Onboarding new employees in 2025

A recent Gallup study also shows that employee emotional engagement in Germany will be very low in 2025, which will have a significant impact on corporate success. Professional onboarding therefore pays off twice over. In the following article, you will find further details, examples, and step-by-step instructions.

Onboarding is the planned journey from ‘new here’ to ‘fully involved.’ It starts when the offer is made and guides new employees through their first weeks and months at the company. On this journey, they get to know people, processes, and tools, achieve their first successes, and find their place in the team. If these stages are well designed, the induction period is shortened, trust grows, and collaboration quickly feels natural.

Good onboarding takes the pressure off the first few weeks and saves a noticeable amount of time and money. New colleagues know what’s important, who they can turn to, and what results matter. This increases productivity, reduces early staff turnover, and brings your culture to life. The combination of clear learning objectives, small practical tasks, and regular discussions is particularly effective. Studies have linked a strong learning culture with higher retention, internal mobility, and better leadership pipelines.

Plan it as three phases:

• Preboarding up to the first day
• An intensive orientation period during the first 30 to 90 days
• Consolidation up to month six.

Schedule check-ins for days 10, 30, 60, and 90. This is when you check learning progress, targets, and the employee’s sense of satisfaction. What’s important is not so much the strict adherence to the timeframe, but the rhythm: short, specific, binding. This 30–60–90 approach is considered best practice in current guidelines.

HR creates the framework, managers translate targets into tasks, and a buddy provides support through the workday. A learning platform brings content together, tracks progress, and provides evidence. Digital forms get the job done quickly. Dashboards show where tasks are outstanding. People, content, and processes interlink to create a lasting experience. A buddy program is worthwhile for social integration.

Start preboarding 
Welcome email, schedule for the first week, logins, and a brief overview of ‘How we work.’ Optional: a small package with a personal touch. This builds excitement.

Clarify expectations 
Define three to five goals for 30–60–90 days. What would be considered a good result? Which results matter? The clearer you are now, the more relaxed you’ll be later.

Unlock a learning path 
Mandatory modules (compliance, security), role modules, and short tool-based ‘snacks.’ A maximum of 15–20 minutes per learning unit, directly linked to brief exercises. Companies with a strong learning culture score measurably higher in retention.

Assign a buddy 
First coffee together on day 1. Have brief, daily touchpoints during week 1, followed by weekly meetings. It’s about guidance, not control. (more on this in the Harvard Business Review )

Bringing the team and processes to life 
A brief round of introductions, two to three shadowing slots, and short ‘How we work’ sessions with new connections.

Assign productive tasks early on 
A real mini-task with demonstrable results in week 2. Making a visible contribution helps to generate enthusiasm and a sense of belonging.

Measure and seek feedback 
Short knowledge test after each module, satisfaction pulse-take after days 10 and 30. Ask openly: “What helped? What was lacking?”

30–60–90 reviews 
Celebrate successes, overcome obstacles, refocus goals. Then expand responsibilities and update the learning path.

Consolidation until month 6 
Offer mentoring, utilize internal communities, and make regular wins visible. This keeps the learning curve going.

Start with a warm, personal welcome: Names, short tour, first team photo together in chat. Integrate learning content into the workflow, not on top of it. It’s better to plan three short sessions than one whole day of training. Link each module to a mini-task in the real system. Make progress visible, for example with a ‘First 30 Days’ milestone board. Collect questions in a Q&A document that everyone can view and add to. Don’t overpack calendars. Utilize asynchronous updates. This creates calm and ensures your new team member has a productive induction period. Companies that view onboarding not just as ‘Day 1’ but as a structured learning journey report noticeably better retention rates.