Onboarding Software

Starting a new job can be a nerve-wracking process for employees and employers alike. Onboarding involves interconnected tasks such as completing work eligibility and tax documents, employee handbook walkthroughs, and direct deposit setup. Doing all of this manually can prove demanding for HR teams. Deploying an employee onboarding solution will help HR professionals manage such processes more efficiently.

With onboarding software, you can design employee onboarding workflows and assign tasks to stakeholders. Onboarding systems store all forms and documents (such as I-9 and W-4 forms) in one place so you can access them when needed.

There are myriad onboarding solutions out there, and it can be difficult to find the right one for your HR team. That's why we created this guide, to help you find the right onboarding software and answer important questions related to your software purchase.

Here’s what we’ll cover:

• What is onboarding software?

• What are the typical features of onboarding software?

• What are the important considerations when choosing onboarding software?

• What is the cost of onboarding software?

• How do small and midsize businesses use onboarding software?

What is onboarding software?

Onboarding software helps HR professionals design and manage onboarding programs for new hires. These tools help HR guide new employees through the onboarding process by:

• Automating document collection

• Managing training and new hire events

• Managing legal paperwork and documentation

• Tracking new hire documents and training

• Managing background checks

• Conducting employee orientation programs

• Reporting onboarding progress

Onboarding software can help businesses facilitate communication between new hires and employers even before they join the organization.

Discover more about trends related to the future of work including onboarding, training, and recruitment.

What are the typical features of onboarding software?

Before investing in onboarding software, it's important to understand the common features offered by these solutions to select the right product for your business needs. Here are some common features of employee onboarding software:

• Orientation management: Helps HR professionals design orientation programs for new employees with customizable workflows.

• Forms and e-verification management: Allows new hires to verify their identity and employment authorization with standard documents (such as I-9s and W-4s). Employees can also e-verify these forms using digital signatures.

• Electronic signature: New employees can digitally sign documents within the HR platform.

• Self-service portal: Provides employees with a secure online portal where they can view employee onboarding tasks, forms, and other information.

• Document management: Stores all employee-related files and documents in a central place.

• Training management: Creates onboarding-related training courses with tasks and assignments, and track completion status in a dashboard.

• Employee handbook: Develops, stores, and manages a handbook for new hires.

• Job description repository: Creates, shares, and manages the distribution of job descriptions/duties.

• Mentor assignment: Assigns existing team members to mentor and support new hires throughout the onboarding process.

• Task management: Allows users to create and manage a running list of to-do items in the onboarding process and monitor the status of each task.

Key questions to ask your onboarding software vendor before you buy:

• Does your employee onboarding software include all the features listed above?

• Apart from the features listed above, what other features would be useful for our business?

What are the important considerations when choosing onboarding software?

• Integration: Invest in an onboarding solution that can play well with your existing tools. Before making a purchase decision, look into the integration capabilities of your shortlisted tools to ensure you don't end up with a siloed onboarding system.

• Scalability: When purchasing an onboarding solution, make sure that your software can grow with your company and needs. As your business grows, you may have many more employees or more complicated HR processes, which is where the scalability factor comes into play. This saves you from having to replace your software as your company grows.

• Mobile access:  As workforces are increasingly dispersed and remote, it's crucial that your employee onboarding software can be accessed by your employees and HR professionals from laptops and mobile devices. That means wherever they are, your HR staff can facilitate the employee onboarding process on the go.

Key questions to ask your onboarding software vendor before you buy:

• Does your onboarding tool integrate with other tools such as HR and payroll software?

• Is your HR onboarding software scalable?

• Do you offer a mobile app?

What is the cost of onboarding software?

Onboarding software is available in different forms, as both best-of-breed onboarding solutions, or part of a larger HR suite. While some employee onboarding platforms are available for free, most products in the onboarding software market are priced on a per user, per month basis.

Our research found that pricing falls into three pricing tiers based on their starting price:

• $4 - $6

• $6 - $14

• $14+

These ranges summarize pricing for the base plans of most products. An enterprise or premium product that is priced higher may include additional features such as custom integrations, personalized employee onboarding and training, and active directory integration.

*The pricing included is for the entry-level/lowest-priced offering that was found on vendor websites on September 2, 2021. These ranges correspond to the 25th, 75th, and 100th percentiles of pricing information gathered from vendor websites of sample products and exclude freemium plans.

Onboarding software is typically priced on a monthly subscription basis or as a perpetual license, with pricing generally based on the user/employee base or an average number of employees an organization onboards in a given month.

• Perpetual license: If you want to own the software perpetually, you have to pay for it upfront. You’ll also have to pay annual fees for support, maintenance, and/or upgrades.

• Subscription-based pricing. Under this pricing model, you'll pay a monthly subscription fee. These tools are usually cloud-based and accessed via web browser. Fees for support, maintenance, and upgrades are wrapped into the final subscription price.

Key questions to ask onboarding software vendor before you buy:

• What pricing model do you use?

• What other costs are there if I decide to purchase your onboarding software?

• Do you offer a free plan, free trial, and/or demo of your employee onboarding platform?

How do small and midsize businesses use onboarding software?

Small and midsize businesses (SMBs) know that their employees make or break the business, and often invest in onboarding solutions to ensure employee success right from the beginning.

SMBs know that their employees will go out of their way to grow the business when they are valued and nurtured, and that’s why they require excellent HR onboarding software.

Onboarding tools simplify HR operations for SMBs by:

• Streamlining training modules

• Building a strong employee culture

• Improving new hire retention rates

• Preventing high costs associated with turnover

• Automating interconnected HR workflows

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