While recruiting and hiring the best candidates is crucial, it’s the training new employees receive during their onboarding that leaves a lasting impression of your organization and prepares them for success in their new role. Your new hire training program needs to not only engage new employees in the company culture but also develop the skills and knowledge they need to quickly become contributing members of the organization.
Below, seven L&D Think Tank members share the metrics they value most when evaluating the success of a new hire training program. From skill obtainment to job satisfaction, these measurements can showcase your onboarding program’s effectiveness or help you make necessary improvements that lead to new hires’ success.
1. Six-Week Retention
Roni BorriHead of Learning, Development, and Performance at Abtran
Share on LinkedInNew hire onboarding is all about building confidence. If we give new hires confidence in their ability to do the job and to do the job well, we see them stay longer. If we’re losing them before six weeks are up, we’ve failed somewhere along the line. While that isn’t always down to L&D, a strong six-week retention figure is a key indicator that we’re getting things right.
2. Employee Job Satisfaction
Rhonda AndersonHead of Talent Development at Southern Research
Share on LinkedInThis metric is highly important to us because we want new hires to instantly feel like they are a part of the team at Southern Research and like they have made the best career decision to join our organization. Measuring employee job satisfaction helps us identify strengths and areas for improvement in our onboarding process and our organization overall.
3. Obtainment of Focused Skills Needed to Succeed in the Role
Phil RhodesHead of Learning & Leadership Development at WM
Share on LinkedInI believe it is important to focus on meeting employees at three levels: mindset, toolset, and skill set. This allows us to develop training to help them understand why learning a new skill is important to them and the organization, provide tools and training on how to use the tools as an enabler, and focus on the new skill that will allow them to succeed.
4. Time to New Hire Independence
Janelle ArmstrongSr. Director, Learning and Development at DaVita
Share on LinkedInProviding new hires with a reference list of who to call for enterprise-related challenges during onboarding is vital. This empowers new employees by giving them a safety net, ensuring they don’t feel overwhelmed or embarrassed when they encounter difficulties. It also promotes efficiency and productivity, as employees can quickly address solutions independently. Lastly, it promotes a culture of continuous learning and improvement.
5. Retention at 90 Days, Six Months, and One Year
Graham PeelleManaging Principal at Endeavor Strategic Consulting & Advancement
Share on LinkedInI see it as the most important factor that ties to all other metrics like engagement, job satisfaction, performance, etc. Retention is the first step toward giving associates an opportunity to succeed.
6. Employee Turnover and Speed to Ramp
Jay FortunaVP of Learning and Organizational Development at GoHealth
Share on LinkedInWe track both of these metrics closely in order to ensure we are efficiently onboarding new employees and making sure they aren’t leaving the organization.
7. New Employees’ Program Ratings and Exam Scores
Amy OstrowskiLearning and Talent Development Leader
Share on LinkedInI’ve found we always want to assess impact; however, new hires aren’t far enough in their journey yet to be able to accurately share the impact of onboarding on their job ramp. Therefore, we rate on how engaging the program was, facilitator effectiveness, and whether they would recommend the program to a peer (NPS). We also use final exam scores and qualitative learner feedback to inform program effectiveness and evolution opportunities.
