Effective Onboarding: Learn, Create, Execute for Long-Term Success

Onboarding isn’t just a one-time event—it’s an ongoing process that sets the foundation for employee engagement, productivity, and retention. Yet, many companies struggle to provide a structured approach, leading to disengaged employees and high turnover.

A successful onboarding process follows a Learn-Create-Execute framework, ensuring new hires not only absorb information but actively apply it in meaningful ways.

An effective onboarding process also drives employee engagement and retention. And requires active participation across the organization!

Research tells us from Gallup and others that a disengaged employee costs ~40% of their salary.

This is something that is fixable!

1. Learn: Building Foundational Knowledge

New employees must understand company values, expectations, and role-specific knowledge. This includes:

? Company mission, vision, and culture

? Product, service, and industry insights

? Systems, tools, and workflows

2. Create: Developing Skills and Relationships

Once employees grasp the basics, they must apply their learning in a controlled environment while building internal relationships. This phase should include:

? Hands-on training & shadowing

? Peer mentoring & coaching

? Collaboration with cross-functional teams

3. Execute: Applying Knowledge and Delivering Results

Execution is where knowledge turns into action. Employees should be empowered to take ownership of tasks while receiving continuous feedback. This stage includes:

? Real-world application of skills

? Performance benchmarks & feedback loops

? Continuous learning & growth opportunities

The Missing Link: Measures of Success & Skills Matrix

Effective onboarding isn’t just about activity—it’s about outcomes. To drive long-term success, organizations must define clear Measures of Success and implement a Skills Matrix or competency model that outlines expectations for each role.

This ensures:

?? Clear benchmarks for employee progress

?? Defined skills and competencies for success

?? Alignment between individual growth and business goals

Approximately 60% of businesses do not set onboarding benchmarks beyond an initial onboarding motion, leading to inconsistent results. Without a structured framework, new hires struggle to understand what success looks like and how to achieve it.

By embedding Learn-Create-Execute into your onboarding and reinforcing it with clear success metrics, organizations can create a repeatable, scalable, and results-driven onboarding process that drives engagement, productivity, and retention.

Read more in my book, The Stepped Approach: Onboard Better, Systemize Smarter, and Bring Out the Best in Your Sales Team. (Available on Amazon)

Want to take your onboarding strategy to the next level? Connect with me on LinkedIn or schedule a call to discuss how to implement an effective onboarding framework: Calendly Link.

P.S. Did you know I'm available to speak with your team? If you're looking for an inspirational speaker to give you and your team a new perspective, schedule a call with me to talk it through. Not sure about bringing an outside voice into your organization? Take a look at video testimonials on the Revenue by Design YouTube channel and here.