Of the many challenges faced by manufacturing businesses, the difficulty of recruiting and retaining skilled workers sits near the top of the list. This issue is only set to become more pressing as baby boomers continue to retire, leaving manufacturers to attract a new generation of workers. According to the United States Chamber of Commerce, there were 622,000 manufacturing job openings in America at the beginning of 2024.
And, according to a study from the Manufacturing Institute and Deloitte, 1.9 million manufacturing jobs could remain unfilled over the next 10 years if the industry’s current labor challenges are not addressed. Keep reading to learn more about the importance of onboarding for manufacturers, best practices for success, and why manufacturing businesses increasingly rely on human resources (HR) software to optimize their onboarding approach.
What Is Onboarding in the Manufacturing Industry?
Onboarding refers to the set of processes companies use to welcome new employees, integrate them into their workforce, and set them up for success. The most effective onboarding processes for manufacturers are formal—meaning that they are well structured and documented. They set clear tasks and expectations for new hires every step of the way, from completing background checks and paperwork to goal setting and training schedules.
Proficient onboarding provides new manufacturing hires with the skills, training, guidance, and structure needed to thrive in their roles. What’s more, it helps businesses build teams that are as committed to their company’s success as they are to their own development. According to the Human Capital Institute, smart onboarding processes that drive engagement and spark human connection boost productivity by 70% and improve new-hire retention by 82%.
Employee onboarding is typically split into four phases. The first phase is preboarding and orientation, which starts before an employee’s first day of work with paperwork, such as background checks and tax forms, and lasts roughly three months following the worker’s start date. This phase also allows new manufacturing hires to meet their teams, receive their official company ID, and begin any specific training relevant to their role.
Next is the development phase, which can last anywhere from three months to two years, depending on the complexity of the role. In addition to mastering specific skills, this stage also gives new hires time to understand the business’s internal processes, build and earn the trust of their colleagues, and start making a measurable impact on the organization.
The third phase of onboarding—continuous development and retention—lasts throughout an employee’s tenure. The goal for manufacturers during this phase is to help employees increase and improve their skills and realize their career ambitions. Focusing on employees’ success builds motivated and productive teams and maximizes the manufacturer’s chances of retaining its skilled talent.
Though offboarding concludes the formal relationship between a manufacturing business and an employee, HR professionals customarily consider it the final phase of onboarding. It involves shutting down an employee’s access rights passwords, the employee’s relinquishing of any company property, and ending any benefits schemes that were in place during the employee’s time with the business. In most cases, offboarding is also accompanied by an exit interview, which gives manufacturing businesses a chance to hear why an employee is leaving and to address any issues that might prevent the company from potentially losing other team members later on.
Key Takeaways
- Onboarding is the set of processes by which manufacturers add new employees to their workforce, including completion of paperwork, training, and cultural integration with their teams.
- Onboarding starts before a new hire’s first day and continues for at least three months as they build their skills, confidence, and sense of engagement.
- Technology-driven onboarding accelerates paperwork and administrative processes so manufacturers can focus on engagement and long-term employee retention.
Onboarding in Manufacturing Explained
Effective onboarding helps new manufacturing employees get acclimated quickly. A comprehensive onboarding process goes beyond paperwork and access rights, laying the foundation for a mutually beneficial relationship that equips manufacturers and their employees to grow and succeed together. Crucially, turning employees into advocates for the business can help manufacturers boost their reputation as an employer of choice in today’s highly competitive job market.
Onboarding is also essential as a way to contend with the challenge of widening skill gaps in the manufacturing industry. From technical requirements, such as the ability to work with manufacturing software and use programmable logic controllers, to soft skills, such as teamwork and critical thinking, the skills required to succeed in a modern manufacturing business are wide-ranging—and they continue to evolve. To optimize their workforce, manufacturers will increasingly need people who are comfortable working with powerful technologies, including artificial intelligence and automated robots, to drive efficiencies and differentiate their businesses. With good human capital management (HCM) software, manufacturers can help their employees develop the skills, confidence, and flexibility needed to use these technologies and establish a base for continuous development.
Onboarding also helps new hires become accustomed to a manufacturing company’s working culture and align their own attitude, productivity, and technical skills with the needs of their teams. Regular check-ins are necessary throughout the onboarding process to make new hires feel supported and valued, as well as to answer the questions that will surely arise as they settle into their roles.
There is also a financial incentive for implementing onboarding best practices: Turnover is expensive. Each employee lost due to poor communication or a lack of structure in their onboarding experience forces manufacturers to handle the ensuing recruiting, training, and integration costs for a replacement—not to mention the cost of hiring temporary workers while looking for qualified permanent candidates.
Strategies for a Successful Manufacturing Onboarding
The success of a manufacturer’s onboarding process hinges on the completeness, clarity, and follow-through of its approach. New hires must be provided with all the information and resources they need to thrive in their roles; they must understand what’s expected of them, and they must feel that their new employer is invested in helping them achieve their goals. Here are 11 proven strategies to help manufacturing businesses deliver on these expectations:
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Invest in Preboarding Process
Onboarding should begin before an employee’s first day on the job. This is the time for manufacturers to share reading materials that will help new hires prepare for their roles, including company dress codes, safety practices, details on employee rights, and benefits. It’s a good time for employees to fill out paperwork, such as tax forms and citizenship status, and to establish their accounts on the software systems they will use in their roles. Preboarding is also an ideal time to begin the cultural integration of new hires with their teams. Simple gestures, such as welcome packages, personal messages from team members, or notes from their new manager, can establish human connections among colleagues and set a positive tone for their working relationships.
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Make a Welcome Kit
Manufacturing hires sometimes feel overwhelmed in their early days on the job. A welcome kit provides them with a guide for navigating this unfamiliar terrain with confidence. Comprehensive welcome kits should outline an employee’s new job and responsibilities, explain where they fit within their team and wider company’s structure, include relevant training resources, and clearly outline the day-to-day requirements of their job. Other common elements in manufacturing welcome kits are facility maps, employee directories, and HR forms. Some companies go above and beyond to make new hires feel appreciated by offering them gifts—sometimes food or gift cards—as part of their welcome kits.
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Prioritize Safety Training
Safety mishaps in manufacturing businesses range from minor injuries causing downtime of a few days or weeks to life-threatening injuries. According to the US Occupational Health and Safety Administration, there were 3.5 fatalities out of every 100,000 active workers in the US manufacturing sector in 2023. Given these stakes, manufacturers must ensure that every new hire understands and respects the company’s safety protocols from the moment they start their role. In addition to preventing accidents and employee suffering, safety training helps limit injury-related absenteeism, which can put added strain on teams and negatively affect productivity and morale.
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Establish a Mentorship Program
Manufacturers should always work to ensure that new employees never feel unsupported. To avoid this, manufacturers frequently connect new hires with an experienced colleague who can answer their questions and provide them with valuable guidance to help them master their new role. Structured mentorship programs are a tried and tested onboarding strategy that improves job satisfaction and employee retention across industries.
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Lean on Your Team
Successful onboarding is as much about fostering a cultural fit among team members as it is about preparing new employees for the technical requirements of their role. To that end, business leaders can share information about the new hires to encourage their teams to welcome them before they appear on the scene, rather than abruptly introducing a new face and expecting a smooth integration. Managers can also ask their team members to make themselves available to new hires in their early days and weeks to provide them with guidance and answer their questions. In addition, invitations to team social activities and employee resource groups allows new hires to connect with their colleagues in informal settings.
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Communicate the Onboarding Schedule
A well-paced onboarding schedule makes manufacturing hires feel looked after and secure in their choice of employer. If the schedule is too loose, employees might worry that they have joined a business that is disorganized and doesn’t put its employees first. By contrast, a structured onboarding schedule that maps out employees’ first few weeks or months on the job is likely to make them feel that the company prioritizes its employees and their career success. In many cases, it is helpful for managers to sit down with new hires and map out their onboarding schedule together, starting with setting goals, establishing their training needs, and finally noting the social activities that will foster a sense of belonging with team members.
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Create an Onboarding Checklist
Onboarding new employees can be a multifaceted process, especially for manufacturers that must adapt their strategies to suit different roles, safety considerations, and skills requirements. To meet this challenge, manufacturers can create onboarding checklists that cover every stage of the onboarding process, encompassing preboarding, on-the-job training, and crucial development milestones that will set up each new hire to succeed. It’s best to establish a checklist for each distinct role.
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Gradually Integrate Employee into Role
Whether they’re young graduates or seasoned workers, every manufacturing hire needs time to adjust to their new role and working environment. The key for managers and HR teams is to avoid overwhelming newly hired workers with too much information or responsibility at once, though this will vary depending on the person’s experience and skills. As a rule, start new team members on small projects to gain confidence before tackling more consequential workloads. One way to achieve this is with a “drip campaign” of information, whereby new employees receive communications from their managers, coworkers, and HR team at a steady cadence.
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Set Job Expectations Up Front
Giving new hires a clear definition of their roles and associated concrete timelines for targets fosters accountability and sets them up for success—not just in the early days of their employment but throughout their tenure. In practice, this means providing new employees with a detailed job description and establishing the expected key performance indicators for their first weeks and months on the job. Although these expectations are generally included in a manufacturer’s job postings, onboarding provides managers and new team members with a mutual opportunity to fine-tune these responsibilities and metrics, address any questions or concerns, and lay out an action plan for success.
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Continually Evaluate and Communicate Progress
It can take months for employees to develop the skills, confidence, and sense of ownership they need to get fully integrated into their role. It’s important that managers and HR teams check in with employees weekly during the early days, and then monthly or every few months thereafter, to keep them on the right path. The key is to maintain a steady channel of communication with employees that allows transparent oversight and gauging of progress while establishing a continuous feedback loop of support, development, and growth.
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Invest in Technology
With so much at stake, manufacturers increasingly turn to HCM software and related technologies to optimize the way they recruit, onboard, train, and develop skills in employees. These technologies promote a data-driven approach to onboarding that can be tailored to each employee’s unique responsibilities and career path. HCM software also can provide manufacturers with data on the performance of their onboarding practices, which can gauge their success and improve their processes.
Automation technologies can also make onboarding more efficient for manufacturers and new hires alike. For instance, HR teams can set up automated reminders to help them stay on top of important onboarding deadlines for every new hire. Automated reminders can similarly help new hires stay on track, making sure they turn in all necessary paperwork and complete all relevant tasks on time. Finally, automated onboarding procedures reduce the administrative burden on HR teams so they can focus on their people and on building a healthy company culture.
Simultaneously, technology’s role is growing in employee training—particularly for manufacturing, where labor shortages and skill gaps threaten the vitality of countless businesses. From autonomous learning platforms to immersive safety training powered by augmented and virtual reality, digital technologies are helping manufacturers train staff quicker, more effectively, and to higher standards.
Manage New Employees With NetSuite SuitePeople
Despite superficial appearances, onboarding is about more than paperwork. Its goal is to ensure that new employees feel at home in their unfamiliar roles and connect with their teams, managers, and wider company culture as quickly as possible. NetSuite’s SuitePeople human resources management system can automate onboarding paperwork, goal setting, and other time-consuming activities so HR teams and managers can focus on building personal connections that make new hires feel secure and engaged in their work. With SuitePeople, manufacturers can develop onboarding experiences that start before a new employee’s first day, with personalized messages welcoming them to the company and self-service features that allow them to provide personal information, set up direct deposits, and get automated prompts about upcoming onboarding tasks.
By reducing the administrative load inherent in onboarding, SuitePeople inspires new employees to dig into their roles and quickly become productive. The cloud-based solution also provides HR teams with data-driven feedback on their onboarding strategies, which they can use to refine their approach and align onboarding tactics with managers’ workforce performance needs and their business’s overall goals.
Onboarding programs provide manufacturers with a powerful way to attract, nurture, and retain employees as they help their teams develop the skills needed to thrive. Success starts with finding the “perfect” hire, but effective onboarding can help businesses unlock each new hire’s potential, set them up to succeed, and turn them into committed, long-term employees. With a structured approach and an integrated technology platform providing the foundation for their onboarding process, manufacturers can turn onboarding into a key differentiator as they look to fill open roles and retain valued employees in the years ahead.
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Manufacturing Onboarding FAQs
Why is onboarding in manufacturing important?
Manufacturing businesses face an unprecedented skill and labor shortage, so they must make certain that new employees succeed quickly. Onboarding is integral to this mission, as it helps managers and HR teams prepare new hires for their roles rapidly and efficiently, and it promotes employees’ continuous development after their early days on the job.
What are the 3 most important elements of a successful onboarding?
Many elements go into a successful onboarding experience, but three of the most important are clarity, communication, and culture. New hires need a clear understanding of their role and what is expected of them. They also need to be supported by frequent communication throughout the onboarding processes and feel comfortable asking questions that will help them better understand and succeed in their role. Finally, they need to feel welcome and appreciated by their respective teams, which fosters a more collaborative and productive working environment.
What are some unique challenges of onboarding in the manufacturing industry?
Manufacturing roles often require employees to handle hazardous materials and heavy machinery, which, in turn, demands that they receive specific training and acquire a deep appreciation of their company’s safety protocols. On a cultural level, the manufacturing industry is undergoing a generational shift in its talent pool. With baby boomers retiring and the battle for young talent heating up, change management and the ability to smoothly integrate new team members will be a top concern for decision-makers.
What are the 4 phases of onboarding?
The first phase of onboarding is preboarding and orientation, which begins with the onboarding activities that occur before an employee’s first day on the job. Next comes development, during which new hires set performance metrics, begin their cultural integration with other team members, and develop the immediate skills required to perform their jobs. Third is ongoing training and retention, allowing new employees to develop new skills. Training can start as soon as the new employee joins the business and should continue throughout their career; this is especially important in the manufacturing industry, where production methods and technologies are constantly evolving. The final phase of onboarding is offboarding, which refers to the tasks an employee must complete to leave a business, such as returning company devices and completing an exit interview.
