Three onboarding trends to look out for in 2019

These onboarding trends will save your company money through better employee retention and recruitment


Hiring has never been more important. The business world is experiencing an enormous growth spurt as the economy becomes more global. The rise of technology in the digital age has created an atmosphere that means companies need to be more efficient with their day-to-day tasks. This means that companies more than ever need to hire the right employees who are going to help them get ahead of trends so that they can become the leaders in their markets. Any company that's holding employees who are not pulling their weight is losing money, and losing money means your business is losing out on its future.

The onboarding process is a huge part of ensuring that you hire the right employee and that you train them properly. This allows new hires to integrate themselves seamlessly into the company culture which will boost retention and improve employee success. With 2019 here we decided to look into the three onboarding trends that companies should look out for.

Interview pre-screenings

The first trend you need to look out for in 2019 is interview pre-screenings.

Gone are the days when a simple resume will land you a job. Companies need to know that employees have more than just your basic hard and soft skills. Companies need to know how employees are going to handle their day-to-day tasks, conflict resolution and relationships with both colleagues and clients.

While this can be sort of assessed through a cover letter, companies have turned into employing 

personality tests along with hard and soft skills tests in their interview pre-screening process.

This allows employers the opportunity to not only see how employees use the hard skills they claim they have, but it allows employers to see just how and why employees problem solve the way they do. By employing a personality test, employers can see how an employee is most likely to react in a given scenario. Then the interview can be tailored to ask questions specifically geared towards the candidate's personality. This way the interviewer can truly see where a candidate is strong and weak.


VR is another trend that is really on the rise. Companies are using VR in their onboarding processes to help employees train and retain more of their training. The most common use of VR for onboarding is for candidates who need to be using a high level machinery or technology.

By using VR with machinery, companies can take employees through safety and emergency drills in a vacuum environment. This allows employees to improve reaction times and problem solve their way through potentially hazardous situations. This has been shown to significantly reduce workplace-related injuries across industries.

Another use of VR is giving employees tours of the office. By taking employees ­– particularly those who will not be in the office on a daily basis ­– through a virtual tour of the office allows them the opportunity to get to know the space without ever having setting foot in the space. This will save time when your off-site employees come in for meetings because they won't be getting lost.


Pre-boarding is the process of employers integrating new employees before their official start date. This includes employers reaching out to employees through emails, phone calls and invitations to meetings after the signing of contracts.

For a teacher this might look like being asked to fill out a profile bio. For a web designer this might be an invitation to a brainstorming meeting for an upcoming project that they'll be working on. Whatever your pre-boarding process looks like, it is absolutely necessary for engaging your employees early on so they can learn the company culture and start building relationships before their training even starts.

These three onboarding trends are on the rise in 2019. They create a more personalized work environments from beginning to end for the employee. And not only do these practices help employers recognize if an employee is a good choice for the company, but these processes also allow employees the chance to learn as much as they can in the shortest period of time. This allows for the employee to perform at their best from day one.




Five ways to cultivate innovation small

Read next:

Five ways to cultivate innovation