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 set to become more pressing as baby boomers continue to retire, leaving manufacturers to attract a new generation of workers. According to the Federal Reserve, there were 462,000 manufacturing job openings in the US as of March 2026.
And, according to a study from the Manufacturing Institute, 1.9 million manufacturing jobs could remain unfilled by 2033 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 a November 2024 Onboarding study by Brandon Hall Group, companies with mature onboarding policies are up to 103% more likely to see improvements in retention and employee engagement. To achieve this, organizations typically use the following four-phase structure:
- Preboarding and orientation: Paperwork, legal logistics, and training, spanning from before the start date to usually several months in.
- Development: Learning processes, developing skills, and building trust, spanning roughly from three months to two years.
- Continuous development and retention: Upskilling, growth, and upward mobility, spanning the duration of the employee's tenure.
- Offboarding: Exit logistics to conclude the tenure, such as shutting down access and ending benefits, often finishing with an exit interview.
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.
When successfully executed, onboarding provides a number of benefits. For new hires, the onboarding process ensures they become accustomed to a company's culture and processes. From a management perspective, the scope of onboarding can cover both the technical and soft skills needed to succeed and evolve, including building the foundation to upskill as AI and automation integrate into processes. Finally, strong onboarding helps companies avoid the massive costs involved with staff turnover.
To ensure thorough and forward-thinking onboarding, manufacturers can implement human capital management (HCM) software with analytics and AI-powered automation to oversee employee skill development and training.
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 Bureau of Labor Statistics, manufacturing was the fourth deadliest private industry sector in 2024, with 353 fatalities—7% of all reported on-the-job fatalities. Given these stakes, manufacturers must train every new hire to understand and respect 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 support new employees. To that end, 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.
AI tools are further expanding technology’s role in HR. Virtual assistants can help guide new employees through the onboarding process, answering common questions and directing them to relevant resources without looping in HR staff. Generative AI can respond to more complex questions and adjust onboarding resources to suit employees as they progress. AI agents can also help managers identify skill gaps and provide coaching recommendations, using predictive analytics tools and onboarding data to flag employees who may be at risk of early departure. This gives HR teams a chance to intervene before turnover occurs.
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.
Monitoring Onboarding Success
A manufacturer may have a generally excellent onboarding program, but without a way to measure its impact HR leaders won’t be able to scale what’s working or phase out what isn’t. Tracking key metrics helps HR teams identify successes and pain points, leading to refinements. The following framework covers the metrics that matter most and the technology that makes measurement possible.
Continuous Monitoring
Onboarding measurement shouldn’t be a one-time check-in at the 90-day mark. Effective programs build in checkpoints throughout—weekly during the first month, then monthly or quarterly for the first year, for example. Regular pulse surveys, manager check-ins, open Q&A channels, and progress reviews help employees hit productivity targets faster—and help managers address problems before they lead to disengagement or turnover. Ongoing monitoring also creates a feedback loop: Data collected early informs adjustments to training content, pacing, and support resources for future hires.
KPIs and Metrics
When choosing which key performance indicators (KPIs) to track, pick metrics that directly connect to the company’s goals and pain points. For instance, a manufacturer with complex, hazardous production processes will likely prioritize safety certification tracking and incident rates, while a manufacturer in a tight labor market may instead focus on churn rates and time to productivity. Here are some common metrics for evaluating a business’s onboarding successes:
- Completion rates: The percentage of new hires who finish all required onboarding tasks within a specified timeframe, including paperwork, training modules, and certifications. Low completion rates may signal overly burdensome processes or inadequate support.
- Time to productivity: How long it takes a new hire to meet production standards. In manufacturing, this is often measured by comparing the employee’s performance during the ramp-up period to established benchmarks, using output metrics like throughput or cycle time.
- Training completion rate: The percentage of hires who complete all assigned training within the expected window. In manufacturing, incomplete safety training isn’t just a program gap—it’s a compliance risk and could lead to injuries and work stoppages.
- Satisfaction scores: Feedback collected through surveys at key milestones (for example, 30, 60, or 90 days) that gauges how supported and prepared new hires feel. Declining scores can indicate communication issues, excessive workloads, or an unwelcoming company culture.
- Churn rate: The percentage of new hires who leave within a year, often segmented into 30-, 90-, and 180-day intervals. Any spikes should be investigated, as unsuccessful onboarding processes may need to be identified and adjusted.
- Safety incident rates: The frequency of accidents or near-misses involving new hires compared to tenured employees. Elevated rates among new hires may point to safety training gaps, poor supervision, or a rushed onboarding process.
- Defect rates: The percentage of defective output produced by new hires during onboarding. Tracking defect rates alongside training milestones can reveal whether employees are absorbing quality standards and which areas need more reinforcement.
- Overall labor effectiveness (OLE): A composite metric that factors in availability, performance, and quality to assess productivity. Comparing OLE for new hires against experienced workers or team averages can quantify the cost of the learning curve and set utilization benchmarks for different stages of the onboarding process.
Software and Tools
Metrics that sit in spreadsheets or siloed HR software don’t help the organization as much as they could. Integrated software platforms can automatically collect, organize, and act on onboarding data to inform targeted improvements to the onboarding process. Common HR onboarding tools include:
- HR management systems: Centralized HR platforms store employee information, automate onboarding processes, and track when new hires complete each assigned task. These systems trigger reminders for both hires and managers to keep onboarding on schedule.
- Learning management systems (LMS): These platforms deliver content, track progress, and certify training completion. An LMS can assign role-specific modules, provide HR teams with real-time completion rates, and generate compliance documentation when employees complete mandatory training.
- Time and attendance tracking: These tools capture clock-in data, manage schedules, track time-off requests, and integrate with payroll. During onboarding, these systems track attendance patterns and flag early engagement issues, such as frequent absences during the first 90 days or chronic lateness.
- Document and compliance tools: These systems manage the paperwork side of onboarding—tax forms, policy acknowledgments, safety certifications. Manufacturers use compliance trackers to prevent new hires from accessing the production floor before completing all required certifications. These systems also maintain detailed documentation for audits.
Manage New Employees With NetSuite SuitePeople
Despite superficial appearances, onboarding is about more than paperwork. Its goal is to make 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.
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 four 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.
