Employee onboarding is essential to integrating new staff, but it can be tedious. Fortunately, these top employee onboarding apps can simplify the process and promote employee satisfaction.
A new hire’s first few days on the job are critical to forming a good impression of your company and integrating them properly. You want to ensure your new hires get the information they need to start their new job on the right foot. With the help of employee onboarding apps, you can streamline the process, provide your team members with a solid, easy experience, and support their success at your company.
What To Look For in an Employee Onboarding App
Employee onboarding apps offer various features that can benefit your organization. At a minimum, you’ll want a solution that allows you to share forms, documents, and checklists that new hires can complete before their first day. Most also include a progress tracker that enables employers and workers to view the remaining tasks to complete the onboarding process.
Other beneficial features to look for include communication tools and options for course creation, quizzes, and employee feedback collection. Some apps also have badges and certificates that motivate new hires throughout onboarding.
1. BambooHR
BambooHR is a comprehensive software solution that assists with many common HR concerns, including hiring, onboarding, payroll, and benefits. Through BambooHR, you can provide new hires with documents and paperwork to complete before starting their roles. You can also set up courses and training modules that introduce employees to your organization and their position.
BambooHR includes helpful onboarding templates that take the guesswork out of your processes. You can use them to establish checklists for your new hires to follow for key tasks such as benefits enrollment and IT account setup. BambooHR allows employers to design email workflows that ensure they stay in contact with employees during the days before their start date.
Included within BambooHR is a progress tracker that helps managers and new hires understand what they need to do to complete the onboarding procedures.
Key Features
- New-hire onboarding templates
- Scheduling for onboarding tasks and first-day activities
- Applicant progress tracking
- Access to an employee portal
- Integrates with multiple software programs, including Slack, Lattice, and Checkr
Pros
- Expedites employee onboarding in simple, easy-to-follow steps
- Fully customizable
Cons
- Implementation may take some time
- Missing some back-office features
2. Absorb
Absorb is ideal for companies that want to ensure their employees receive proper training. Through Absorb, hiring managers can share training courses with new workers to complete on their own time. Courses are entirely customizable, and you can create classes that specifically address tasks relevant to your business.
You can also track employee progress through the app. Absorb includes analytics tools that help you understand how new hires are progressing, which is helpful for improving performance and identifying other skills that may benefit employees.
Absorb is available via a downloadable app for Apple and Android devices. There’s also a version for PCs and laptops, and it includes offline training features for employees who don’t have an internet connection.
Employers looking to manage onboarding paperwork and store documents probably won’t find Absorb to be the right solution. However, it’s a great add-on app for employers who want to ensure their team members learn the skills they need to perform well in their roles.
Key Features
- Employee engagement features such as badges and certificates of completion
- Fully customizable classes
- In-depth reporting tools
- Progress tracking features
Pros
- Easy to implement
- A broad selection of courses
- E-signature security feature
Cons
- Few integrations with third-party apps, but it does include an API
- Doesn’t include features for paperwork or document storage
3. Connecteam
Connecteam is an all-in-one employee onboarding app with a wide range of features that can benefit most employers.
Through Connecteam, you’ll access tools to help you manage new-hire paperwork. Employees can quickly complete and sign documents through their mobile devices and then submit them through the app.
The app also includes a number of communication and collaboration tools. Managers and team members can contact one another directly within the app rather than turning to email or phone calls. Additionally, there’s an employee directory that’s accessible to everyone. This feature ensures that contact information is available for team members who have questions.
Through Connecteam, employers can create training courses and materials to ease new hires into their new roles. The training materials remain accessible after the onboarding process so employees can review them at any time.
Connecteam includes an easy-to-use tracker that employers and employees can use to monitor the onboarding process. The tracker is updated in real time so everyone is aware of any remaining steps to finalize the employee’s integration into the company.
Key Features
- Fully customizable course creation
- Quizzes to encourage employee engagement
- Secure document storage and management
- Knowledge base and admin dashboard
- Employee feedback collection tools, including surveys and polls
- Communication features, including in-app chat
Pros
- Easy to implement
- Intuitive interface
- Appropriate for companies of any size
- Effortless course creation
Cons
- Some third-party integrations are still in development
4. ClearCompany
ClearCompany is an excellent employee onboarding app for companies that frequently hire multiple workers at once or have ongoing hiring needs throughout the year. Through ClearCompany, employers can establish customized onboarding packets to suit different needs. For instance, companies hiring in multiple states can set up a package for each location and provide it to their new employees when they join.
Each onboarding packet includes a step-by-step process for employees to follow, including an introduction to the company and position, followed by documentation submission. Through ClearCompany, you can request background checks, streamlining another critical process in the hiring procedure.
ClearCompany includes an employee directory where team members can list their position titles and contact information. They can also upload videos that help new employees learn a little about them.
As employees finish each step in the onboarding process, ClearCompany tracks their progress. Both managers and new hires can monitor activities as they complete each one.
ClearCompany offers other features that employers may find helpful, such as applicant tracking and performance management. What’s more, organizations can select the most relevant options and pay only for the tools they need.
Key Features
- Allows bulk onboarding options, such as submitting multiple hiring packets at once
- Includes background checks
- Compliance management tools
- Additional options for tracking candidates and existing employee performance reviews
Pros
- Employee recognition features
- Automate check-ins with new hires
Cons
- Some users note glitches in the app’s performance
- The user interface isn’t straightforward
5. eduMe
eduMe‘s onboarding app is focused on training new employees to succeed in their new roles. Through eduMe, employers and hiring managers can design simplified courses with the help of AI. Simply input the position title, skill, or task you want new hires to understand. Then, use the suggestions to create a course.
You can either create general or personalized courses, which is useful for new hires or when you want to upskill existing staff. You can also create quizzes to evaluate whether employees understand what they have learned.
eduMe includes advanced analytics that helps monitor progress throughout the onboarding process. Information is available in real time, and managers can use it to determine whether an employee needs additional training before they can begin their role.
eduMe integrates with other apps, including Microsoft Teams, Workday, Beekeeper, and Braze. Plus, it offers an API that organizations can use to integrate the app with other software.
Unfortunately, eduMe doesn’t include options for document storage or paperwork tracking. It also doesn’t support communication within the app. Employers looking for robust administrative tools may find other onboarding apps more useful.
Key Features
- Easy course creation with the help of AI
- Integrates with some major systems, including Workday
- Options for evaluations and assessments
Pros
- No software coding knowledge required
- Intuitive interface
Cons
- Few reporting features
- If content changes are necessary, you must unpublish courses to make changes
What Is an Employee Onboarding App?
An employee onboarding app helps to streamline the new-hire process, providing employees with the information they need to get started in their roles. Some employee onboarding apps allow you to store and manage documents such as tax forms and benefit signups. Others offer bite-sized training courses that get team members acquainted with their roles and your organization.
Onboarding apps can improve the employee experience and improve collaboration, potentially reducing churn and increasing retention. Because these apps standardize and sometimes automate onboarding processes, they can also save everyone valuable time and resources.
Benefits of an Employee Onboarding App
There are several advantages of using employee onboarding apps in your business:
- Efficiency: Instead of relying on individual HR team members and managers to ensure employees complete the information needed to start their job, an app handles the process.
- Compliance: An employee onboarding app with document management and storage features helps ensure critical paperwork doesn’t fall through the cracks.
- Progress tracking: Hiring managers can review their new team member’s task progress through the app, ensuring everyone completes what they need to.
- Improved employee experience: Because onboarding apps provide clarity and transparency, employees will be better equipped and more engaged.
