New-hire onboarding has an “ick” problem. According to new Adobe Acrobat research, based on 1,006 fully employed U.S. workers who had started a job within the previous two years, employees identified five recurring frustrations across companies and industries:
- Having to provide the same personal information multiple times across different forms (63%)
- Receiving policies in writing that were never verbally explained (56%)
- Onboarding that did not reflect the actual culture or day-to-day reality of the role (41%)
- Losing access to documents or resources after the first week (38%)
- Materials written in overly complex or legalistic language (38%)
Information overload with onboarding
It appears employees are overwhelmed by onboarding materials. Workers reported receiving an average of 13 onboarding documents and spending about 12 hours reviewing materials during their first week. Yet they said only 60% of that content was necessary or important to their role. Forty-four percent of workers said they retained half or less of the information they received during onboarding.
AI-use policies also appear to be a sticking point. Thirty-eight percent of employees said their onboarding included no guidance on the organization’s AI policies. This is the largest information gap of any topic Adobe tracked. Among employees who did receive AI-policy information, more than one-third said they retained less than half of it.
Employee confidence at stake?
These frustrations have measurable employee-reported consequences. One in four employees said confusion or gaps in onboarding had a moderate or significant negative impact on their job performance or confidence. More than one in five said their onboarding experience made them question their decision to join the company.
The study also found that 41% of employees had signed or acknowledged an onboarding document without fully reading it. That behavior can make materials less effective. A signature may acknowledge receipt, but it does not necessarily mean that an employee understood the information.
It’s important to note that the Adobe survey measures employee perceptions, not independently verified outcomes. Still, the findings show how administrative friction can become a confidence issue.
Hybrid and remote workers
The survey suggests onboarding problems are not distributed evenly across work arrangements. “Hybrid employees are significantly more likely to receive onboarding materials written in overly complex or legalistic language,” according to the report.
Adobe found that 47% of hybrid employees retained more than half of their onboarding information, compared with 59% of remote workers and 59% of on-site employees.
Remote employees were more likely to report receiving documents that contradicted one another or contained outdated information. They were also the most likely to struggle to locate onboarding documents and resources after the first week.
Employees’ preferred improvements focus on making onboarding easier and the most requested change was a single, searchable hub for onboarding documents and resources. Employees also wanted fewer (more consolidated) materials, clearer checklists and information delivered gradually instead of all at once.
“While many employees report positive onboarding experiences overall, the findings reveal clear opportunities for organizations to simplify how information is shared, accessed and retained,” wrote the report authors.
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