ATD’s new research found that many departments and teams are responsible for implementing and assessing onboarding programs.

[Alexandria, VA], June 6, 2024—New research by the Association for Talent Development (ATD) finds that while 38 percent of HR departments had primary responsibility for planning the onboarding strategy, 29 percent of survey respondents say the primary owner is the talent development (TD) function.

Although 61 percent of HR departments have primary responsibility for implementing the onboarding strategy, managers (59 percent) and individual departments (46 percent) are also involved in the process, according to ATD’s New Employee Onboarding: Setting the Stage for Successresearch report.

More than three quarters of companies (78 percent) measured the effectiveness of their onboarding programs. The most common metric used to evaluate the program was employee satisfaction (56 percent) followed by retention rate of new hires (48 percent) and engagement of new employees (39 percent).

The report also found that managers are crucial in creating a positive experience for their employees, but only a quarter of organizations (25 percent) required managers to receive training on onboarding. The TD department provided managers with personal onboarding programs at only 36 percent of organizations, and at 33 percent of companies, onboarding training for managers was available but optional for all managers.

“Involve managers from the beginning,” the report recommended. “The hiring manager should greet their new employee on their first day and take them to lunch, with or without the rest of the department.”

ATD surveyed 768 TD professionals about how they administer onboarding programs, used preboarding, conducted general new-employee orientations, and trained their managers to welcome new employees.

ATD is hosting a free webinar about the report on June 21 at 2 p.m. ET.

About ATD

The Association for Talent Development (ATD) is the world’s largest professional membership organization supporting those who develop the knowledge and skills of employees, improve performance, and help to achieve results for the organizations they serve. Established in 1943, the association was previously known as the American Society for Training & Development (ASTD).

ATD’s members come from more than 100 countries and work in public and private organizations in every industry sector. ATD supports TD professionals who gather locally in volunteer-led US chapters and international member networks and with international strategic partners.

For more information, visit td.org.