7 Common Onboarding Mistakes to Avoid
Quick look: New hire onboarding can make or break the employee experience. However, even the most well-meaning businesses can miss the mark. From inconsistent processes to overseen compliance risks, common onboarding mistakes can cost employers time, money, and top talent. Here, we unpack seven onboarding pitfalls to avoid and how partnering with a professional employer organization (PEO) can help your company streamline onboarding, boost engagement, and stay compliant.
First impressions matter. And for small and midsized businesses (SMBs), onboarding plays a critical role in the employee experience. A thorough, positive onboarding helps new hires feel welcome, confident, and equipped to succeed. In fact, research shows that staff who had high-quality onboarding are 2.6 times more likely to be extremely satisfied at work.
Unfortunately, many employers unintentionally make similar missteps that can negatively affect employee morale and company performance, potentially leading to confusion, disengagement, and early turnover. Here are seven of the most common onboarding mistakes to avoid, best practices to implement instead, and how a professional employer organization (PEO) can assist.
Mistake #1: Lacking a standardized onboarding process
New hires can have vastly different experiences if onboarding is handled inconsistently across departments or office locations. This variation can cause confusion, gaps in training, and delayed productivity.
What to do instead: Employers can encourage clarity and consistency by developing a standardized onboarding framework highlighting key steps and timelines. Create checklists, templates, and schedules that managers can follow, and include company policies, job-specific training, and opportunities to connect with new colleagues.
How a PEO can help: A PEO’s HR Managers can help SMBs create onboarding tools and workflows. Additionally, their HR platforms streamline new hire paperwork and employee benefits, and some provide access to performance management dashboards designed to enhance employee engagement and productivity.
Mistake #2: Administering all paperwork on day one
A new hire’s first day is already busy and packed with information, so handing them a stack of forms to complete may be distracting or overwhelming. When paperwork takes up a significant portion of the first day (or week), it can delay meaningful onboarding activities like training and relationship-building.
What to do instead: When possible, shift administrative paperwork to a pre-boarding phase. Using digital forms and onboarding portals can simplify the process so that day one revolves around orientation, introductions, and setting expectations.
How a PEO can help: PEOs often use compliant, digital onboarding platforms, enabling new employees to complete forms like I-9s, W-4s, and direct deposit setups online before their first day.
Mistake #3: Being vague about expectations and responsibilities
It’s best not to assume new hires instinctively understand what’s expected of them. Ambiguity during this time can lead to confusion, uncertainty, and hinder confidence, negatively impacting performance from the start.
What to do instead: Clearly define job responsibilities, performance metrics, and short-term goals early in the onboarding process. Managers should schedule time with each new hire to discuss priorities, success criteria, and how their role supports broader team and organizational goals.
How a PEO can help: Within a PEO partnership, your team is still responsible for job-specific training; however, PEOs can provide direction on best practices for setting expectations, outlining performance metrics, and creating development plans.
Mistake #4: Improperly educating new hires on employee benefits
Only about half of workers feel completely or very knowledgeable about their benefits. And while onboarding is an ideal time to educate staff on their plans, many new hires complete the process without gaining this understanding. This leads to underutilization of programs and dissatisfaction when employees later realize they missed important enrollment windows or options.
What to do instead: Your internal HR team can schedule a dedicated session to walk new hires through available benefits. To boost comprehension, provide plain-language summaries, real-life scenario examples, FAQs, and ample time to ask questions before enrollment deadlines.
How a PEO can help: A PEO’s employee benefits professionals explain plan options, answer questions, and help staff make informed decisions. Plus, PEOs offer access to competitive benefits plans at large-group rates, and many provide year-round benefits communications to promote deeper understanding.
Mistake #5: Forgetting to make a personal connection
Some onboarding programs focus exclusively on policies and procedures, without introducing company culture or encouraging building personal connections. When this happens, new hires miss the opportunity to build a sense of belonging.
What to do instead: Incorporate team introductions, welcome lunches, mentorship pairings, or informal coffee chats into your business’s onboarding plan. These small touches can have a significant impact.
How a PEO can help: While culture develops organically within an organization, PEOs can help encourage welcoming onboarding experiences by advising on orientation agendas, introducing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) best practices, and aligning SMBs with tools that facilitate one-on-one check-ins, employee recognition, pulse surveys, and more.
Mistake #6: Overlooking compliance requirements
Employment laws are ever-changing, and it can be challenging for busy SMBs to keep up. However, inadvertently missing key compliance steps, such as not completing Form I-9s on time or displaying outdated labor law posters, can expose your business to legal risk.
What to do instead: Stay up to date with federal, state, and local employment regulations by subscribing to updates from the Department of Labor (DOL), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), etc. Use a compliance checklist to ensure all required documentation is completed and retained properly. If your company operates across multiple states, be aware of regional legal differences.
How a PEO can help: A PEO’s risk and compliance experts remain informed about changing federal, state, and local employment laws. They ensure every aspect of your HR function, not just onboarding, adheres to current legislation.
Mistake #7: Treating onboarding like a one-time event
Onboarding is often considered a one-day or one-week occurrence, but proper onboarding takes time, and ending support too soon can leave new hires with lingering questions.
What to do instead: Extending onboarding to last the first 30, 60, and 90 days may be beneficial. Schedule regular check-ins between new hires and managers, and offer extra training and feedback opportunities. Additionally, consider re-onboarding seasoned staff to enhance retention and engagement.
How a PEO can help: PEOs can enable SMBs to extend the onboarding journey by connecting them with tools that promote continuous learning and growth, such as performance management and learning and development platforms.
ExtensisHR: Dedicated to optimizing the entire employee lifecycle
Onboarding mistakes are easy to make, but their impact can ripple throughout your organization. For SMBs with limited HR resources, developing a thorough onboarding plan and staying on top of legislation can be complex and time-consuming. That’s where a PEO steps in.
With the support of a PEO like ExtensisHR, SMBs can design onboarding programs that check all the boxes, create meaningful first impressions, and set new hires up for long-term success from day one.
Here’s how ExtensisHR empowers you to deliver an exceptional onboarding experience:
- Dedicated HR guidance on onboarding processes, training plans, and employee handbooks
- A centralized HR platform that automates and organizes onboarding, for both new hires and HR staff
- Access to Fortune 500-level employee benefits, plus benefits administration, management, and proactive employee education
- Risk and compliance expertise for your specific industry and location(s)
- Complimentary recruiting services to help you hire the best, from job description creation to offer letter consultations
- An Employee Solution Center team who promptly answers employees’ questions on a variety of topics, whether they’re new hires or seasoned
- Affordable access to 15Five, a leading performance management tool with features like check-ins, one-on-one meetings, employee surveys, etc.
Onboarding is your chance to make a powerful first impression and set the stage for long-term success, and we’re here to help you achieve that.
Ready to elevate your onboarding processes? Explore ExtensisHR’s PEO solution or contact our team today to learn more.
