Top Onboarding Tools for 2025: Boost Engagement & Retention

July 3, 2025

6 min read

Onboarding plays a pivotal role in shaping the future of your employees within the company. In 2025, more organizations are realizing that a well-executed onboarding process is not only essential for retaining top talent but also for boosting productivity from day one.

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In 2025, onboarding is a critical step for employee engagement and retention. With remote work on the rise, onboarding tools help automate tasks like document signing and task assignments, allowing HR to focus on creating a meaningful experience. A well-structured onboarding process boosts productivity and ensures new hires feel welcomed, engaged, and prepared from day one.

Choosing the right onboarding tool is essential for success. Look for features like seamless system integration, customization options, and support for remote work. Tools like Employee Onboarding 365, BambooHR, and Work Bright are great choices to streamline the process, improve engagement, and increase retention for a stronger workforce.

Research shows that 69% of employees are more likely to stay with a company for three years if they had a positive onboarding experience. With remote work becoming increasingly common and competition for talent at an all-time high, businesses must adapt to stay ahead of the curve. Using the right onboarding tools is a key strategy to ensure new hires feel valued, connected, and engaged from the start. This blog will explore the top onboarding tools for 2025 that can enhance employee engagement and retention, setting your organization up for success in a competitive landscape.

What Are Onboarding Tools?

Onboarding tools are software applications designed to help companies manage and streamline the process of welcoming and integrating new employees into the organization. These tools help automate administrative tasks like document signing, task assignments, and benefits setup while also focusing on employee engagement through training, culture immersion, and feedback loops. These tools aim to make the onboarding process smoother, faster, and more effective, helping new hires feel welcomed, engaged, and productive from day one.

Why Is Onboarding So Important?

Onboarding is far more than just a formality or a series of administrative tasks that need to be completed before an employee starts their actual work. It’s a critical process that shapes the entire employee experience from the very first interaction with the company. A successful onboarding experience can have a lasting impact on employee engagement, retention, and productivity, ensuring that new hires feel valued and connected right from the beginning. Let’s take a closer look at why onboarding is such an essential component of the employee experience: First Impressions Matter The first few days, weeks, and months on the job can set the tone for an employee’s entire tenure with your company. When onboarding is well-executed, it can create a positive, welcoming atmosphere that employees carry with them throughout their time at the organization.

A Good Start Equals a Strong Foundation: Employees who experience an organized, engaging, and supportive onboarding process are more likely to feel like they made the right decision in choosing your company. This sense of reassurance is key to building a loyal, dedicated workforce.

Emotional Connection: Onboarding offers the perfect opportunity to foster an emotional connection with the company’s mission, values, and culture. New hires who feel connected to the company’s vision and are welcomed into the culture will be more inclined to stay longer.

Reduced Anxiety: Starting a new job can be intimidating, but an effective onboarding program helps alleviate that anxiety. When new employees understand their roles, expectations, and the company culture, they’re able to approach their work with confidence and excitement.

Boosts Productivity A well-structured onboarding process ensures that new hires are prepared and knowledgeable about their roles, which leads to faster ramp-up times and higher productivity.

Clarity from Day One: Proper onboarding equips employees with a clear understanding of their responsibilities and the tools they’ll need to succeed. From setting clear goals to providing training on necessary systems and processes, onboarding removes the guesswork and confusion, helping employees hit the ground running.

Accelerated Learning Curve: When new employees are provided with the resources, guidance, and support needed during the onboarding process, they can quickly become proficient in their roles. This early training helps them avoid common mistakes and avoid wasting time, making them productive contributors from the start.

Confidence to Contribute: A clear onboarding process boosts employees’ confidence in their work and encourages them to take initiative. Feeling well-prepared and supported leads to greater job satisfaction and can spark a greater willingness to contribute to team goals and company success.

Improves Retention The longer an employee stays with a company, the more they can contribute to its growth and success. Onboarding is one of the most powerful ways to increase employee retention, particularly in the critical first year.

Engagement Leads to Longevity: According to studies, employees who have a positive onboarding experience are more likely to stay with a company for longer periods. Onboarding allows employees to feel more connected to the company, leading to higher levels of employee engagement.

Sense of Belonging: A well-organized onboarding process shows employees that they are an important part of the team. When new hires are made to feel included and valued, they are more likely to stay with the company and become long-term contributors.

Reduces Turnover Costs: High turnover rates are costly for any organization. When new employees leave prematurely, companies must spend time and money on recruiting and training replacements. A strong onboarding process helps reduce these costs by improving retention rates and ensuring that employees feel invested in the company’s success.

Fosters a Culture of Continuous Learning Effective onboarding does not just stop after the first week or month. It should set the foundation for continuous learning and growth, which further enhances employee engagement and retention.

Ongoing Support: Onboarding should be seen as the beginning of an ongoing journey, not a one-time event. When employees are given opportunities for continuous learning and growth, it builds a culture of development that is integral to employee satisfaction.

Mentorship and Feedback: Offering mentorship programs and regular feedback during onboarding allows employees to feel supported in their growth. Employees who are encouraged to learn, improve, and succeed are more likely to stay with an organization and feel motivated to perform at their best.

Personalized Development Plans: During the onboarding process, employees should also be introduced to personalized development paths that allow them to envision their future within the organization. This helps them stay motivated and invested in their long-term success with the company.

Aligns Employees with Company Culture and Values Beyond just the technical aspects of a job, onboarding offers a valuable opportunity to immerse new hires in your company’s culture, values, and mission.

Cultural Fit: New employees who align with a company’s culture are more likely to feel comfortable and confident in their role, leading to higher engagement and productivity.

Consistency Across Teams: Onboarding ensures that employees across all departments receive consistent messaging about the company’s mission and values, creating a unified and cohesive workforce.

Long-Term Alignment: Employees who truly understand the company culture are more likely to make decisions that align with the company’s values, leading to better performance and a more harmonious work environment.

Encourages Early Feedback and Engagement A strong onboarding process encourages early feedback, which allows new hires to voice any concerns, suggestions, or questions they might have before they become disengaged.

Engagement from the Start: When onboarding is structured to encourage open communication, new employees feel more comfortable reaching out for support or offering feedback. This creates a feedback loop that helps improve both the employee experience and the overall company culture.

Adjusting to Employee Needs: Onboarding provides an opportunity to assess the specific needs of new hires, whether it’s additional training or support in certain areas. By addressing these early on, the company can prevent challenges down the road and keep employees engaged.

Benefits of Onboarding Tools

Onboarding tools offer multiple benefits for both the new hires and the company. Here are some of the most significant advantages:

Consistency: Onboarding tools standardize the onboarding process, ensuring that each new hire experiences the same positive, efficient introduction to the company. This consistency helps employees feel comfortable and confident in their roles from the beginning.

Reduced Manual Work: With automation for administrative tasks like document collection, task assignment, and training scheduling, HR teams can focus on more meaningful engagement with new hires. This reduces the workload on HR teams, allowing them to provide better support.

Better Employee Experience: Onboarding tools offer a smooth, streamlined experience for new employees, helping them feel prepared, confident, and engaged. By creating a positive first experience, these tools foster long-term employee satisfaction and loyalty.

Increased Productivity: New hires can get up to speed faster with automated workflows, training, and resource access, leading to quicker contributions to the company’s goals. They can focus on learning the job rather than managing paperwork, making them productive sooner.

Improved Retention: A structured, welcoming onboarding process increases employee satisfaction, which directly impacts retention and long-term success. Employees who feel welcomed and well-prepared are more likely to stay with the company.

Data-Driven Insights: These tools provide valuable analytics on the onboarding process, which helps HR teams improve their strategies based on real-time feedback and performance metrics. This data enables continuous improvement in the onboarding experience, ensuring it remains effective.

By streamlining and enhancing the onboarding experience, these tools set the foundation for better engagement, productivity, and retention across your workforce.

Top Onboarding Tools for 2025

Discover the best onboarding tools for 2025 that streamline employee integration, boost engagement, and enhance retention from day one. 1. Employee Onboarding 365 Employee Onboarding 365 takes the top spot as an all-in-one onboarding solution, tailored to streamline the employee integration process within a Microsoft 365-powered ecosystem. This tool seamlessly integrates with your existing HR systems, making it an ideal solution for companies that are already utilizing Microsoft tools. Key Features:

Seamless Microsoft 365 Integration: Connects effortlessly with tools such as Teams, SharePoint, and OneDrive, offering an all-in-one platform for onboarding.

Customizable Workflows: Tailor onboarding processes to meet your specific business needs, from document management to task assignments.

Real-Time Analytics: Track employee progress and engagement with powerful reporting features to refine your onboarding processes.

Why Choose Employee Onboarding 365? Ideal for companies already embedded in the Microsoft ecosystem, it enhances the employee onboarding experience by offering a tech-powered solution that ensures smooth, productive, and engaging onboarding right from day one. 2. BambooHR BambooHR has been a leader in the HR software space for years, and its onboarding tool continues to impress in 2025. The platform offers a simple, intuitive experience for HR professionals and new hires alike. Some of the standout features include:

Automated Document Collection: Easily collect all the required paperwork without having to chase employees down.

Task Management: Automatically assign onboarding tasks to new hires, ensuring they never miss a step.

Employee Self-Service: Allow new hires to complete some of their own paperwork, such as tax forms and direct deposit info, before their first day.

Why Choose BambooHR? It’s perfect for small to mid-sized businesses looking for an all-in-one solution to streamline their onboarding process. 3. WorkBright Ideal for remote teams, WorkBright is an onboarding tool that shines in handling the administrative tasks that come with remote work. It’s designed to simplify the process of hiring and onboarding employees remotely, making it a game-changer in 2025. Key Features:

Digital Document Signing: Easily send, sign, and store forms digitally, keeping things paperless.

Remote Setup Assistance: Help new employees set up their remote workspaces from anywhere in the world.

Compliance Tracking: Stay compliant with employment laws by automatically tracking I-9 and W-4 forms.

Why Choose WorkBright? If your company is fully remote or has a hybrid work setup, Work Bright is the best choice to ensure that your employees start off on the right foot, no matter where they are. 4. Gusto Gusto is not just an HR platform; it’s an all-in-one solution for payroll, benefits, and onboarding. Gusto’s onboarding tool focuses on providing a smooth, welcoming experience for new employees, helping companies save time and resources. Key Features:

Customizable Onboarding Flows: Gusto lets you tailor your onboarding process to fit your company’s specific needs.

Integrated Payroll & Benefits: As part of Gusto’s HR suite, payroll and benefits are fully integrated with the onboarding process, so employees have all the information they need in one place.

New Hire Paperwork: Collect tax documents, direct deposit info, and other necessary forms all online.

Why Choose Gusto? Perfect for small businesses and startups that want an integrated solution for HR, payroll, and employee onboarding. 5. Rippling Rippling is another all-in-one tool that streamlines both employee onboarding and other HR functions. With Rippling, you can onboard employees while managing all aspects of HR from a single platform. Key Features:

Customizable Workflows: Design workflows that align with your company’s goals and the specific needs of different departments.

Device Management: Provide new hires with the necessary devices, software, and tools by automating the process.

Employee Benefits Setup: Help new hires set up their benefits on day one.

Why Choose Rippling? Rippling is perfect for fast-growing businesses that need to scale quickly and efficiently, providing full-service HR tools along with seamless onboarding. 6. Zoho People Zoho People is a comprehensive HR software that offers a detailed onboarding feature to welcome new hires effectively. It is designed to automate repetitive tasks and ensure that HR professionals can focus on higher-value activities. Key Features:

Customizable Templates: Create customized onboarding templates and workflows.

Employee Engagement: Use the platform’s engagement features to introduce new hires to your company culture.

Document Management: Streamline the collection of employment-related documents and compliance forms.

Why Choose Zoho People? If you need a robust, customizable HR platform that does more than just onboarding, Zoho People is a fantastic choice.

Best Practices for Using Onboarding Tools

To maximize the effectiveness of your onboarding process, here are some best practices to follow:

Start Early: Begin the onboarding process before the new hire’s first day. Send them introductory materials, paperwork, and access to resources ahead of time. This allows new hires to familiarize themselves with the company and reduces their first-day anxiety.

Automate Where Possible: Use your onboarding tool’s automation features to handle administrative tasks like document collection, task assignments, and benefits setup. Automation frees up time for HR to focus on more personalized support and ensures accuracy in the process.

Make It Personal: While automation is essential, adding a personal touch can make a significant difference. Assign a mentor or buddy to the new hire to help them feel welcomed and supported. Personalized attention helps foster a sense of belonging and integration within the company culture.

Offer Continuous Learning: Onboarding should not end after the first week. Ensure that there are continuous learning opportunities for new hires to deepen their understanding of their roles and company culture. Regular check-ins and additional training modules can help keep employees engaged and improve their long-term performance.

Solicit Feedback: Use your onboarding tool to collect feedback from new hires about their experience. This will help you improve the process for future hires. Regularly analysing this feedback ensures that the onboarding process stays relevant and effective, ultimately improving the overall employee experience.

Encourage Early Goal Setting: Provide new employees with clear goals and objectives from the start, helping them understand what is expected of them. This sets the tone for their growth and success within the organization, ensuring they feel focused and motivated.

How to Choose the Right Onboarding Tools

Choosing the right onboarding tool can be a game-changer for both your HR team and your new employees. With so many options available, it’s essential to evaluate what aligns best with your company’s specific needs, goals, and employee experience expectations. Here are some key factors to consider when selecting the right onboarding tools: Integration with Existing Systems The onboarding tool should seamlessly integrate with your existing HR software, payroll system, and other tools your company uses. This ensures a smooth flow of data and avoids the need for manual input, reducing errors and saving time. Ease of Use The user interface of the tool should be intuitive and easy for both HR teams and new hires to navigate. If the tool is difficult to use, it could lead to frustration and a poor experience, which can negatively impact the onboarding process. Customization Options Look for a tool that allows you to customize the onboarding process to suit your company’s unique needs. Whether it’s personalizing tasks, documents, or training content, customization ensures the tool can adapt to your company’s specific goals and culture. Scalability Choose a tool that can grow with your company. As your business expands and hires more employees, your onboarding tool should be able to handle increased demand and complexity without sacrificing performance. Remote Onboarding Capabilities With more companies adopting hybrid and remote work models, ensure that your chosen tool is optimized for remote onboarding. Look for features like digital document signing, remote training capabilities, and virtual introductions to key team members. Support for Continuous Learning Onboarding doesn’t end after the first few days, so look for a tool that supports continuous learning and employee development. This could include training modules, performance tracking, and feedback loops that help employees grow throughout their tenure. Compliance and Security Ensure the tool complies with relevant labour laws and industry regulations. This is particularly important for managing documents like tax forms, non-disclosure agreements, and other sensitive employee data. The tool should also provide strong security measures to protect this information. Data Analytics and Reporting The right onboarding tool should offer data-driven insights, such as employee progress tracking, completion rates, and engagement levels. These analytics help HR teams continuously improve the onboarding experience and ensure that new hires are set up for success. Customer Support and Training Choose a tool that offers strong customer support and adequate training resources. Whether it’s through live chat, email support, or in-depth knowledge bases, having accessible support ensures you can resolve any issues that arise during the onboarding process. Budget Considerations While it’s important to choose a tool that offers all the necessary features, make sure it aligns with your budget. Look for a solution that delivers good value without compromising on quality or important features.

Conclusion

Onboarding is more than just paperwork; it’s about welcoming your new employees and setting them up for success. With the right onboarding tools, you can boost employee engagement, enhance productivity, and reduce turnover.

As we approach 2025, companies must embrace technology to stay ahead of the competition and build a stronger workforce. By choosing the right tool, you are not only investing in your employees but also in your company’s future.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why is onboarding so important for employee engagement and retention?

Onboarding is crucial because it sets the tone for an employee’s entire experience at the company. A positive and well-structured onboarding process increases employee engagement, boosts productivity, and improves retention. When employees feel welcomed, supported, and clear about their roles from the beginning, they are more likely to stay longer and perform better.

How can onboarding tools help improve productivity?

Onboarding tools streamline the process by automating administrative tasks such as document collection, task assignment, and benefits setup. This allows new hires to focus on learning their roles and integrating into the company, leading to faster ramp-up times and quicker contributions to the company’s goals.

What are the key features to look for when choosing an onboarding tool?

When selecting an onboarding tool, consider features such as integration with existing HR systems, ease of use, customization options, scalability, remote onboarding capabilities, continuous learning support, and strong data analytics. These features ensure that the onboarding tool is efficient, adaptable, and supportive for both HR teams and new hires.

How can onboarding tools improve retention rates?

A structured, engaging onboarding process ensures that employees feel welcomed and well-prepared. By offering consistent messaging, setting clear expectations, and fostering a sense of belonging, onboarding tools create an environment where employees feel valued and are more likely to stay with the company for the long term.

How can onboarding tools help HR teams?

Onboarding tools help HR teams by automating time-consuming administrative tasks, providing real-time analytics, and ensuring that each new hire experiences a consistent, positive onboarding process. These tools free up HR teams to focus on building stronger relationships with new employees and improving the overall onboarding experience.