How to choose onboarding software for a small business [+6 favorites]

An excellent onboarding process for new employees is an essential part of running a successful business. In fact, 70% of employees who have positive onboarding experiences are very satisfied with their workplace, so they're more engaged and much less likely to quit.* That means you could retain seven out of ten employees if you provide top notch integration.

Think of it this way: your onboarding experience is the first impression you make on a new team member, and you know what they say about first impressions. They matter.

Onboarding software can help you and your new hires succeed by automating the process, reducing unnecessary costs, and minimizing errors. But choosing the right solution to help you do that can be time-consuming and confusing.

Therefore, in this article, you will learn about:

Why Your Small Business Needs Onboarding Software What to Look for in Onboarding Software The Six Best Onboarding Software Solutions for Small Businesses Grow your team with Homebase.

Post jobs, track applications, and onboard new employees all in one place.

Find out more

* Gallup, 2021

Why Your Small Business Needs Onboarding Software

Successful onboarding is crucial for small businesses because tighter profit margins mean owners and managers don't have to repeat the hiring process frequently. This is where onboarding software can help you hire the right candidates and help them thrive from the start. The right tools will allow you to:

Automate HR processes Ensure integration compliance Reduce errors Streamline new employee training

Let's take a closer look at each of these benefits.

Automate HR processes

Administrative and Human Resources (HR) processes can be time-consuming and difficult to manage for small businesses, especially when they don't have HR departments to support them. In short, managers end up having to wear several hats.

Recruiting and onboarding software automates HR processes such as scheduling, payroll, training, time tracking, and recruiting. It saves you time and money and lets you create scalable, error-free workflows. And with your administrative tasks taken care of, you can focus on high-priority issues like growing your business and creating a positive company culture.

Ensure integration compliance

Before your new employee can begin work, they will need to complete information forms and onboarding documents to keep your company compliant with federal, state, and local labor laws. And failing to securely collect and store vital data and forms carries risks such as fines and government penalties.

Onboarding software can help you stay compliant by automatically sending critical documents to your newly hired team members and gathering them and storing them securely in its database. That way, there's little chance of anything getting misplaced.

These tools also create e-journeys that bring visibility to every step of the onboarding process. So it's easy to know which documents have been sent, seen, reviewed, accepted and signed.

Reduce errors

It's easy to make mistakes when you're overwhelmed with all the steps involved in hiring and integrating your new employees into your business. Onboarding software relieves you of this burden by automating time-consuming tasks, such as sending and collecting documents, and allowing new hires to onboard themselves.

For example, Homebase automatically emails new team members New Hire Packages containing all necessary federal and state forms. Then, the employee can electronically sign the documents before starting their new job and know that their personal data will be stored securely in the cloud.

Streamline new employee training

Onboarding software helps you streamline your employee training processes by allowing you to organize all your training materials in one place and track their completion. This means you won't have to waste time chasing after employees to...