The Silent Killer of Retention and Profit: Poor Onboarding

The Average Cost Per Hire

By day 90, nearly 30% of new hires walk out—and the problem often starts before they even walk through the door.
Good companies follow trends. Great ones anticipate them and adapt with purpose.
One of the most powerful places for change? Your Onboarding process.

Traditionally, Onboarding starts once the hire is official, but Onboarding doesn’t start on day one of the job; it starts when an applicant clicks ‘Apply’. If you wait to engage positively, you’re already behind. Whether you call it Pre-Hire Onboarding or Onboarding, this early engagement is crucial for boosting and maximizing your business.

Modern Onboarding includes: 

  • Candidate Onboarding – From first contact to offer
  • Pre-hire Onboarding – Between offer acceptance and day one
  • Traditional Onboarding – The first 90 days and beyond

It’s time we stop treating Onboarding as an administrative step and treat it like a strategic advantage.

The ROI Behind Engagement

Prioritizing Onboarding doesn’t just protect your ROI—it multiplies it.

Per SHRM, the average cost per hire is approximately $4,700. At the same time, companies lose 28-30% of new hires in the first 90 days. For every $4700 spent, you’re losing around $1,300-$1,400 per failed hire. That can add up to hundreds of thousands in losses annually for higher-volume companies. However, when you take the time to build relationships through Onboarding, you improve the quality of hires, reduce time to fill, and increase retention. With those pieces in line, you save money and can put it back into your people and culture.

Why Early Engagement Matters

So why start at the application phase?

Your recruiters are the front line and first faces of the company; as such, they shape the initial perception. If the culture treats applicants like numbers and your recruiters do not take time to respond or engage, the first impression is already showing cracks. Once handed off to the screening stage, if the impersonal handling continues, or no one takes the time to keep engaging the candidate, it doesn’t matter how great the Onboarding is when hired- they may not make it to day one. You must also be aware that if the candidate experiences exceptional interactions and then post-hire Onboarding is lackluster, they may begin to disengage, realizing the culture advertised doesn’t match reality.

How Early Impressions Shape Reputation

Reviews are a HUGE part of anything we do, even when applying for and starting a job.

Creating a positive first impression after the person applies goes a long way. Look at the interview section of Glassdoor or scroll Recruiting Hell or Antiwork on Reddit, and you’ll see that the application stage can cause a hit to your brand and reputation. If you state you are a culture of people and transparency, but the norm is to skip sending rejection letters or keep candidates in the dark, they won’t believe you are a culture of people upon hire. Unhappy applicants won’t just walk away—they’ll tell others why.

Onboarding as a Strategic Advantage


As a fast-paced society, we want everything NOW. However, speed should not mean we cut corners in the overall candidate experience.

Companies that take the time to engage from applicant to employee can improve the quality of their hires. When someone feels supported, heard, and appreciated in the process, they are excited to complete tasks on time, communicate when they hit roadblocks, and are likely to provide quality referrals. Too often, those pieces get missed, causing higher unresponsiveness, dragging of the feet, or plain ghosting. When you take the time to guide them with intent and hands-on support, you provide a ripple effect of excellence. When they are hired and get to the traditional Onboarding stage, you see stronger retention and turn new hires into brand advocates.

Bottom line? Onboarding isn’t just a “we have to do this”—it’s one of your most powerful tools, and the results speak for themselves.

Focusing on each stage:

  • Increases overall ROI
  • Enhances Employer Brand and Reputation
  • Improves Quality of Hires and Reduces Time to Fill
  • Impacts Engagement and Retention

Ask yourself – Will you let 30% of hires slip away before the first 90 days, or are you ready to turn Onboarding into your competitive edge?

Want to Learn How People Science Can Help? Let’s Connect.

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