Preboarding vs. onboarding: Essential differences and considerations

​In an increasingly competitive market, attracting and retaining top talent is more important than ever. That’s why preboarding and onboarding are such essential pieces of the retention puzzle.

In fact, a strong pre-boarding process can boost new hire retention by up to 82%, according to Talentech – yet 64% of new hires receive no preboarding experiences. Employees who don’t receive a stellar preboarding and onboarding experience can be less engaged, less satisfied, and less likely to stick around long-term.

While preboarding and onboarding are connected processes, they have some distinct differences, and it’s essential to understand the nuances and differences between them in order to give new hires the best experience and give an organization the best chance of keeping top talent engaged in the organization.

Here are the essential differences between preboarding and onboarding, and how to ensure that both processes have the best chance of influencing a new hire’s retention and seamlessly integrating them into the organization.

What is preboarding?

Preboarding is the first step of the onboarding process. It describes a new hire’s first communications and orientation steps for their new role and can include any onboarding tasks that happen before a new hire’s first day.

Preboarding is an important step of the onboarding process because it helps set expectations and prepare an employee for their new role before they begin, giving them time to really orient themselves to the company and their role in the broader organization, allowing them to smoothly, quickly integrate into the company.

While onboarding is a continuous, integrated process, preboarding only focuses on logistical and administrative tasks that can be easily completed or shared before the official first day begins. In addition to reducing the workload for HR when a new hire officially starts, it can also help reduce overwhelm for new hires and allow them to focus on the important aspects of their new role instead of policies and paperwork.

Common preboarding steps

It’s imperative that preboarding tasks are simple and help set an employee up for success during the onboarding process and beyond.

A successful preboarding process can include several steps, such as:

• Sending a welcome package/email: HR should send an introductory email that provides essential information for a new hire to know, like start date, office location, work hours, points of contact, and dress code.
• Sharing necessary documents: This might include employee handbooks, benefits information, and company policies, which can allow employees to go through important information at their own pace and ensure they’re absorbing the material.
• Setting up access to software/tools: Providing login credentials and access to the necessary software ensures that an employee can hit the ground running on day one. This is especially important for remote roles so there are no last-minute technical issues while a new hire is being onboarded.
• Laying out the onboarding schedule: HR should create and share the extended onboarding process and what to expect after the first day. This is also a good way to ensure that an employee will have access to extra support during the first few weeks.
• Introducing direct managers and team members: Including direct managers on the welcome email or providing a brief virtual introduction to team members can help an employee build connections early and help them integrate into their new team.

Advantages of preboarding

Although preboarding is optional, implementing preboarding offers several key advantages, such as:

• Reducing first-day overwhelm
• Helping employees orient faster to their role
• Setting clear expectations early on
• Reducing nervousness and uncertainty
• Improving engagement and retention

What is onboarding?

Onboarding is the larger integration process for a new hire to orient them to their role and the organization as a whole. It’s an ongoing process – typically lasting a few weeks to a few months – that ensures a new hire is well-aligned with their new role and the company’s goals and values.

It differs from orientation, which only encompasses an employee’s first day and serves as a quick orientation to the company.

Onboarding is an essential process to help influence retention. Companies have just 44 days to influence a new hire’s retention according to BambooHR, making the onboarding period especially crucial for long-term success.

Common onboarding steps

A successful onboarding process might include:

• Orientation session: Orienting is the first formal introduction to the company, typically held on the new hire’s first day and one of the first activities scheduled.
• Setting up workstations or remote equipment: Ensuring employees have the tools they need to work efficiently and everything works properly.
• Face-to-face team introductions and team-building activities: Fostering relationships with an employee’s direct team can help improve collaboration and ensure long-term success.
• Development and training: Providing the necessary training and resources for specific job functions and internal processes.
• Continuous feedback and review: Promoting frequent communication and regular check-ins ensures that the employee is on track and helps inform any adjustments that need to be made to the onboarding plan.

Advantages of onboarding

A well-structured onboarding process offers many benefits for the new employee and the organization, including:

• Faster role integration
• Better cultural fit
• Improved job satisfaction
• Higher retention rates
• Reduced turnover costs

Key differences between preboarding and onboarding

Although preboarding and onboarding are interconnected processes, they have some essential differences. The biggest difference between preboarding and onboarding is that preboarding is a small part of onboarding while onboarding encapsulates the entire transition process for a new hire to move into their new role.

Best Practices for Preboarding and Onboarding

Due to the differences between preboarding and onboarding, they have separate – but equally important – best practices to help maximize the results of each process.

It’s essential to follow best practices tailored to each process.

Preboarding

• Communicate regularly before the first day to maintain engagement
• Stick to information that is easily digestible and doesn’t require a deep understanding of the role or the organization to avoid overwhelming new hires with an overload of information
• Be clear about what resources and tasks are being shared and why, as well as how certain steps will tie into the larger onboarding process
• Introduce team members early to start fostering connections and create a more seamless integration into the team

Onboarding

• Use AI or other tools to tailor and personalize the process to improve engagement and satisfaction
• Track and share feedback, such as using a 30-60-90 day plan
• Provide cross-functional training to help give employees more context about the organization and its goals
• Make onboarding a continuous process so employees feel supported and seamlessly transition into all areas of their new role; don’t stop at one or two weeks
• Provide several opportunities for social connections and consider assigning an onboarding buddy

Tools for effective onboarding

To help reduce HR’s workload, consider using an onboarding tool to help streamline the process and save time for both new employees and organizations.

Here are some popular tools that can help improve the preboarding and onboarding process:

• BambooHR: Offers customizable onboarding workflows and automated preboarding checklists.
• Rippling: Stands out for its seamless integration of employee onboarding with IT setup, payroll, and benefits, all from a single platform.
• Workday: Excels in providing a highly customizable onboarding experience with robust HR analytics and automation to streamline workforce management.