The employee onboarding process is crucial for new hires to get familiar with their new role and company culture.
According to a study by Glassdoor, a positive onboarding experience can increase employee retention by 82%.
However, onboarding can be a complex process with various paperwork, training sessions, and administrative tasks. This is where employee onboarding software comes in.
These tools can automate various aspects of the process, streamline communication between HR and new hires, and provide a self-learning experience for the latter.
By using employee onboarding software, you can ensure that your new hires have a smooth and efficient onboarding experience while also reducing the workload of your HR team.
In this blog, we will explore the importance of employee onboarding software and provide a list of the best tools available in the market. So, let’s dive in!
What Is Employee Onboarding Software?
Employee onboarding software is more than just a tool that digitizes HR processes. It is a comprehensive solution that provides a seamless transition for new hires into your organization.
By automating administrative tasks, such as filling out paperwork and tracking progress, the software frees up valuable time for HR teams to focus on more strategic work.
In addition to streamlining administrative tasks, employee onboarding software also serves as a one-stop learning center for new hires. From providing access to training materials and company policies to facilitating communication with HR staff and managers, the software empowers new employees to learn and engage with the organization at their own pace.
Key Features of Employee Onboarding Software
A whopping 88% of employees feel that companies need to improve their onboarding programs. With the support of the right tools for employee onboarding, you can automate various aspects of the onboarding process and deliver a seamless experience to employees.
However, choosing the right tool can be a daunting challenge. Here are some key features that the best employee onboarding software should have:
Intuitive Interface
When selecting an employee onboarding software, it is important to consider the user interface and ease of use. The software should have an intuitive interface that is easy to navigate, with the information presented in a clear and concise manner.
Setting up and using the tool gets a lot easier when the interface is user-friendly. Even beginners with little knowledge about employee onboarding software will be able to use such tools with ease.
Searchability
Searchability is a key feature to consider when selecting employee onboarding software. The software should be equipped with a powerful search system that is similar to Google’s search functionality.
This ensures that new hires can easily find the information they need without having to navigate through multiple pages or folders.
The search system should be able to quickly display accurate article and page suggestions based on the keywords used by employees, ensuring a seamless learning experience.
External Integrations
The best employee onboarding tools play nicely with third-party software to provide new hires an outstanding learning experience. The tool should offer a range of integrations with popular analytics, translation, collaboration, and other such platforms.
For example, integration with analytics tools can help HR teams track the progress of new hires and identify areas where they may need additional support. Similarly, integration with platforms like Slack help improve collaboration and promote on-the-go learning for new hires.
Mobile Friendly
A mobile-responsive tool helps new hires complete their onboarding process anytime and anywhere. This makes learning easier and helps employees get acquainted with your organization’s work culture faster and start contributing positively to the work they are assigned.
Whether they’re traveling, working remotely, or simply prefer using their mobile devices, a mobile-friendly employee handbook software ensures that vital information is readily available, promoting efficient communication and enhancing overall employee experience.
Multiple Language Support
Non-English speaking employees will try translating the training material into their native language to interpret the information. An onboarding tool with multi-language support diminishes the scope of misinterpretation.
By offering multilingual capabilities, employees from different language backgrounds can access the handbook in their preferred language, ensuring clarity and comprehension. This inclusive approach fosters better understanding of company policies and procedures, eliminates language barriers, and promotes a harmonious work environment.
Enterprise-Grade Security
Some of the leading employee onboarding software solutions provide enterprise-grade security with features like access controls, single sign-on, and two-factor authentication. These features ensure your onboarding documentation can be accessed only by authorized individuals and there is zero risk of any malicious activity.
Such tools are also GDPR compliant, which further ensures their commitment to transparency and data protection.
Customization
Customization is a key feature of employee onboarding software that empowers you to create a personalized and engaging onboarding experience for new hires. From designing customized onboarding documentation and interactive training modules to incorporating company-specific content and messaging, this feature allows you to showcase your identity and provide a seamless transition for new hires.
11 Best Employee Onboarding Software
A smooth onboarding experience sets a strong foundation for new hires, helping them work confidently from day one. Using the right software, you can strengthen this process, making the overall onboarding experience even more amazing.
Here is the best employee onboarding software list that you can consider:
ProProfs Knowledge Base
ProProfs Knowledge Base takes the lead among employee onboarding tools due to its user-friendly nature and suitability for both technical and non-technical users. With its intuitive interface and strong feature set, you can effortlessly create captivating employee handbooks for new hires.
This tool boasts powerful search functionality, comprehensive help authoring capabilities, detailed analytics, enterprise-grade security and a range of other employee onboarding features. It works seamlessly across multiple devices and browsers, giving your employees the flexibility to learn on the go at their convenience.
What’s more, ProProfs Knowledge Base supports translation into over 90 languages, ensuring that employees can easily access training materials regardless of their language preferences.
Key Features:
- Create employee handbooks and wikis with pre-designed templates.
- Keep employee data secure with private access, single sign-on, and two-factor authentication
- Personalize the look and feel of the employee handbook to match your brand.
- Track employee engagement and article performance with built-in analytics.
- Promote collaborative authoring using internal comments, roles, and permissions.
Pricing: Starts from $49/author/month
HR Cloud
HR Cloud offers comprehensive SaaS solutions for HR documentation and team collaboration. Their flagship solution, Onboard, is designed to ensure a seamless and engaging joining experience for new hires.
With personalized workflows and automated portals, Onboard simplifies the onboarding process by providing welcome messages, custom e-forms, instructional content, videos, and essential documents in one centralized location.
From streamlining paperwork to fostering engagement, Onboard covers all the bases, empowering HR teams to deliver a smooth and meaningful onboarding experience for employees.
Key Features:
- Utilize e-sign and e-forms functionality for faster onboarding
- Leave no room for onboarding errors with process automation
- Connect easily with payroll and HRIS using app integrations
- Stay updated about the latest user activity with automatic notifications
- Track the onboarding of new hires through progress reports
Pricing: Get in touch with the company for a quote.
BambooHR
BambooHR is a highly regarded onboarding software that combines advanced features with user-friendly design. You get a wide range of attractive templates that help you get started quickly. It also offers seamless accessibility across devices, allowing you to manage onboarding tasks from anywhere. Additionally, the software generates comprehensive reports that provide valuable insights for making data-driven decisions, enabling you to optimize your onboarding experience.
Key Features:
- Allow HR teams to manage employee data, including contact information, employment history, and compensation details.
- Manage the hiring process from start to finish, including posting job openings and scheduling interviews.
- Helps new hires complete paperwork, set up equipment, and get acclimated to their new roles
- Allow employees to clock in and out, track their hours worked, and request time off.
- Help managers and employees set goals, track progress, and provide feedback throughout the year.
Pricing: Get in touch with the company for a quote.
WorkBright
WorkBright, a mobile-first onboarding tool, allows for a simple, efficient, and completely paper-free onboarding process. The intuitive interface and mobile responsiveness make it easy for employees to complete the onboarding process from anywhere they are.
This software works best for storing employee data and sending email reminders for updates. You can also integrate WorkBright with various other platforms like payroll systems or an HRIS.
Key Features:
- Create and customize onboarding forms to collect the information you need from new hires.
- Allow new hires to complete onboarding tasks from any device, anywhere, at any time.
- Send automated reminders to new hires to ensure they complete their onboarding tasks on time.
- Collect electronic signatures to speed up the onboarding process and reduce paper waste.
- Ensure compliance with state and federal regulations, including I-9 and W-4 forms.
Pricing: Get in touch with the company for a quote.
ClearCompany
With ClearCompany, you can effortlessly navigate the onboarding journey, ensuring a seamless and engaging experience for every employee. The platform offers intuitive features, from automating document management to simplifying task assignments, enhancing efficiency and reducing administrative burden.
ClearCompany’s interactive and customizable onboarding workflows create a personalized and immersive experience, setting the stage for long-term employee success. Moreover, the tool provides robust reporting and analytics, enabling data-driven insights to optimize onboarding strategies and drive organizational growth.
Key Features:
- Provide new hires with a user-friendly virtual experience to simplify the onboarding process
- Ensure compliance with state and federal regulations, including employment eligibility, background checks, and tax forms.
- Create oonboarding forms that can be completed electronically, including e-signature approvals.
- Track task completion virtually and automate internal task assignments to keep onboarding on track.
- Seamlessly integrate with payroll providers and HRIS systems to eliminate manual work.
Pricing: Get in touch with the company for a quote.
Lessonly
Lessonly is a simple onboarding tool that helps you create, track, and share training content with your new hires and easily monitor their progress. You can create documents in no time with pre-built templates and circulate them with your employees instantly.
The tool also integrates well with other third-party platforms like Dropbox and Google Suite. From immersive multimedia lessons to gamified assessments, Lessonly offers a diverse range of learning formats to cater to different learning styles. The platform’s robust analytics provide actionable insights into training effectiveness, allowing organizations to continuously optimize their onboarding programs.
Key Features:
- Centralize all your marketing and sales content in one place, making it easy to find, share, and use across teams.
- Create and edit content directly within the platform using customizable templates.
- Tailor content to specific audiences, industries, or individuals using dynamic fields and smart recommendations.
- Track content performance and engagement metrics to understand what’s working and what’s not
- Use data-driven coaching plans to train your new hires better
Pricing: Get in touch with the company for a quote.
Talmundo
The best thing about Talmundo is its seamless implementation. You can use the tool to program and customize the employee onboarding roadmap in no time. It comes with an interactive quiz maker and to-do lists and does an excellent job of preserving the human element in a fully digitized process.
Talmundo has recently added a digital chatbot to its suite of tools to assist new hires with their initial duties. You also get access to useful analytics and insights that can help you improve the onboarding experience of your employees.
Key Features:
- Create and customize onboarding paths that align with your company culture, values, and goals.
- Engage new hires before their first day with pre-boarding activities that help them feel welcome and prepared.
- Provide new hires with digital checklists that guide them through the onboarding process.
- Send automated reminders to new hires and HR to ensure tasks are completed on time.
- Collect feedback from new hires and managers to continuously improve the onboarding experience.
Pricing: Get in touch with the company for a quote.
Eddy
Eddy is a highly intuitive software that makes the onboarding process smooth and completely paper-free.
With Eddy, you can effortlessly manage essential onboarding tasks, such as document collection, compliance checks, and employee data management. The platform’s intuitive interface and automated workflows eliminate manual processes, saving time and reducing administrative burden.
Eddy’s customizable onboarding templates and communication tools facilitate personalized and engaging experiences for new hires, fostering a sense of belonging and accelerating their integration into your company culture.
Key Features:
- Manage employee information and records, including personal information, employment history, and performance reviews.
- Post job openings, track applicants, and manage the hiring process from start to finish.
- Streamline the onboarding process with customizable forms, digital signatures, and automated reminders.
- Track employee hours, manage time off requests, and generate timesheets for payroll processing.
- Set goals, track progress, and provide feedback throughout the year to improve employee performance.
Pricing: Starts at $6/user/month.
Zenefits
Zenefits is an online employee onboarding platform that lets you manage all your HR processes, like recruiting and onboarding, from one place. The tool allows you to send job offers, create custom onboarding processes, and run background checks.
This software also offers a self-service portal that empowers new hires to easily access and manage their personal information, fostering a sense of ownership and autonomy. With its robust integration capabilities, Zenefits seamlessly connects with other HR systems, ensuring data accuracy and eliminating duplicate entry.
Key Features:
- Streamline the onboarding process with customizable forms, digital signatures, and automated reminders.
- Ensure fast and comprehensive background checks directly from the Zenefits platform.
- Create and manage your company’s PTO policy, which will be made available to your employees and automatically fed into other areas of Zenefits.
- Stay compliant by automating many of the tasks that would otherwise need to be done manually.
- Give your team access to an HR platform that’s accessible to employees from wherever they are
Pricing: Starts at $8/user/month.
SageHR
SageHR (previously CakeHR) is an all-in-one employee onboarding tool. The workflow builder of this software lets you create and automate all your onboarding tasks. Its comprehensive reports allow you to view each employee’s onboarding status in real time.
The software comes with many other features like recruitment, leave management, expense tracking, etc. It offers beautifully designed templates that help ease the process of content creation. The tool also supports external integrations for better employee productivity.
Key Features:
- Quickly and easily track employee overtime using Sage HR’s core HR software.
- Remotely track, manage, and engage with your employees with mobile-friendly HR tools
- Enable your team to sign documents electronically using the eSignature feature.
- Share important news quickly with the entire company with real-time announcements.
- Create a shared vacation calendar and choose what information colleagues can see about each othe.
Pricing: Starts at $5.5/user/month.
Kin
Kin is an ideal employee onboarding tool for small businesses that do not have a dedicated team for employee onboarding. The software offers a range of innovative features, such as personalized employee profiles, social recognition, and interactive onboarding checklists, to engage and empower new hires from day one.
In addition to this, the external integrations let you effortlessly connect with your favorite tools. With Kin’s comprehensive analytics, you can gain useful insights into the onboarding process and make informed decisions to continuously improve employee experience.
Key Features:
- Get a centralized employee database that includes employee profiles, job titles, compensation, and other important information.
- Keep track of your team’s Paid Time Off (PTO) with Kin HR’s PTO tracking feature.
- Assign and track hiring tasks from a centralized platform
- Manage all paperwork digitally including signatures
Pricing: Starts at $3/user/month.
Why Do Businesses Need Employee Onboarding Software?
The right employee onboarding software can help your company in countless ways. We have covered the four best reasons that justify the need for such a tool:
Assists in Remote Employee Onboarding
The lack of in-person interactions makes remote employee onboarding a challenging task. After all, no number of Google Meet and Zoom meetings can replace the warmth of in-person interactions.
Onboarding software helps new hires get all the necessary information to carry out their day-to-day tasks from a centralized platform. It gives them the flexibility to learn at their convenience, making the process of onboarding seamless and self-driven.
Reduces Onboarding Costs
Feature-rich employee onboarding software can save you money as it automates a massive amount of work that needs constant communication. This reduces the need to add more people to your HR team.
Automating the HR processes also minimizes misunderstandings and mistakes, thereby reducing the costs of redoing tasks. In the long run, you get an efficient onboarding process that further helps in reducing the cost of employee turnover.
Brings Consistency to the Onboarding Process
Managing a large number of employees can be challenging, especially when it comes to maintaining compliance and delivering a quality onboarding experience. The right onboarding tool can help you standardize the onboarding process, ensuring that all employees receive the same quality of training and experience a consistent onboarding journey, regardless of their department or role.
This helps maintain compliance and reduce the risk of errors that could lead to legal or financial issues down the line.
Increases Employee Productivity
A well-designed employee onboarding process can have a significant impact on the productivity of new hires. When new hires have to endure a long and repetitive onboarding process, it can take a toll on their motivation and engagement, leading to decreased productivity.
An employee onboarding tool can help create an immersive onboarding experience that is engaging and efficient. With self-service functionality, new hires can complete HR processes even before their date of joining, such as filling out paperwork, completing training modules, and setting up their accounts.
Evaluation Criteria
The evaluation of products or tools chosen for this article follows an unbiased, systematic approach that ensures a fair, insightful, and well-rounded review. This method employs six key factors:
- User Reviews / Ratings- Direct experiences from users, including ratings and feedback from reputable sites, provide a ground-level perspective. This feedback is critical in understanding overall satisfaction and potential problems.
- Essential Features & Functionality: The value of a product is ascertained by its core features and overall functionality. Through an in-depth exploration of these aspects, the practical usefulness and effectiveness of the tools are carefully evaluated.
- Ease of Use: The user-friendliness of a product or service is assessed, focusing on the design, interface, and navigation. This ensures a positive experience for users of all levels of expertise.
- Customer Support: The quality of customer support is examined, taking into account its efficiency and how well it supports users in different phases – setting up, addressing concerns, and resolving operational issues.
- Value for Money: Value for money is evaluated by comparing the quality, performance, and features. The goal is to help the reader understand whether they would be getting their money’s worth.
- Personal Experience/Expert’s Opinion or Favorites: This part of the evaluation criteria draws insightful observations from the personal experience of the writer and the opinions of industry experts.
Streamline Employee Onboarding by Implementing the Right Tool
As we already discussed, the best employee onboarding platform is mobile-friendly, intuitive, highly customizable, and searchable. It should also offer powerful third-party integrations and multi-lingual support. Having these features will ensure you accomplish what you set out to do.
Before you make the final decision, jot down all your requirements. Shortlist the tools that best fit your needs. Once you have a few online employee onboarding tools to compare, carefully analyze their features and pricing.
Finally, you should select the best employee onboarding tool that can be instrumental in solving your new hire onboarding challenges.
For example, you can go for ProProfs Knowledge Base Software if you are looking for a simple, feature-rich and affordable solution. WorkBright is another tool you can consider for a completely virtual onboarding process.
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