroll from day one — eliminating the manual processes that delay accurate first salary payment and create early frustration in what should be a positive first experience of the organization.
Remote and hybrid onboarding requires more intentional structure than in-person onboarding because the informal learning and acculturation that happens naturally through physical proximity must be deliberately engineered. Schedule more frequent check-ins during the first month, ensure all digital tools and access credentials are ready before day one, assign a remote buddy who proactively reaches out daily during the first two weeks, and create structured opportunities for the new hire to meet team members via video — don't leave relationship building to chance.
For shift-based roles, getting a new hire set up on the scheduling system is one of the most operationally important onboarding steps. A mobile-accessible scheduling platform gives new employees immediate clarity on their upcoming shifts, allows them to register their availability preferences, enables digital clock-in from their first shift, and integrates with payroll from day one — eliminating the manual processes that delay accurate first salary payment and create early frustration in what should be a positive first experience of the organization.
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