Organizational Wellness

Inboarding: Re-Engage, Retain, and Reignite Your Existing Talent

Last Updated Dec 9, 2024

Time to read: 9 minutes

Are you dealing with disengaged employees who seem stuck in their positions? Then, it might just be time to re-energize them with the right inboarding strategy!

About 3.5 million employees quit every month, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. If your employees no longer feel like they can grow in their current roles, they’re going to go somewhere where they can. As revealed in Wellhub’s State of Work-Life Wellness 2024 report, 89% of employees believe having access to professional development at work is crucial to staying engaged.

Inboarding gives you the opportunity to show your employees that you care about them and their professional success. By helping those who have reached a plateau and giving a little boost to those who are already doing well, inboarding can transform your team’s productivity and satisfaction levels.

What Is Inboarding?

Inboarding is the strategic process of re-engaging, developing, and retaining existing employees as they transition into new roles or take on expanded responsibilities within an organization. Unlike its cousin onboarding, which is more of a “welcome to the family” affair, inboarding is the ongoing pep rally for your team. It’s a commitment and investment in their professional development to guarantee their success and longevity in the company.

After low compensation, a lack of advancement opportunities is the top reason why employees quit their jobs, according to a Pew Research Center survey. Inboarding directly targets this by looking for ways to develop internal talent before they choose to leave.

Inboarding vs. Onboarding

Onboarding is like the first date of the corporate world — it’s all about making a great first impression and setting the stage for a beautiful professional relationship. Inboarding, on the other hand, is like planning surprise date nights to keep that spark alive year after year.

While onboarding rolls out the red carpet for new hires, helping them find the bathroom and the coffee machine, inboarding keeps your seasoned pros on their toes. Onboarding might teach someone how to log into the system, but inboarding shows them how to be a power user. This commitment to your current team pays off, as employees are more engaged and productive when employers support their professional development, according to a Harvard Business School study.

Inboarding Opportunities

Just like your favorite streaming service knows exactly when to ask, “Are you still watching?” great HR pros know when it’s time to hit refresh with an inboarding process. Considering that 65% of the workforce is disengaged at work, according to a 2024 Gallup survey, you may want to pull the trigger on inboarding before your workers join that figure. Some key moments when you might consider inboarding are:

Role Changes

When an employee swaps their old role for a new one — whether they’re moving laterally or doing a complete 180 — it’s inboarding time. Maybe your social media pro is stepping into a project manager role, or your sales superstar is taking on team leadership. Inboarding helps employees slip into their new roles as smoothly as possible.

Promotions

Receiving a promotion feels even better than leveling up in a video game. But just like in games, new levels come with new challenges. When an employee gets that well-deserved promotion, it’s time to equip them with the tools, skills, and power-ups they need for their new role. Inboarding during promotions is the perfect time to give your employees some upskilling so they can triumph in their new roles.

Performance Plateaus

Sometimes, even top performers hit a plateau. This is your cue to intervene with some much-needed inboarding. This might involve introducing new challenges, offering skill development opportunities, or even rotating them to a different part of the organization for fresh perspectives. It costs around 50% of an employee’s annual salary to replace them, according to G&A Partners, so why not invest a little money in retraining an employee instead of letting them go?

Organizational Shifts

When your organization goes through a major shift like a merger, strategic pivot, or digital transformation, it's a bit like shuffling a deck of cards. Everyone needs to find out how their position is affected by the change and how to best succeed in the new organizational structure. Inboarding during these times helps employees navigate the changes and understand their evolving roles so they don’t lose motivation and focus during these challenging times.

Return From Extended Leave

When employees return from extended leave, such as paternity leave, sabbatical, or long-term medical leave, they’re often stepping into a workplace that has evolved in their absence. Inboarding here is like throwing a “Welcome Back” party that actually helps them catch up. It’s a great opportunity to update them on changes, reintegrate them into the team, and refresh their skills.

Inboarding Tools and Platforms

It can feel like inboarding takes a village, but it doesn’t have to. Here are some of the best resources you can use to simplify the process:

Cornerstone OnDemand

A good Learning Management System (LMS) is the backbone of any good inboarding program. Cornerstone OnDemand is like Netflix for professional development, offering endless learning content tailored to each employee’s needs. This platform allows you to create customized learning paths for different roles and career stages, track progress, and deliver a mix of content types, including videos, quizzes, and interactive modules.

MentorCloud

This mentorship matching platform takes the guesswork out of mentorship pairing, using algorithms to match mentors with mentees based on skills, goals, and experience. It’s like a dating app for professional growth but with a much higher success rate. The platform offers tools for goal-setting, meeting scheduling, and progress tracking, making your mentorship program more structured and measurable.

15Five

This performance management platform offers some of the most advanced tools for tracking and developing your employees’ performance. The platform’s regular check-ins and objective tracking make it easier to identify when an employee might benefit from inboarding interventions.

Asana

As employees take on new roles or responsibilities, Asana becomes their digital command center. It helps organize tasks, collaborate with team members, and visualize their workflow. Asana’s customizable workflows and integration capabilities make it adaptable to various inboarding scenarios, from simple changes to complex cross-departmental moves.

Strivr

This innovative platform brings the power of virtual reality to your inboarding process, offering immersive training experiences that simulate new work environments or scenarios. It’s particularly useful for hands-on roles or complex processes where traditional training falls short, like practicing a high-stakes presentation.

How to Develop a Comprehensive Inboarding Program (Step-by-Step)

Ready to turn your inboarding into a blockbuster hit? Grab your popcorn (and maybe a notepad) because here's your director's cut on creating an inboarding program that will have your employees giving standing ovations.

Step 1: Assess Your Current Landscape

Start by taking stock of your existing processes and pain points. Survey employees who have recently changed roles or been promoted. What support did they wish they had? What challenges did they face? This information is your treasure map to inboarding gold.

Step 2: Define Clear Objectives

What do you want your inboarding program to achieve? Smoother role transitions? Higher productivity? Improved employee retention? Now’s not the time to be shy about your wants, but it's the time to be specific, setting up SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) for your program.

Step 3: Identify Key Stakeholders

Assemble your inboarding dream team. This can include HR, department heads, IT, and even outstanding employees who have successfully navigated role changes.

Step 4: Map Out the Inboarding Plan

Create a timeline for your inboarding process. Consider breaking it down into phases like preparation, initial transition, ongoing support, and evaluation.

Step 5: Develop Role-Specific Content

One size doesn’t fit all in inboarding—a newly promoted manager will need resources that are different from those of a lateral mover. Tailor your content to different roles and levels within the organization to have the maximum impact.

Step 6: Choose Your Tools

Select the platforms and tools that will support your inboarding program. The tools included in the resources section above are a great place to start, but you might need something more personalized for your needs.

Step 7: Create a Communication Plan

Develop a strategy for how you’ll communicate the inboarding process to both the transitioning employees and their teams. Clear, consistent communication is key to program success. Poor communication causes two in five workers to lose trust in their leadership, according to a Forbes Advisor study, so take this as an opportunity to demonstrate effective leadership communication.

Step 8: Implement Mentorship and Coaching

Pair transitioning employees with mentors who can provide guidance and support. This dream team setup can fast-track your employee's adjustment to a new role or help them deepen their understanding of the company by connecting them with a more senior colleague. Plus, it's a two-way street: your seasoned pros get a fresh perspective, and your up-and-comers get the inside scoop. Win-win!

Step 9: Build in Feedback Loops

Create mechanisms for continuous feedback, both from the inboarding employee and their manager. This could be through regular check-ins, surveys, or performance management software.

Step 10: Measure and Refine

Establish metrics to measure the success of your inboarding program. This might include time-to-productivity, employee satisfaction scores, or retention rates. Use this data to continuously refine and improve your program.

Boost Employee Retention and Wellness Through Strategic Inboarding

Inboarding can help you retrain, re-energize, and re-engage your employees, no matter where they’re at in your organization. Whether you’re promoting someone and want to give them the best chance at succeeding in their new role or are worried about someone whose performance has plateaued, inboarding can breathe new life into your team.

Showing your workers that you care about them through inboarding can have a tremendous effect on your company culture. This will help you foster a culture that takes a holistic approach to employee wellness, treating them as important and capable parts of your team. A well-designed inboarding program can improve employee engagement, mental wellbeing, and overall job satisfaction.

For more ways to improve employee engagement through proactive programs, speak with a Wellbeing Specialist today!

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