Hiring is hard. Finding the right person for the right role takes time, energy and expense. 

And when you finally find the ideal candidate, extend an offer and they’re ready to join the team, it’s cause for celebration for everyone. 

But the process doesn’t end there. In fact, in some ways the real work is only just beginning.

Onboarding is not just about providing information about health insurance, 401(k) contributions, expense reporting and the best day to visit the company cafeteria. 

Proper onboarding is essential to ensuring that your newest employees are ready and eager to join your organization with a running start. They need to know not just what your company does but how it’s done and why. 

Onboarding is when new employees first learn about the culture you’re cultivating and how it impacts your immediate and long-term goals. 

The statistics around onboarding suggest it’s the most critical moment in determining whether an employee is likely to succeed and stay or fail and flee. 

An article in Harvard Business Review indicated that a survey of HR executives indicated only 29 percent provided support for cultural familiarization “even though struggles with culture are a big reason newly arrived leaders fail.”

“This lack of onboarding follow-through has major consequences for time to performance, derailment rates, and talent retention,” the article states.

Eric Matas, JazzJune’s Chief Learning Officer, said establishing your company’s culture at the outset is critical.

“If culture is important to a company,” he said, “and culture should be important to every company, then you’ve got to get onboarding right. Employees start learning the culture on day one.”

Ultimately onboarding is your company’s best chance to make a first – and lasting – impression.

“If your onboarding doesn’t impress people, your people won’t stay on board,” Matas said.