Did you know that a great start can make people 69% more likely to stay for three years? (SHRM, 2025; Harvard Business Review, 2025). Additionally, companies with an effective onboarding experience have 50% better employee retention. But a bad start? It causes 1 in 5 new hires to leave within six months (Glassdoor, 2025). These numbers underscore the importance of a seamless onboarding experience in retaining top talent and fostering their success.
Today, finding and retaining top talent is more challenging than ever. So, making your onboarding processes the best is essential. This is where modern employee onboarding software comes in. It changes a pile of paperwork into a smooth and exciting welcome for new team members. HR teams are utilizing these powerful tools. They enhance the onboarding experience, automate tasks and ensure everything adheres to the rules.
What is Employee Onboarding Software?
Employee onboarding software is a digital tool. It helps automate and manage the entire journey for new hires. This journey usually starts when someone accepts a job offer. It continues through their first few months on the job. In the past, onboarding involved numerous paper forms and confusing introductions. New hires often felt overwhelmed.
Today, these platforms consolidate all tasks, documents, and information in one easy-to-access location. This includes everything from completing digital forms (such as I-9s and W-4s) to setting up computer access and authorization. It also covers assigning training and introducing new team members to the company culture. The main goal is to create a steady, efficient, and welcoming onboarding experience. It helps new employees fit smoothly into their roles and the company.
Why is Onboarding Software Essential in 2025?
With more people working remotely or in hybrid setups, and with increased regulations to follow, effective onboarding processes are more important than ever. Here is why Onboarding Software is a vital tool.
Making the Employee Experience Better
A good start truly shapes how new hires feel about your company. It also affects how engaged they will be. Software takes care of boring tasks. This allows new employees to focus on learning their job and meeting colleagues, rather than spending time on endless paperwork. A great start helps them feel like they belong. It sets the stage for a successful time with your company.
Boosting Productivity and Keeping Staff
Studies show that companies with good onboarding see 70% higher productivity from new hires (Gallup, 2025). When new employees get the right support from day one, they become productive faster. Strong onboarding leads to higher retention rates as more people stay. This saves money, as replacing an employee can cost up to 213% of their yearly pay (Work Institute, 2025).
Making HR Work Smoother
HR teams get very busy when lots of people are hired. SaaS onboarding software automates repeated tasks. This includes collecting documents, checking rules, and sending reminders. It frees up HR staff. They can then focus on larger tasks, such as creating training and fostering a strong company culture. They will not be stuck with manual work. Automated onboarding can cut errors in employee data by 73% (Forbes, 2025).
Ensuring Rules are Followed and Consistency:
Employee onboarding platforms make sure all legal forms are filled correctly and on time. They also ensure that the onboarding process is the same for everyone. This means every new hire gets the same information and training. This is key to following rules and ensuring everyone has a fair employee experience.
Top 10 Employee Onboarding Software in 2025
Here are our top 10 picks for 2025. We looked at their features, how easy they are to use and their overall value.
BambooHR
This tool is known for being easy to use and having full HR features. BambooHR provides robust onboarding capabilities, including custom checklists, e-signatures, and a self-service portal for new hires. It is ideal for small to medium-sized businesses seeking an all-in-one human resource system. (Whatfix, 2025)
Rippling
This all-in-one platform handles HR, IT and payroll. It is excellent for smooth, automated onboarding, especially for remote or hybrid teams. Rippling can not only onboard new employees but also set up their devices, software access, and benefits automatically. (Newployee, 2025)
Gusto
Known mostly for payroll, Gusto also has strong onboarding features for small businesses. It makes tax forms, direct deposit setup, and benefits enrollment simple. It is perfect for companies that want HR and payroll in one place. (Whatfix, 2025)
Workday
For larger companies, Workday offers a powerful, connected system. It handles global rules, talent recruitment, and advanced reporting. Its onboarding part can be highly customized for complex company needs. (Whatfix, 2025)
ClearCompany
This tool focuses on following rules and being efficient. ClearCompany offers paperless onboarding, automated tasks, new hire portals, and good connections with other systems. It is a solid choice for companies that want a smooth and rule-compliant start for their employees. (Whatfix, 2025)
Paycor
Best known for payroll, Paycor also has automated onboarding, a self-service portal for employees, and strong rule management. It connects with many other apps. (Whatfix, 2025)
Talmundo
Talmundo focuses on the employee’s experience. It provides custom onboarding steps, a self-service area, document management, and fun game-like features. These make the journey exciting for new hires. (Zapier, 2025)
Connecteam
This full workforce management tool is great for small businesses. It offers key tools for onboarding, including scheduling, time tracking, and team meetings. It is especially good for teams that mostly use mobile devices. (Research.com, 2025)
Darwinbox
This is an AI-powered HR platform. Darwinbox can grow with your company and is good for mid-sized to large businesses. It offers adjustable onboarding journeys, AI-powered document verification, and bulk onboarding. This makes it ideal for hiring many people at once. (Darwinbox, 2025)
Onboard by HR Cloud
This platform focuses on self-service onboarding. It has automated tasks, e-signatures, and mobile-friendly task management. It also gives strong data and reports to improve the onboarding process. (Whatfix, 2025)
How to Choose the Right Onboarding Software for Your Business
When picking the best employee onboarding platform for your company, think about these points.
- Your Company Size: Are you a small business that needs basic HR and onboarding services? Or a large company needing complex connections and room to grow?
- Key Features: What specific functions are most important to you? (e.g., e-signatures, automated steps, training, rule tracking, linking with current HR systems).
- Ease of Use (UX): How easy is the software for both HR teams and new hires to use? A smooth, friendly design is key for people actually to use it.
- Integration: Does it connect well with your current HR, payroll, hiring, or other business tools?
- Customer Support: What kind of help is offered? Good customer service is super valuable during setup and ongoing use.
- Cost: Understand how they charge (per user, different levels, custom prices). Make sure it fits your budget.
Conclusion
In 2025, having a robust employee onboarding process is crucial. It is not just about filling out papers. It is about creating a great employee experience, boosting productivity, and helping employees stay with your company. By selecting the right employee onboarding software, businesses can transform a routine task into a strategic move. It ensures new hires feel valued, ready and excited to contribute from day one.
The top employee onboarding platforms we discussed offer a range of features. They fit various business needs. This includes SaaS onboarding software for tech-savvy teams, comprehensive solutions for large companies and specialized employee onboarding software for small businesses. By carefully assessing your company’s needs, you can select the right tool. It will not only make your onboarding processes smoother but also help you build a happy and dedicated team.
At Theta Smart Staffing Agency, we understand the importance of a great start for new employees. We provide a range of staffing services for businesses, companies and warehouses.
