It is easy to judge new starter onboarding by whether the checklist is complete. The harder test is how the joining process feels to the person going through it. Do they know who to ask, and do the role and pay match what they heard during hiring?
This piece draws on Onboarding, Pay and the Transparency Test, a CTF session from September 2025 with Chris Dickenson of Advocate Group and Sarah Skellern of Mondelez. The group looked at how to make joining easier to follow, and how to set and explain advertised pay ranges.
Why new starter onboarding can still confuse people
A process can look tidy on paper and still leave a new starter unsure what to do next. A completed checklist shows that tasks happened. It does not show whether equipment and introductions arrived on time, or whether the person feels ready to contribute.
So ask new starters and their managers where the process creates extra work, uncertainty or delay. Then use those answers to choose what to improve. Look at repeated admin and hand-offs before you decide where technology would actually help.
Make joining easier to follow
Picture the first few weeks from the new starter's side. How many places do they have to check to find out what to do? How many people do they chase for a login, a form or an answer? Each extra step costs effort at the moment they most want to make a good impression.
The fix is often simple. Keep one clear, current list of what a new starter needs to do, by when, and who can help with each item. Give every task a named owner, so nothing depends on someone remembering.
Managers need clarity too. Agree what you expect from them before the first day, in the first weeks and in the months after. A short, practical brief will get more use than a long policy. And make it easy for a manager to raise a problem early, before it lands on the new starter.
Ask the people who use the process
The people best placed to judge your onboarding are recent joiners and the managers who welcomed them. Ask what was hard to find, what they had to chase and what they would change. Then look for the pattern in their answers before you choose what to fix.
Change one thing at a time, then go back to the same people and ask whether it made joining easier. Track how the experience felt as well as whether tasks got done, because a completion rate on its own tells you little.
Support that lasts beyond the first weeks
Onboarding does not stop at the end of induction. So plan support across the first months and beyond, at a pace that suits the role and your business. Start before the new starter arrives: they should know the practical arrangements, what their first day holds and who to contact. It is also a good moment to confirm that pay, benefits and flexibility match what you discussed during hiring.
In the early weeks, make sure introductions and time with their manager actually happen. A buddy or mentor gives the new starter someone to ask for practical help. Later, regular check-ins can cover confidence, priorities and development. Every touchpoint needs an owner and a reason to exist. Use technology to support people, not to replace contact with them. Acas also has practical guidance on inductions if you want to review the basics.
Agree how advertised pay ranges are set
Pay was the other half of the conversation, because it shapes whether a new starter gets what recruitment promised. Clarity matters at every stage, from the advert to the offer.
The tension is familiar: a range has to attract candidates and still be fair to existing colleagues. So agree who owns advertised ranges, and use the same approach for every vacancy. An old salary budget may no longer match the market or the role. Compare external benchmarks with colleagues doing comparable work before you commit to an offer.
Managers then need an explanation they can use, covering why an offer sits where it does and how progression works. It also helps to check the advert, interviews and offer against the reality of the role. Our article on pay transparency in the UK looks at that preparation in more depth.
Questions to take to your team:
- Which part of our onboarding creates the most uncertainty for new starters?
- Can people find tasks, equipment and support easily, and does each one have a named owner?
- Do we measure the experience of new starters and managers, or only completion?
- Who owns our advertised ranges, and can managers explain them?
The full session
Members can watch the recording of this session, download the slides and read the member ebook. The ebook includes two practical worksheets: one to audit your onboarding and one to review your pay ranges. You will find it all in the CTF Session Library. If you lead People work in a consumer business, apply to join or see what membership includes.
