Five common employee onboarding problems and how to fix them

It’s not uncommon for onboarding to be something of a lost priority compared to recruitment. All the effort can go into finding the best person for the job, and then their actual arrival becomes an afterthought. But… onboarding is crucial for new hires. At its best, it’s a structured way to welcome new hires, giving them the technical and cultural knowledge they need to get up to speed quickly.

However, a 2024 global survey by Enboarder found that only 26% of new employees said they felt “informed, engaged, and confident” during onboarding. The same survey found that remote new hires were most likely to report a negative onboarding experience (42%).

So where does it all go wrong? When welcoming a new hire and setting them up to succeed, there are a number of common pitfalls, some of which your HRMS may be able to help avoid…

1. Lack of manager involvement

Managers, especially first-line managers and supervisors, tend to be busy people. And while few would deny that the first few days on the job are critical for a new team member, the reality is that they are often juggling so many priorities that the temptation to delegate, or even abdicate responsibility for onboarding new hires, can be overwhelming.

Get advice on employee onboarding features with this guide to 52 features to look for in your next HRMS

When managers take an active role, new hires report a much stronger onboarding experience; employees are several times more likely to say the onboarding was exceptional when their manager participates early and often.

For the HR team attempting to ensure consistent and effective induction of new hires, a common tool is the humble checklist. A simple example might look like this:

• Have a role-and-responsibilities discussion between the new hire and their line manager (day 1-3).
• Match your new team member with a buddy and/or mentor (start immediately).
• Introduce the new person to key people; i.e., help them to network (schedule meet-and-greets in week 1).
• Agree initial targets and short-term goals (30/60/90-day milestones).
• Set up a series of regular checkpoint meetings to discuss and monitor progress (30, 60, 90, and 180 days).

Where possible, embed these checkpoints into your HRMS or onboarding platform and set automated reminders for manager and new hire. This removes 'forgotten' tasks and keeps the manager accountable.

2. Balanced program content

Remember when you joined the organization?

The Folder! The Presentation! The Induction Course!

...The chances are, you were bombarded with information about your new workplace, the structure, the people, the purpose, the culture, the customers.

The list can be endless. Or perhaps you experienced the opposite: too little information, leaving the new hire stuck and unsure. Getting the balance right is one of the core employee onboarding challenges.

Use a staged content plan:

1. Pre-boarding 
2. First day
3. First 30 days
4. First 6–12 months

This is so you send the right information at the right time. Pre-boarding can cut friction: share contracts, benefits summaries, building access or IT setup instructions, and short 'who’s who' videos before day one, so the new hire arrives ready to start.

Important note: keep essential items bite-sized and interactive (short videos, guided checklists, microlearning modules). Use your LMS/HRMS to track completion and to surface only what’s relevant to the person’s role. Avoid overwhelming new hires with every policy or process on day one.

Also plan for role-specific learning and refresher touchpoints. Many employees take months to reach full productivity, and information staged over time helps knowledge stick.

3. What about culture?

You can talk about culture, core values, vision, etc. during your onboarding program, but ask yourself:

Does that information really convey the organization’s culture accurately? Or are they more aspirational?

Culture often develops separately from mission and vision statements. It may align with those things, but culture is based on shared assumptions, beliefs, values, and norms (plus the actions and attitudes that follow).

New hires need to experience culture, not just read about it. Pair value statements with concrete examples, short stories from colleagues, and real scenarios that show how decisions are made day-to-day.

Include a 15–30 minute culture conversation with a senior team member; record short clips of people describing a typical day; and design one early task that lets the new hire contribute (and feel useful) in week one.

4. It’s all about fitting in, not getting on

Hopefully, your new hire really wants to work for you. Hopefully, they’re excited about their new job and what they can bring to it. That excitement depends on how they imagine themselves in the job, now and in the future.

Too much onboarding content focuses on fitting in. “This is how we do things here,” “This is who we are,” and so on.

Those messages can feel one-directional and may unintentionally signal “conform or else.”

Balance cultural orientation with early conversations about the new hire’s strengths, career goals, and how the role could evolve. Insight Global's 2025 employee sentiment report emphasizes that highly engaged employees brought into a strong work culture are far more likely to rate their onboarding positively.

5. Is it working? Who knows!

As with any training program (yes, onboarding is training), one of the most common failures is not evaluating whether the program actually works.

Measure at multiple points:

• Immediate reaction (day 1)
• Readiness (30 days)
• Integration (90 days)
• Longer-term outcomes (6–12 months).

Use short pulse surveys, manager assessments, and objective signals (time to first independent contribution, time to full productivity, buddy feedback, system completion rates). Document the KPIs you care about and track them consistently.

Is the information up to date? Is it relevant? Can new hires apply it in their jobs? Systematic follow-up and built-in LMS analytics make this possible. Include onboarding questions that flag issues early.

Final thoughts

Ultimately, onboarding succeeds when people (managers, HR, IT, payroll, and colleagues) coordinate around clear actions, deadlines, and follow-up.

Your HRMS can automate notifications and track tasks, but the human moments remain the decisive factor: quality manager interactions, early contribution opportunities, and a sense that the organization invested in the person, not just the paperwork.

Address these employee onboarding challenges directly, and you’ll see faster engagement, higher retention, and better performance.