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Benefits Of a Strong Onboarding Program

Most managers think employee onboarding is about making sure new hires have completed their paperwork, but when done properly, onboarding benefits the businesses as a whole.

This infographic breaks down the four main benefits of a strong onboarding program:

  • Increased Retention
  • More Productive Employees
  • Better Revenue
  • Happier Customers

The Link Between Onboarding and Employee Retention

The most obvious benefit to a successful onboarding program is increased retention. Employees that are happy and well adjusted in their jobs are more likely to stay with their employer. Companies with an engaging onboarding program retained 91% of their first-year workers.

Improving your employee retention saves time and money but not having to search for a replacement. Companies spend weeks and thousands of dollars just trying to fill one position. HR experts estimate the organization costs of replacing an employee are one to three times the employee’s annual salary.

The solution is to make sure employees feel confident and comfortable in their jobs from Day 1 instead of just hoping things will work out.

Onboarding Improves Productivity

Not only does onboarding make employees more likely to stay, it also makes them better at their jobs. Employees who go through an onboarding program are nearly 2X as productive, according to research published by Glassdoor.

Onboarding eliminates confusion and confusion can kill your team’s productivity and your bottom line. Businesses in the United States and United Kingdom lose an estimated $37 billion each year from employees not understanding their jobs.

One of the main goals of an onboarding program is for employees to gain role clarity. Employees need to know both what is expected of them and how to use the company’s systems and technologies to meet those expectations.

Employees can’t be productive if they don’t know what to do or how to use your enterprise software. Onboarding makes sure employees have both the institutional knowledge and technical training to be successful.

Driving Revenue and Boosting Customer Satisfaction

The final two benefits of employee onboarding might be the biggest selling point – onboarding boosts both revenue and customer satisfaction. Research from the Aberdeen Group shows that great onboarding can lead to 60% year-over-year improvement in revenue and a 63% year-over-year in customer satisfaction.

An engaged and productive workforce will create better results. Onboarding equips employees to be better at their jobs. Happier and more confident employees lead to happier customers and better revenue. The process starts with your onboarding process. If onboarding at your company only consists of sitting with an HR manager for 30 minutes, you’ll need to consider in building out a full onboarding program.

Seeing the Benefits of Employee Onboarding

Realizing the benefits of an employee onboarding program will require investing time, staff and money to building an onboarding program. Onboarding is not just an HR activity. Department-level supervisors and managers should be involved in developing and executing your onboarding strategy. For more help in developing an onboarding strategy check out this resource – What Employees Want Out of Onboarding

Sooner or later, enterprises have to take advantage of digital transformation. Whatever industry they are in, markets are constantly changing in response to emerging technologies. Digital transformation, by driving innovation, better equips enterprises to handle digital disruptions in the future.

A seismic shift in leadership focus and organizational culture is required for successful digital transformation. However, since most companies cannot afford such a huge change at a time, they have to understand what digital transformation components are in most need of change.

Each organization must prioritize transformation activities based on its business objectives as part of the strategic planning process.

What is a Digital Transformation Framework?

A Digital transformation framework is a detailed plan of how an organization plans on digitally transforming their business operations. These details should address any foreseen challenges and obstacles on the journey to the goal.

It is a comprehensive road map outlining the strategies you intend to use to transform your organization seamlessly and efficiently.

According to TechRepublic report, more than 55% of companies say that innovation and digital improvements have already increased profits. But Forrester’s report says only 15% of organizations are digitally savvy.

These stats show that many organizations need an effective digital transformation strategy to make better business outcomes and stay competitive.

Build a successful digital transformation framework

Here are 7 key elements needed to build a successful strategic digital transformation framework:

  • Clear objectives
  • Plan optimization
  • Adaptability
  • Executive Leadership and Engagement
  • Ensure the right mix of team members
  • Learn to Communicate
  • Use Technology to Enhance People and Processes

1. Clear objectives

Whether you’re transforming your business model or you wish to improve your business’ overall services, having a clear objective in mind when designing your framework is a top priority. The effectiveness of a strategic digital business transformation framework is determined by the defined aims or goals.

Companies that are less digitally mature tend to focus on individual technologies and how they may be used to enhance general operations, whereas more advanced organizations develop digital strategies to change their business entirely, with an end goal in mind.

Technology is driving value in organizations in various ways today, from automation and improved decision-making to product innovation and enhanced connectivity. The entire organization needs to work towards a common goal instead of different departments trying to transform on their own.

However, the digital transformation process has to come in phases and focus on organizational priorities. It is vital to understand current systems and exactly they can be transformed.

2. Plan optimization

It is important to research and plan your transformation goals whether you want to redefine your business model, increase efficiency, or build a remote infrastructure.

Every organization carries out various procedures and operations that can be optimized to improve workflow efficiency and effectiveness. Business process optimization can help you develop your digital transformation strategy.

The plan must optimize corporate processes while satisfying the objectives established for both customers and the internal team. Having the right combination of skills across the team must be a top priority in your digital strategy. You need skilled and tech-savvy people to use the innovative technologies that you invest in. 

3. Adaptability

Business operations are constantly changing and you must transform your digital transformation strategy accordingly. Any digital enablement strategy must take shifting market conditions and new technologies into account. To do this, we must place a premium on agility and innovation at every step.

The business landscape is ever-changing; thus organizations today must be ready to adapt new strategies along with the business trends. In addition to adjusting in accordance with market scenarios, engage with thought leaders and peers to stay adaptable.

Maintaining this kind of adaptability is a key element to successful digital transformation. It is important to keep an eye on all market, business, and technology developments before, during, and after the digital transformation process. This enables you to easily respond to new situations.

4. Executive Leadership and Engagement

Having an active executive owner of the initiative who can make their way through uncertain circumstances, manage disagreements, and integrate cross-departmental activities is critical to the digital transformation’s success. Working at a fast pace allows businesses to adjust and alter the path of their digital transformation.

The effectiveness of long-term plans is dependent on how rapidly firms can modify their digital transformation strategy to changes in the market and the competitors, and the corporate culture.

Leadership buy-in during digital transformation is essential because if any team leader does not buy into the change, their teams will likely not follow. Thus, if the leaders are not all on board working together, the plan will likely fall apart before it has a chance to begin.

5. Ensure the right mix of team members

For building a successful digital transformation strategy framework, you must have a team with the right mix of skills that can work across the entire digital transformation lifecycle.

To implement innovative technologies, you will need more than just IT people, as IT is just one of the skills needed for running a digital transformation project. Instead, you should have a team with a variety of skills that can turn an idea into an actionable plan.

Culture is critical to the success of any digital transformation initiative. The digital transformation process will often require the existing company culture to change and adapt in new ways before it can fully bloom. So, it will be beneficial to prepare your personnel in advance. Effective communication can assist you in accomplishing this.

6. Learn to Communicate

Most employees will see digital transformation as a barrier, which is why you have to engage them in the whole process. Before implementation, learn to communicate with your team about what is causing this change and why you see it fitting to the working environment.

Communicate how this transformation can make their work easier and how would it benefit the team members and the company as a whole. It’s difficult to just do something without knowing the context behind it. So, prepare yourself and communicate your digital transformation roadmap to your team, be open for feedback and try to implement them in your plan if it sounds feasible.

7. Use Technology to Enhance People and Processes

Investing in the right technology is probably the most important aspect of digital transformation. You need to make sure that the technology you’ll be using during and after the transformation is truly beneficial for your business. If you don’t choose your tech wisely, you’ll end up wasting money and having several different issues with various business processes.

Many organizations simply choose technologies because they are trendy and popular but not because the technologies can help them in achieving their digital transformation goals. This will eventually lead to the following outcomes:  

  • Technologies being abandoned and not get used by employees & team members 
  • Increased costs and inefficiencies  
  • Lack of integration with the rest of the IT infrastructure and departments. You can also leverage tools like Uniqode’s business cards, which ensures that networking aligns with your digital transformation goals and modern workplace culture.

Utilize feedback from your team to have a deeper understanding of the roadblocks and problems they experience daily. Also, take a holistic approach to building a technological stack, ensuring that each layer of technology you add will function with your other existing solutions.

Conclusion

According to this McKinsey report, Enterprises that have a data-driven approach are 23 times more likely to outperform their competitors in terms of the new customer acquisition. Data analysis and integration can assist you in identifying areas of concern for your organization.

The study of data and dissemination of its findings can help your team determine the best solutions to challenges, resulting in the development of a more effective digital transformation strategy.

Most businesses assume that digital transformation can be achieved simply by using new technologies and automating processes. Technology will not be able to fix faulty processes or eliminate the requirement for your employees to be trained.

It can only be used to complement your training program and to provide your employee with new talents or to improve an existing procedure. Organizations need to assess if your present tech stack will integrate with your established processes and business objectives once you’ve defined your process.

A Digital Adoption Platform like Apty is one such tool that can help employees make use of the organization’s tech stack to its fullest potential. Apty is a lightweight DAP that sits on your enterprise applications and provides in-app interactive walkthroughs to the end-users. Your employees can simply follow the on-screen guidance and get their job done effectively.  

SaaS companies need reliable, efficient, and fast ways to onboard new customers. SaaS onboarding software can drastically reduce the time and resources spent on customer onboarding.

The best onboarding tools for SaaS companies will allow you to quickly and easily create custom product tours and on-screen guidance to show new customers how to use your application.

In this blog, we’ll cover the importance of user onboarding for SaaS products, what onboarding tools are available, and highlight the features you should look at when evaluating what SaaS user onboarding software is right for your SaaS product.

What is Onboarding in Saas?

Onboarding is the process of introducing new users to an application and helping them get acquainted with how it works.

After completing onboarding, customers should:

  • Be able to complete basic tasks in the application,
  • Recognize the value the application provides, and
  • Begin regularly using the software.

Why is User Onboarding Important?

Using onboarding is the key to improving your product adoption. If people don’t use your software, they won’t renew their subscription. Thus onboarding and adoption are the keys to decreasing or preventing churn.

When you sell a product that people don’t know how to use, you have to offer some onboarding for customers to be successful. When people buy a car, most of them already know how to drive because they learned using someone else’s car or previously owned a vehicle themselves.

For SaaS products, no one has used your product before buying it, so you have to teach them how to use it and get the value out of it. For more tips on the importance of driving product adoption through onboarding, check out our detailed guide on product adoption for SaaS products.

What is SaaS Onboarding Software?

SaaS onboarding software is a part of a growing solutions category called digital adoption platforms. Individual features may vary, but in general, a DAP provides on-screen guidance, user communication tools, and analytics. DAPs serve two main markets: enterprises and SaaS products. Companies will use a DAP to help with the onboarding and implementation of enterprise applications like an ERP, CRM, or HCM system. SaaS products use a DAP primarily for user onboarding and product adoption.

Read More:- Walkthrough Software: Why You Need It and How Interactive Walkthroughs Help Users

Top SaaS Onboarding Software Solutions in 2026

To determine the best SaaS onboarding software, you’ll find it helpful to examine user reviews and ratings. As the leading software review site, G2 can offer valuable insights on which platforms could work best for you.

As of July 2020, the Highest-rated Digital Adoption Platforms or SaaS Onboarding Tools are:

  • Apty
  • Appcues
  • Intercom
  • Whatfix
  • Pendo
  • Userguiding
  • Spekit
  • Userpilot
  • EdCast My Guide
  • HelpHero
  • UserIQ
  • Gainsight PX
  • Userlane
  • Chameleon
  • Toonimo
  • WalkMe
  • Inline Manual
  • Newired

SaaS Customer Onboarding Software Comparison

As we’ve already mentioned, Digital Adoption Platforms tend to focus on either enterprise software or SaaS products. Some platforms work for both. We’ve categorized the top platforms in the table below:

Onboarding Tools Focused on Enterprise Software Adoption for Employees Tools focused on SaaS User Onboarding Onboarding Tools for both Enterprises and SaaS Products
Whatfix

Spekit

Edcast My Guide

Newired

Appcues

Intercom

Pendo

Userguiding

Userpilot

HelpHero

UserIQ

Gainsight PX

Chameleon

Apty

Userlane

Toonimo

WalkMe

Inline Manual

You’ll want to pick a SaaS customer onboarding tool that focuses on SaaS products or both SaaS and enterprises. You’ll also want to ask about pricing options. Frequently as startups, SaaS companies are looking for the best bargain.

Make sure you invest in a platform that’s both affordable and feature-rich. Customer onboarding is one of the most important functions for a SaaS product. Don’t skimp on your onboarding tool. You need to deliver the best user experience possible.

Feature to Look for in SaaS Onboarding Software

There are several factors to consider when choosing the right onboarding tool to use in conjunction with your SaaS product. Things like functionality, ease of use, and cost-effectiveness are naturally some of the most sought after features.

Before you decide, let’s take a look at some of the features you should be sure to consider when doing your SaaS user onboarding tool research.

A. Easily Accessible Guides

You never know when your users will have questions or need guidance. Having an onboarding tool that implements easily accessible guides will save time and cut costs. These guides should be available 24/7, making it easy for users to find solutions at any time of the day. Extended availability allows for continued work and the ability for users to expand their knowledge base continually.

B. Segmentation

Not all roles are equal when it comes to onboarding. Users have different needs. Segmentation by a user’s native language or their user role can dictate what content they see and the method in which it is delivered to them. Finding an onboarding tool that allows for segmentation will give users a better experience while also enhancing their overall onboarding outcomes.

C. Custom Walkthroughs And Product Tours

SaaS onboarding software with a code-free editor will allow for easy content creation and streamlined walkthroughs and product tours. Having a software with this capability will significantly cut costs without cutting quality. Look for an easy code-free editor so you can create and publish new tours and walkthroughs in a matter of minutes. Teams can pair walkthroughs with AI video summaries to reinforce product tours using real demo or webinar content.

Read More:- Tips for Using Product Tours to Reveal Your ‘Aha Moment’

D. Advanced Analytics

Perhaps one of the most effective tools within onboarding software is advanced analytics. Having the ability to track and measure how people are using your onboarding content will give you the insight necessary to optimize your process. These analytics hold the power to pinpoint weak areas and offer solutions to improve user engagement.

E. Communication Capabilities

Open lines of communication are crucial to success. When choosing onboarding tools, look for options that allow for in-app communication with users. This feature will let you remind users to complete the onboarding process as well as solicit their feedback regarding content. With this feature, you’ll be able to help keep users on track while also building rapport and generating valuable first-hand feedback to improve the user experience.

What is the Best SaaS Onboarding Software?

When you evaluate the features and user ratings, Apty comes out on top as the best SaaS onboarding software.

Apty outranks the competition by:

  • Being rated as highest for satisfaction on G2,
  • Offering the easiest and fasted editor for creating and publishing walkthroughs, and
  • Having a proven track record of reducing support tickets and costs.

What our SaaS Clients Have to Say:

“Apty helps us empower our Customers”

“Apty is an intuitive and robust Digital Adoption platform with very powerful capabilities. Our customers have been able to successfully navigate through and use our product without raising support tickets or making frantic calls to us for help. This is a dream tool for every SaaS product that wishes to empower their customers.” – Recent G2 Review

What are the Benefits of Apty’s SaaS Onboarding Software?

User onboarding is time-consuming and expensive. Companies have to devote resources to individual training and onboarding sessions or invest heavily in video and support content development. Apty allows companies to significantly reduce costs by using on-screen guidance and guided product tours to get users up and running quickly.

To learn more about reducing the time and money you spend on creating onboarding and support content, check out this blog post on using the COPE method for developing content with Apty. The blog post shows how Apty helps learning and development teams create content quickly to train new employees on enterprise software.

Still, the same principles apply to producing content for new SaaS customers.

In addition to cost savings, Apty also helps SaaS companies provide a better user experience. Apty is available 24/7, so users can start their onboarding on their schedule. With Apty, customers can begin using new software on the first day without any additional training.

By accelerating the onboarding process, Apty helps your users recognize the value of your application sooner and decreases the chance they’ll cancel or stop using the product.

Understand Your Options for SaaS Onboarding Tools

When it comes to choosing an onboarding tool for your SaaS products, be sure to do your due diligence, and fully understand your options. A thorough and engaging onboarding experience will have more significant long-term effects that can decrease churn and increase user engagement and customer satisfaction.

Investing in software that is a good fit for users is critical to long-term success for both the user and your SaaS product.

The first week of onboarding is done. Your new hire watched all the training videos, finished the compliance modules, and completed every item on the checklist.

In the second week, they are on their own in Salesforce updating a customer record, in NetSuite creating their first invoice, or in Workday submitting a timesheet.

The training explained what the system does, but it did not show them:

  • Which fields are important for their job?
  • What happens if they click the wrong button?
  • Who should they ask if the screen looks different from the training screenshots?

So they guess. They skip fields that look optional, submit forms they should have saved as drafts, and update records they were not supposed to change.

Three days later, someone in operations is fixing their mistakes. After a week, the new hire is still asking the same basic questions. By the end of the month, they start to wonder if this job is harder than it should be.

This is where most traditional onboarding programs fall short: not during training, but when employees begin real work in live systems.

This guide shows how digital employee onboarding can solve these problems. It covers the main benefits, common challenges, types of onboarding tools, and strategies to help new hires feel confident in their work.

TL;DR

Most onboarding programs cover training and documentation, but often fall short when employees begin real work in live systems. The gap between finishing training and working confidently is where onboarding usually fails. Digital onboarding can solve this by adding guidance into daily workflows, helping employees right when they need support instead of days before they try new tasks.

What is Digital Employee Onboarding?

Digital employee onboarding uses software to deliver, guide, track, and support onboarding activities. It is more than just uploading orientation slides or sending automated welcome emails.

Digital onboarding helps employees on remote, hybrid, and global teams as soon as they access company systems. It replaces ad-hoc sessions, scattered documents, and one-time training calls with a structured, software-led experience.

Digital employee onboarding typically includes:

  • Role-based training for specific roles, teams, or functions
  • Process guidance showing how tasks and workflows are completed
  • Compliance enablement supporting internal policies and standard operating procedures
  • Performance readiness so employees can work independently with confidence
Common misconception: Digital employee onboarding is often confused with simply digitizing training content. Here’s the difference:

  • Content delivery (what most companies do): Uploading training videos to an LMS, sharing process documents, and sending new hires links to help articles.
  • Digital onboarding (what actually works): Supporting employees as they work in the systems they use every day. It guides them through the right steps, helps prevent mistakes as they happen, and reinforces learning through real tasks.

Why Digital Employee Onboarding Matters for Modern Enterprises

Onboarding is now under more pressure than ever. Methods like orientation sessions, desk-side training, and informal shadowing that worked five years ago are no longer enough for today’s fast-paced environment. That’s why digital employee onboarding is now essential:

  • Rise of distributed and hybrid teams: Teams no longer sit in the same office or time zone. Digital onboarding creates a consistent experience for every new hire, regardless of location, without relying on in-person sessions or constant manager availability.
  • Increasing complexity of enterprise software stacks: New hires are expected to use multiple systems from day one, including HCM platforms, CRM tools, finance systems, and internal applications. Digital onboarding helps employees understand how these tools fit into their role and how to use them correctly in daily workflows.
  • Faster hiring cycles and less patience for slow ramp-ups: Businesses hire quickly to meet growth demands, but long ramp-up times slow teams. Digital onboarding offers early structured guidance, helping employees become productive sooner without repeated hand-holding.
  • Regulatory and governance expectations: Enterprises operate with defined internal policies, approval flows, and governance standards. Digital onboarding supports these requirements by guiding employees through the correct steps and reducing reliance on memory or manual checks.
  • The cost of poor onboarding: When onboarding falls short, employees struggle, make avoidable mistakes, and rely on peers and managers for support. Over time, this leads to rework, inconsistent execution, and higher attrition, making onboarding quality a direct business concern.

Key Benefits of Using Digital Employee Onboarding Software

When onboarding is well-organized, its positive effects last well beyond the first days. Here are some of the main benefits.

1. Faster time-to-productivity

Digital onboarding helps new hires get started faster. They spend less time waiting for training or trying to learn tools by themselves, and more time working on real tasks with clear guidance.

For example, a new operations analyst can use a guided onboarding process to create their first report within a few days, instead of spending the first week asking coworkers for help.

2. Consistent onboarding experience across teams and regions

Digital onboarding gives every new hire the same starting point, no matter where they are or who their manager is. Everyone learns the main workflows, expectations, and tools consistently.

For instance, two employees starting the same job in different regions can follow the same onboarding steps and be equally prepared, even if their managers have different approaches.

3. Reduced errors and compliance risks

Clear onboarding instructions help employees do things right from the start, leading to fewer mistakes early on. Getting everyone on the same page early also reduces the chance of having to redo work or break company rules later.

For example, when a finance team member starts using a billing system, the onboarding process guides them through the required fields and approvals to help them avoid mistakes on their first entries.

4. Lower training and support costs

Digital onboarding means less need for repeated live training and one-on-one help. It answers common questions and explains key tasks from the start, so experienced team members have more time for other work.

For example, teams don’t have to show every new hire the same setup steps, because the onboarding process covers these tasks for everyone.

5. Improved employee engagement and retention

When employees get clear guidance and support early on, they feel more confident and productive in their jobs. This early confidence helps them stay engaged over time.

A new hire who can handle important tasks independently early on is more likely to stay motivated and committed, rather than feeling lost or frustrated.

Key Challenges Organizations Face With Digital Employee Onboarding

Even with digital onboarding tools in place, many organizations continue to face gaps once new hires start using systems and processes. Some of the most common challenges show up in the following areas:

1. Onboarding content exists, but employees don’t follow it

Most organizations already have onboarding material in place, but new hires often struggle to apply it once real work begins. Content lives in decks, documents, or portals that employees rarely revisit while working in live systems, trying to complete tasks.

The fix: Bring onboarding guidance closer to where work happens, so employees can follow it while performing tasks rather than recalling it later.

2. Too many tools, not enough guidance

New hires are introduced to multiple systems on Day 1, but there is little support to explain how these tools connect or which actions matter most. The result is confusion, guesswork, and frequent interruptions to teammates for help.

The fix: Connect onboarding across tools with clear, step-by-step guidance that helps employees understand what to do and in what order.

3. One-size-fits-all onboarding programs

Generic onboarding programs often ignore role-specific workflows, team responsibilities, or regional variations. Employees are asked to sit through information that does not apply to their role while missing guidance that does.

The fix: Design onboarding paths that adapt to role, function, or workflow, rather than using a single program for everyone.

4. No visibility into where new hires struggle

Managers often know onboarding is “complete” but have little insight into where employees hesitate, make mistakes, or require repeated help. Issues surface only after errors or delays become visible.

The fix: Track onboarding progress and execution signals to identify friction points early and adjust support accordingly.

5. Manual follow-ups and shadow training

Onboarding frequently depends on senior employees repeating the same explanations or walking new hires through screens. The approach does not scale and places additional load on already stretched teams.

The fix: Replace repeated manual guidance with structured, self-serve onboarding support that employees can access as needed.

Types of Digital Employee Onboarding Tools Companies Use Today

These tools sit within broader HCM systems and focus on managing employee information, documentation, and lifecycle events. They typically handle pre-boarding tasks, policy acknowledgements, and basic onboarding workflows.

1. BambooHR

Source: BambooHR

Best for: Small to mid-sized companies that want to give new hires a consistent pre-boarding experience without requiring much IT support or complex integrations.

G2 rating: 4.4/5

BambooHR is an HR management platform designed for mid-sized organizations, typically those with 50 to 1,000 employees. It helps manage employee records, onboarding forms, and task checklists in one place. HR teams can create onboarding checklists, automate task assignments, and track progress for multiple new hires simultaneously. 

BambooHR effectively organizes paperwork and administrative tasks, ensuring everything is signed and submitted before a new employee begins. However, it focuses on HR logistics and does not help employees learn how to use the systems they will need for their jobs.

 

Strengths Drawbacks
Centralized employee data management: All new hire information, documents, and forms are stored in a single, easy-to-access system. Limited application-level guidance: The platform checks that tasks are finished, but does not show employees how to do the actual work.
Customizable onboarding checklists: HR teams can create role-specific task lists and track completion in real time. No real-time execution support: It does not assist employees while working in live systems such as CRM or ERP platforms.
Automated workflows: Notifications and reminders are triggered for pending tasks, reducing manual follow-up from HR teams. Administrative focus: Primarily supports HR paperwork and policy acknowledgment rather than operational workflows.
Self-service capabilities: New hires can complete paperwork and review policies independently before their start date. No performance validation: Tracks task completion but cannot verify whether employees can perform the work correctly.

Pricing: Enterprise pricing, typically licensed per user, with costs varying by features and scale

A customer’s perspective

Source: G2

Expert opinion

The platform gets people into your systems, but it doesn’t prepare them for what happens next, when they need to actually use those systems to do their job. Pair it with training and execution-focused tools for complete onboarding coverage.

2. Rippling

Source: Rippling

Best for: Mid-to-large enterprises looking for an integrated HR and IT platform that combines employee onboarding with device management, app provisioning, and benefits administration in one system.

G2 rating: 4.8/5

Rippling is a comprehensive workforce management platform that goes beyond traditional HR onboarding by integrating identity management, device provisioning, and application access. It automates employee setup, from creating accounts across systems to shipping hardware and enrolling employees in benefits.

For onboarding, Rippling automatically provisions access to necessary applications like email, Slack, and CRM based on the employee’s role and department. It triggers workflows that coordinate IT setup, benefits enrollment, and compliance training at the same time. 

Many companies use it for zero-touch onboarding, so new hires receive a pre-configured laptop and access to all systems on day one.

 

Strengths Drawbacks
Unified platform approach: Combines HR, IT, and finance functions in one system, eliminating the need to manually coordinate across multiple tools. High initial setup complexity: Requires significant upfront effort to connect systems and define role-based access rules.
Automated provisioning: Automatically creates accounts and grants access across dozens of applications based on role, significantly reducing IT workload. Limited application guidance: Provides access to tools but does not teach employees how to use them for their job functions.
Device management integration: Ships, configures, and manages employee devices as part of the onboarding process. No in-workflow support: Focuses on setup and access rather than guiding employees through task execution inside applications.
Workflow automation: Enables complex multi-step onboarding processes to run automatically across departments. Premium pricing: Comprehensive functionality often comes at a higher cost than standalone HR onboarding tools.

Pricing: Enterprise pricing, typically licensed per employee per month, with costs varying based on modules and integrations

A customer’s perspective

Source: G2

Expert opinion

Rippling excels at removing the administrative friction of onboarding. Nobody waits days for account access or hardware. But getting someone logged in is not the same as making them productive. You still need a plan to teach them what to do once they are inside those systems.

3. Docebo

Source: Docebo

Best for: Mid-to-large enterprises with complex training needs, multiple departments needing role-specific learning paths, and organizations prioritizing compliance training and certification tracking for distributed teams

G2 rating: 4.3/5

Docebo is a learning management system that helps deliver role-based learning paths, compliance training, and onboarding. The platform uses artificial intelligence to suggest personalized learning, automate content assignments, and identify skill gaps based on employee roles and performance. 

Docebo offers various learning options, including video courses, interactive modules, SCORM packages, and virtual instructor-led training. Many companies use it to ensure employees complete and track required training, especially in fields like healthcare, finance, and manufacturing, where compliance matters. 

While Docebo excels at delivering structured education, the learning remains separated from real-time task execution inside business applications.

 

Strengths Drawbacks
AI-powered personalization: Automatically recommends relevant courses based on role, skills gaps, and learning history. Training happens before execution: Employees learn concepts in the LMS but must recall them later while working in live systems.
Comprehensive tracking and reporting: Detailed analytics on completion rates, assessment scores, and learning engagement across teams. No in-application guidance: Does not support employees while they perform tasks inside CRM, ERP, or other operational tools.
Multi-format content support: Supports videos, interactive modules, documents, virtual classes, and external learning resources. Passive learning model: Focuses on content consumption rather than hands-on practice in real work environments.
Strong compliance capabilities: Tracks certifications, sends renewal reminders, and maintains detailed audit trails. Adoption challenges: Employees may view LMS training as an additional task instead of practical support for their daily work.

Pricing: Enterprise pricing, typically licensed per user, with costs varying by features and scale

A customer’s perspective

Source: G2

Expert opinion

Docebo is excellent at delivering structured learning content and tracking completion. But there’s a gap: employees watch a course on processing invoices in your ERP system, and two weeks later, they’re looking at the real ERP screen without knowing where to begin. The best onboarding programs use the LMS for basic knowledge, then add real-time guidance as employees start working.

4. TalentLMS

Source: TalentLMS 

Best for: Small to mid-sized companies seeking a straightforward, easy-to-implement LMS for employee training and onboarding without extensive technical requirements

G2 rating: 4.6/5

TalentLMS is a cloud-based learning management system designed for quick setup and ease of use. It helps organizations create training courses, assign learning paths, and track employee progress through an intuitive interface that requires minimal technical expertise to manage.

The platform supports multiple content formats, including videos, presentations, SCORM files, and quizzes. Companies use TalentLMS to build onboarding programs that guide new hires through company policies, product knowledge, and role-specific training. The system’s branching logic allows organizations to create different learning paths based on department, role, or location.

TalentLMS also integrates with common HR systems and collaboration tools, making it easier to enroll new hires automatically and notify managers when training is complete. Its mobile app lets employees complete training on any device, which is useful for distributed teams.

 

Strengths Drawbacks
Quick implementation: Can be set up and launched within days rather than weeks, with minimal IT support required. Knowledge retention gap: Employees complete courses but often forget information by the time they need to apply it in real systems.
User-friendly interface: Both administrators and learners find the platform intuitive, reducing the learning curve for HR teams. No contextual support: Training happens in isolation from the applications where employees will actually work.
Flexible content creation: Supports various content types and allows trainers to build courses without instructional design expertise. Limited advanced features: Lacks some of the AI-driven personalization and sophisticated analytics found in enterprise-grade LMS platforms.
Gamification features: Includes badges, points, and leaderboards to increase engagement during onboarding training. Basic reporting: Provides completion tracking and quiz scores, but limited insight into actual skill development or job readiness.

Pricing: Tiered pricing starting with a free plan for up to 5 users, paid plans priced per active user per month 

A customer’s perspective

Source: G2

Expert opinion

TalentLMS excels at delivering training content efficiently and tracking completion. It works well for smaller organizations that need something simple and effective. However, a transfer problem remains. Employees watch training on Monday and forget much of it by Friday when they need to use the system. The most effective approach is to use TalentLMS for foundational knowledge, then add in-app guidance when employees start real tasks.

5. Confluence

Source: Atlassian

Best for: Technology companies, product teams, and organizations with technical documentation needs and seeking collaborative, searchable knowledge bases.

G2 rating: 4.1/5

Confluence is Atlassian’s collaborative documentation platform used by enterprises to create, organize, and share internal knowledge. It allows multiple contributors to build and maintain documentation collaboratively, with version control tracking changes over time. 

For onboarding, companies create dedicated “spaces” with role-specific guides, FAQs, and process walkthroughs. New hires can search documentation, bookmark important pages, and reference materials as needed.

However, Confluence operates as a passive resource. Employees must leave their workflow, remember to check it, find the right documentation, and then apply what they read back into the system where they are working.

 

Strengths Drawbacks
Collaborative editing capabilities: Multiple team members can create, edit, and maintain documentation in real time Passive reference system: New hires must search Confluence when stuck, instead of getting guidance when they need it
Powerful search and organization: Structured spaces, labels, and search help employees find information quickly Documentation drift: Content quickly becomes outdated if not maintained, causing confusion when reality does not match documentation
Version history and tracking: Every change is tracked, so teams can see who updated what and revert if needed Passive learning model: Focuses on content consumption rather than hands-on practice in real work environments
Integration with the Atlassian ecosystem: Connects with Jira, Trello, and other tools commonly used by technical teams Overwhelming for new hires: Large Confluence instances with hundreds of pages are difficult to navigate without knowing where to start

Pricing: Tiered pricing per user, with free and paid plans based on team size and features

A customer’s perspective

Source: G2

Expert opinion

Confluence works best as a supporting knowledge base for onboarding and process reference. It is most effective when paired with tools that provide contextual guidance inside applications. This reduces the need for employees to pause work and search for answers.

7. Slack

Source: Slack

Best for: Teams using real-time messaging to support onboarding questions, quick clarifications, and informal guidance

G2 rating: 4.5/5

Slack is a real-time messaging platform central to workplace communication, especially for distributed and hybrid teams. During onboarding, organizations create dedicated channels like #new-hires, #ask-hr, or team-specific channels where new employees can ask questions, share updates, and connect with colleagues.

Many companies assign onboarding buddies who communicate mainly through Slack direct messages, providing informal guidance and answering day-to-day questions. Slack’s search functionality also lets employees find previous conversations where similar questions were answered.

However, onboarding support through Slack is reactive and inconsistent. The quality and speed of help depend on who is online, how busy they are, and whether they see the message. 

 

Strengths Drawbacks
Instant access to help: New hires can ask questions and get real-time answers without scheduling meetings or waiting for email responses Inconsistent support quality: Help depends on who’s available, how busy they are, and whether they see the message in time
Searchable conversation history: Previous questions and answers can be searched, helping new hires find solutions without asking Knowledge doesn’t scale: The same questions are asked and answered repeatedly with each new hire because conversations get buried in history
Builds team connection: Informal interactions help new hires feel connected to teammates, especially in remote settings Interrupts experienced employees: Senior team members are constantly pulled into onboarding questions, reducing their productivity on core work
Low barrier to asking questions: The casual nature of Slack makes new hires more comfortable asking questions they might hesitate to ask in formal settings No structured guidance: New hires receive scattered advice instead of systematic onboarding support aligned with their learning path

Pricing: Free and paid plans, priced per user with additional features at higher tiers

A customer’s perspective

Source: G2

Expert opinion

Slack is great for building culture and helping people connect during onboarding, but it should not replace structured guidance. If you rely on Slack for onboarding, you crowd-source support and hope someone notices the question, has time to reply, and gives the right answer. So, use Slack to help people build relationships and solve unique problems, but do not make it your main tool for onboarding support.

Why Digital Onboarding Tools Often Fall Short in Practice

Even with multiple onboarding tools in place, many organizations find that outcomes fall short once new hires start working independently. The gaps usually do not come from lack of effort, but from how onboarding is designed and measured.

Here’s why it happens: 

1. Too much focus on content delivery

Many onboarding tools prioritize distributing information through courses, documents, or checklists. While this helps share knowledge, it does not guarantee employees know how to apply it during real tasks.

As a result, onboarding appears complete on paper, even though employees still struggle when performing actual work.

2. Training disconnected from real work

Training often happens before employees begin using live systems. By the time new hires start working on applications, earlier instructions are forgotten or feel abstract. Without guidance during execution, employees resort to trial-and-error or repeated questions, slowing productivity.

3. No real-time validation

Most onboarding tools explain the steps, but do not confirm whether they are followed correctly. Errors surface only after tasks are completed, reviewed, or escalated. This delay leads to rework and makes it harder to correct behaviors early, when onboarding support is most effective.

4. Poor employee adoption

Onboarding tools that require employees to leave their workflow, search for help, or remember where information lives often see low usage. When support is not available at the moment of need, employees default to informal help or workarounds instead of using onboarding resources.

5. Metrics focused on completion, not outcomes

Success is often measured by task completion, course progress, or checklist status. These metrics show activity, but not readiness or execution quality. Without insight into how employees perform tasks, onboarding improvements remain reactive rather than informed by real outcomes.

How Leading Enterprises Improve Employee Onboarding Outcomes

After identifying where onboarding tools fail, many enterprises adjust their approach rather than adding more tools. The focus shifts from onboarding as a one-time event to an ongoing enablement process closely tied to how work gets done. 

Here’s what can help: 

1. Combine HR onboarding, training, and in-app guidance

Leading organizations treat onboarding as a connected experience, not separate handoffs between systems.

  • HR onboarding handles access and documentation
  • Training introduces processes and concepts
  • In-app guidance supports employees when they perform tasks inside live systems

Each layer builds on the previous one, creating a continuous support system rather than disconnected activities.

2. Shift from “train once” to continuous reinforcement

Initial training provides context, but real understanding develops through repetition and use. High-performing teams reinforce correct behavior over time instead of assuming onboarding is complete after the first few sessions.

Ongoing guidance helps employees apply what they learned as workflows repeat and responsibilities grow. For example, a new customer success manager might complete CRM training in week one, then receive reinforcement prompts during weeks 2-6 as they handle different account scenarios. This approach recognizes that learning happens through doing, not just watching.

3. Use execution data to improve onboarding

Rather than relying only on completion status, leading enterprises look at how employees actually perform tasks. Execution signals highlight where employees hesitate, repeat steps, or make common mistakes.

This insight allows teams to refine onboarding content based on real behavior rather than assumptions. If analytics show that 70% of new hires struggle with a specific workflow step, that’s where onboarding support gets enhanced. 

Example: IBM uses analytics from its onboarding platform to track where new hires struggle during their first 90 days. They identified that new sales reps consistently made errors in opportunity classification, leading to forecast inaccuracies. They refined onboarding guidance for that specific workflow and saw a 35% reduction in classification errors within the first month.

4. Align onboarding with productivity and quality metrics

Onboarding success is evaluated based on readiness and execution quality. Teams connect onboarding outcomes to how quickly employees become productive, how consistently work is performed, and how often errors occur.

For example, a customer operations team shifted from measuring “training completion rate” to tracking “time to first independent case resolution” and “accuracy rate in first 50 cases.” This revealed that employees who received in-app guidance reached independence faster.

How Apty Helps Enterprises Succeed With Digital Employee Onboarding

Most digital onboarding tools focus on preparing employees through training content and documentation. That preparation is important, but it stops short once employees start using live systems.

Apty addresses this gap by focusing on execution inside the applications where work actually happens.

Apty is a digital adoption platform that provides in-app guidance and support on top of enterprise tools like CRM systems, ERP platforms, HCM tools, and other internal applications. This way, new hires can learn as they work and complete tasks correctly from day one.

Here’s how it helps: 

1. Embeds onboarding directly into real workflows

A new sales operations hire logs into the CRM for the first time. Instead of completing a training module beforehand, guidance appears directly inside the CRM:

  • Apty highlights where the workflow starts
  • Indicates which fields must be completed before moving ahead
  • Walks through the correct sequence to create and qualify a lead

The employee completes a real task correctly on the first attempt, without leaving the application.

2. Enforces correct process execution

A new finance hire uses an ERP system to create vendor records. When a mandatory field is skipped or data is entered in the wrong order, Apty intervenes before the record can be saved.

This way, errors are corrected during execution, not discovered later through reviews or clean-up efforts.

3. Supports role-based and workflow-specific onboarding

Employees interact with systems differently depending on their role, responsibilities, and region. Apty allows onboarding to adapt to those differences, ensuring guidance stays relevant.

For example, two employees join the same organization. A customer support agent receives guidance on ticket-resolution workflows, while a sales manager is guided through forecasting and pipeline review. 

In other words, each onboarding experience aligns with daily responsibilities.

4. Reduces dependency on shadow training and manual support

Onboarding often relies on experienced employees repeatedly answering questions or walking new hires through screens. Apty reduces this dependency by acting as a self-serve onboarding assistant inside applications.

Guidance is always available when tasks are performed, regardless of time zone or team availability. The result? Teams spend less time repeating explanations and more time on core work.

How Apty Supports Onboarding Across Key Stages

 

Onboarding stage What typically happens Where onboarding breaks down How Apty adds value
First logins (Days 1–3) New hires explore systems for the first time Overwhelm, incorrect clicks, skipped steps, and hesitation are common Apty guides employees through first-time workflows directly inside live applications
Initial task execution (Weeks 1–2) Employees start performing real tasks Errors, rework, and frequent questions slow progress Apty enforces correct steps, sequencing, and required fields in real time
Independent work (Weeks 3–6) Employees are expected to work independently Silent mistakes and inconsistent execution go unnoticed Apty reinforces correct behavior and prevents errors during everyday work
Process changes Tools or workflows are updated Old habits persist, and retraining becomes necessary Apty pushes updated guidance into workflows instantly, without separate training

Conclusion

The execution gap—the space between “training complete” and “working confidently”—is where most onboarding programs quietly fail.

Checklists get marked as finished. Training videos get watched. But none of that guarantees a new hire can correctly complete their first real task when they’re alone in a live system.

Organizations that treat onboarding as content delivery will keep seeing the same outcomes: new hires struggling for weeks, avoidable errors creating rework, and early turnover from employees who never felt equipped to succeed.

The solution is to shift onboarding support into the applications where work happens, at the exact moment employees need guidance. Platforms like Apty make this possible by embedding onboarding directly into workflows, preventing errors in real-time, and adapting to role-specific needs.

Ready to close the execution gap in your onboarding?

Book a demo with Apty today

FAQs

1. What is digital employee onboarding software?

Digital employee onboarding software helps organizations deliver, guide, and support onboarding activities. This enables employees to learn and perform tasks correctly as they start using systems and tools.

2. How is digital onboarding different from traditional onboarding?

Traditional onboarding relies on in-person sessions and static materials. Digital onboarding supports employees continuously through software, making onboarding accessible across remote, hybrid, and global teams.

3. Which tools are best for remote employee onboarding?

Remote onboarding typically combines HR onboarding platforms, training systems, collaboration tools, and in-app guidance to support employees across locations and time zones.

4. How long does it take to implement digital employee onboarding software?

Implementation timelines vary by tool type and scope. Administrative and training tools can be set up quickly, while execution-focused onboarding may be rolled out gradually across workflows.

5. How can companies measure onboarding success?

Onboarding success is measured by how quickly employees become productive, how consistently tasks are performed, and how often errors or support requests occur during the early stages of work.

Organizations are always on the lookout for talented employees, and the need is greater than ever. Most enterprises are changing; they need intelligent and adaptable people who can fit with their culture and add value to it. 

But the supply and demand in the job market are uneven; this results in the company shelling out a lot of money to get a talented hire onboard. But getting a nod from a great talent is just the first step in the right direction; you need to onboard and make them comfortable. 

Sometimes new hires commit to joining, but they back off at the last minute or, in some cases, leave the company after a couple of months for a better opportunity. It ruins all the work that went into hiring the right candidate.  

Some may advise increasing the facilities, and maybe they are right but will it solve the problem? 

Maybe not. 

We live in an era of experience, and it is important to keep the new hire engaged from the time you send them the offer letter until they complete their first year with the organization.  

An employee onboarding structured around engagement can help you reduce the churn rate and motivate the employees to stay for a longer haul. 

What is employee onboarding?

Employee onboarding is the process of involving a new hire in the organization’s culture and values. It is also a process through which new employees acquire the necessary skills and knowledge to become active contributing members of the organization.

The onboarding process may vary from one company to another. However, the basic onboarding program should ensure that new hire achieves their potential in the shortest time. 

If you love the horror genre, then search for the term ’employee onboarding horror stories.’ You will read instances that may look unreal, but you might find them closer to reality in retrospect. 

One such horror story from the internet-  

“When I got to the office, my supervisor told me I needed to go all the way to another office within a different building to visit HR and get my benefits paperwork. 

“When I arrived in the HR office, they didn’t have my name on file, and they handed me a generic packet of information and told me to fill it out in the next few weeks. It was my first professional job with benefits, so I asked if they could sit down with me and talk about my options. They seemed very annoyed and told me they couldn’t suggest anything because that was the law. No one in my department seemed to know any more information either.” 

It shows that onboarding is just not about completing paperwork; rather, it is to make the new hire comfortable and make them a part of your thriving culture. 

It is important to collaborate with department managers, IT, and Finance team to create a process that can make employees understand the organization better within the first 90 days. Create a feedback loop to gather the input from the new hires about their experience and improvement. 

Important questions to ask before creating employee onboarding

Before you start creating the employee onboarding program, it is important to understand the struggle the employees face.  

You can get your first step right by asking the right questions. 

  • Hassle-free message search and in-built reminders features
  • Walks you through the onboarding with Slack bots, provides an interactive product tour
  • Slack is a one-size-fits-all solution pertaining to communication and file sharing
  • Users are allowed to do practice messaging and explore different Slack features
  • Slack channel bridges the communication gap and helps to keep your customers in the loop
  • Instead of bombarding with features, they are straight to the point, thereby minimizing the users from getting overwhelmed and confused

Create the set of questions and try to find the answers either by interviewing the employees or using tools that can help you uncover the employee behavior during the onboarding phase.

1. What is the current state of the employee onboarding program?

This question helps you learn about where the current program stands and its impact on the employees.

2. Where do we start with the onboarding program?

You could be swamped with opinions, and it could be difficult to draft the first iteration of the employee onboarding program. So, it is important to decide on the first step of the training program based on the available data.

3. How do we provide important information to employees?

Many projects fail because of poor communication, and it is especially true when you are onboarding a new hire. Check the communication channels that the organization is using currently and analyze whether they are enough.

4. How do we guide the employees during and after the onboarding process?

The first week is merely the beginning of onboarding. The HR team must plan an end-to-end onboarding experience for employees to drive long-term success.

5. How to provide knowledge to a newly onboarded employee?

Organizations usually want their employees to be productive within a week, but at times it could add pressure on a new hire. It is important to find the right training methods that can immediately help them get started while ensuring that they aren’t overwhelmed. 

By now, we know it is important to ask the right questions but to get the right answers, it is crucial to use the right set of tools and methods.  

Delve deep- Get answers for 8 critical employee onboarding questions

Create a perfect employee onboarding process

Designing a flawless employee onboarding process is impossible but should it stop you from striving for one?  Creating an employee onboarding process takes time as there are many ifs and buts involved for which you may or may not have answers. But continuous analysis and regular optimization can help you to improve the process to create an incredible onboarding experience.

  • Send the offer letter- The onboarding process must kickstart the moment an employee gets selected for an interview. The organization should assist the new hire and address their queries to make them feel comfortable during the process.  
  • The First Day- In some organizations, employees are on their own, and they may feel out of place and confused. It could even lead to frustration; it is important to give a warm welcome to the new hire and help them understand the new environment. 
  • Show potential for growth- Everyone wants to grow in their career; it is important to show what lies ahead and how they can achieve it. This will motivate them to stay longer with the organization and put the effort in the right direction. 
  • Regular checks- HR Managers must interview the new hire regularly to quantify their success. It will help them to identify the gaps in their existing employee onboarding program and improve it. 

A quick employee onboarding checklist

A well-designed employee onboarding process can be challenging to follow. The HR Manager should create an onboarding checklist to track the progress and ensure that the onboarding is sequentially executed.

Here are the quick to-do list-  

  • complete the paperwork before time 
  • immediately initiate the background check 
  • prepare to give a warm welcome  
  • schedule orientation session  
  • set the right expectations  
  • structure a training program 
  • set performance goals   

Now that we understand that employee onboarding is the backbone of any organization as it helps employees to achieve success. 

But the question remains- What is employee onboarding? 

There is no clear answer to this question, perhaps a case of different strokes for different folks. 

Organizations must create customized onboarding processes based on job roles, departments, and locations. This will help make onboarding real and palpable to the people who are joining the organization. It adds value to your employee onboarding program. 

However, use both qualitative and quantitative data to your advantage. It will assist you in taking the insights into the real and visceral. And that’s where a solution like the Digital Adoption Platform comes to play that helps to convert insights into actionable steps and set employees for success. 

Oracle HCM has the power to engage and manage your global workforce. However, it can slow down business operations and impact overall productivity without effective onboarding, training, and adoption. 

Oracle provides comprehensive HCM solutions that are flexible, intelligent, and effective to meet current and future business requirements. You can reap its most exclusive benefits only if the implementation is successful. However, implementing and effectively utilizing Oracle HCM needs a careful and well-thought-out plan.  

Before you jump into the plan, get an overview of what kind of difficulties you might encounter. Let’s understand the top challenges that can slow down the software implementation process, 

Oracle HCM Cloud Implementation Challenges

Oracle HCM implementation challenges come in two phases.  

Phase 1 (Technical & Logical): This phase involves challenges like data migration, conversion, and integration.

Phase 2 (User standpoint): This phase is about User acceptance, satisfaction, and adoption. 

Challenges that can occur in phase 1 let’s say you are migrating & Integrating SAP and Oracle data,

  • Migration needs to be done on time before the Go-Live. Otherwise, there won’t be any data in your Oracle system, and it won’t be aligned with SAP.
  • Both integration and migration have to fit into your project plan, budget, and timeline. 
  • Data is often not considered a challenge, but it must be at the top of your mind throughout.
  • Cloud is effective and easy, but it creates a different complexity when it comes to integrating other solutions.  
  • Knowledge about the 2 data models is required: You must understand how to extract the data from SAP HCM and translate it into Oracle language and vice-versa to successfully leverage both systems going forward. 

Fasten Yourself! This is just for phase 1. 

For Phase 2:  

The following are some common challenges that companies face while implementing Oracle HCM, 

1. Lack of employee training plan

While implementing Oracle HCM Cloud, several leaders’ most significant challenge is planning the employee training program

Effective training is the first step to your successful HCM implementation goal. Every organization has its way of training its employees but identifying the right, and most effective training method is the biggest challenge. 

Oracle HCM has immense capabilities which complicate the training process. Companies, however, don’t want each employee to learn all the features. Instead, they want their employees to master the features that help them complete their respective jobs effectively.

Here comes the challenge.

  • How do you train employees based on their use case? 
  • Which training method is the most cost-effective way? 
  • How to quickly onboard all Oracle users? 
  • Is your training method scalable?

Ask yourself and find answers to all training-related questions before starting the program. There are several tools available in the market which can serve the purpose. Tools that can help Organizations to leverage Oracle HCM to the fullest potential.

Pro tip: Digital Adoption Platform provides end-to-end Oracle HCM implementation, right from onboarding and training to the adoption of Oracle HCM.  

2. Resistance to change

This can be the most common challenge Oracle HCM Cloud implementation projects face. It’s difficult to convince employees about the upcoming changes that may take place.  Several reasons can cause resistance to change for both employer and employees. Some of the main reasons are as follows, 

  • Fear of failure. New change can be a disaster, as employees may not be able to adapt to the new system.  
  • Loss of control. Changes can make employees feel that they have lost control over their territory. 
  • Excess uncertainty. The lack of a straightforward approach and process can create uncertainty and increase resistance. 

It is essential to create a plan for change management and make your employees understand how the change can benefit the entire organization. Provide the workforce with complete information about the change and how to implement it as a team.

3. Feature Release requires Re-Training

Oracle HCM Cloud has frequent feature releases, and these updates are automatically pushed to the entire user base. The Feature release is one of every enterprise’s most common challenges when implementing Oracle HCM.

Wait! 

Feature Release is to improve the product, but how is it a challenge? 

Yes, the frequent release improves the product but making your employees learn what’s new is the hidden challenge. 

Two Cases:

Regular users: These users can quickly get the hang of the new release by using the application frequently. (No training required) 

Occasional users: When they log in after a while, they can face challenges completing their tasks. (Need to train them) 

You need to Re-train these occasional users. This might sound simple, but it is time-consuming and complex in reality.  

A comprehensive plan is essential to avoid these and other common Oracle HCM implementation challenges. Lack of an implementation plan can lead to disruptions in business processes and employees not being able to take full advantage of the new system. An Oracle HCM implementation checklist covering these challenges can help companies ensure successful implementation.

A solution to Oracle HCM implementation challenges:

Digital Adoption Platform like Apty solves Oracle HCM implementation challenges by providing real-time on-screen guidance and data validations to your employees. Apty DAP gives your employees total self-reliance. It allows employees to learn as they interact with Oracle applications, eliminating the need for ineffective classroom training sessions. 

Apty’s real-time navigation gives your employees the power to perform far beyond expectations. It solves Oracle training and support costs with the help of interactive software walkthroughs and provides powerful analytics to get the most of your Oracle investment.

Walkthrough software is an essential tool for companies implementing a new enterprise application in their organization or for SaaS companies looking to improve their product.

Onboarding and supporting users of any software is a challenging task. You only get one chance to make a first impression, and if users find your software challenging to use, they might not come back.

If you’re a large company implementing new software, failed onboarding could lead to poor adoption and a loss of productivity – not to mention the wasted money on your software and training.

If you’re a SaaS product when users bail after a poor onboarding experience, you’ve lost a paying customer. If people can’t figure out how to use your software, they’re not going to keep paying for it.

Using a walkthrough software to build an interactive walkthrough can solve product adoption challenges and improve your user onboarding experience.

In this post, we’re going to examine the most frequently asked questions about walkthrough software to discover the best ways to implement interactive walkthroughs in your application. We will cover:

What is an Interactive Walkthrough?

An interactive walkthrough helps users adjust to a new program or process with on-screen guidance. Pop-up balloons to show users where to click and give instructions on what to do next. Interactive workflows are frequently used as a part of user training and onboarding.

Common types include:

  • Product tours to show new users how to navigate the application,
  • Process flows to help users finish tasks correctly, or
  • Feature introduction to show existing users how a new feature works.

How do software walkthroughs help users?

Interactive walkthroughs can significantly improve user onboarding and adoption by making your application easier to use. The software tour is like having an experienced guide sit next to the new user and show them how to use the application.

Even the best-designed software can be difficult to master at first. A good product tour can help novice users feel like experts. Think about tax preparation software. Most people who use TurboTax or other do-it-yourself tax preparation services are not accountants. They’re not tax experts.

So how do tax novices end up completing their taxes without the help of a professional? The software makes it easy by asking a series of questions and guiding users through the process. This approach makes tax preparation simple and faster.

Essentially, the entire program is an interactive walkthrough for your taxes. While the tasks your users are completing may not be as complicated as taxes, they still reap the benefits of making their jobs easier with on-screen guidance.

What is Walkthrough Software?

Walkthrough software allows you to create interactive walkthroughs without having to code and program them yourself. They work as a layer that sits on top of any web-based application.

  • Loading a javascript in the header of your application,
  • Through a browser extension, or
  • Via an API.

Walkthrough software typically delivers content in one of three ways:

Why do I need walkthrough software?

So, if you want to help users with on-screen guidance, you may wonder why you need to buy walkthrough software? SaaS companies often think they could just make it a part of their products. Large organizations think their IT teams can make custom-guided workflows.

Yes, you can create on-screen guidance content without walkthrough software. But should you?

Creating and maintaining guided workflows from scratch is time-consuming. A Walkthrough software enables you to design and publish content quickly – without having to deal with any limits on your internal development team.

What types of walkthrough software are available?

Most on-screen guidance solutions are a part of a growing category of SaaS providers called Digital Adoption Solutions or Digital Adoption Platforms.

These solutions are designed to help users navigate and adopt digital technology like a new HCM or ERP system or a new CRM like Salesforce. They’re also deployed by SaaS companies to improve their user experience and adoption.

Digital adoption solutions vary significantly in their features and functions. Low-end products are best suited for simple guided tours as they tend to focus only on adding pop-up bubbles. Enterprise-grade applications will include robust analytics and automation.

What features should I look for in a walkthrough software?

Since there are so many Digital Adoption applications on the market, it’s crucial to select one that best meets all your needs. Use these checklists to ensure you’re making a wise choice:

Essential Walkthrough Software Features Needed in a Digital Adoption Platform

Features Description
Audience Segmentation Make sure the platform lets you customize your workflows, based on roles or user groups.
Multi-Language Support Make sure you can deliver support content in all the languages you support.
Mobile Support Some lower-end applications only allow you to create guided workflows for desktop applications. If your user base accesses your application in a mobile browser or app, make sure you can develop content for them too.

Features #1 – Audience Segmentation

Description:

Make sure the platform lets you customize your workflows, based on roles or user groups.

Features #2 – Multi-Language Support

Description:

Make sure you can deliver support content in all the languages you support.

Features #3 – Mobile Support

Description:

Some lower-end applications only allow you to create guided workflows for desktop applications. If your user base accesses your application in a mobile browser or app, make sure you can develop content for them too.

If you’re looking for enterprise-class digital adoption tools, consider evaluating your vendors to see if their platform has these features:

Enterprise Features in Digital Adoption Platforms

Feature Description
Cross-Application Support If you want to use guided workflows to help users complete a business process, make sure your walkthrough software works with every application users will need, to complete the process. For example, a user might need to input a deal in their CRM and then create an invoice in their accounting system. An advanced DAP would create a workflow that guides the user through both applications.
Automation Automation takes your interactive walkthroughs a step further. If it’s a repetitive process, can you leverage automation to complete some or all of it? Advanced Digital Adoption Platforms will include an option for you to automate some or all of the process, so you can eliminate time-consuming steps in your workflows.
Advanced Analytics An enterprise-grade solution should allow you to understand how people are engaging with your application and your workflows.

Features #1 – Cross-Application Support

Description:

If you want to use guided workflows to help users complete a business process, make sure your walkthrough software works with every application users will need, to complete the process. For example, a user might need to input a deal in their CRM and then create an invoice in their accounting system. An advanced DAP would create a workflow that guides the user through both applications.

Features #2 – Automation

Description:

Automation takes your interactive walkthroughs a step further. If it’s a repetitive process, can you leverage automation to complete some or all of it? Advanced Digital Adoption Platforms will include an option for you to automate some or all of the process, so you can eliminate time-consuming steps in your workflows.

Features #3 – Advanced Analytics

Description:

An enterprise-grade solution should allow you to understand how people are engaging with your application and your workflows.

How easy is it to create an interactive walkthrough?

The ease of creating product tours and guided workflows will vary depending on the platform you choose. To get the maximum value out of your walkthrough software, you should prioritize ease of use for content creators.

If it’s too challenging or time-consuming to create a guided workflow, then you’ll generate less content and not deliver the best experience for your users.

Look for software that includes a code-free editor that allows you to create and publish content quickly. Apty’s editor is one of the easiest to use in the market.

How do I know what workflows to create?

Knowing what workflows to create is one of the toughest challenges. Many people know how an application is designed to work, but don’t always know how it’s being used by ordinary users.

With a traditional or legacy digital adoption solution, you just have to guess what workflows to create. You then get analytics on how users interacted with those.

‘Guess and check’ is clearly not the most efficient way to create support content. Modern Digital Adoption platforms, like Apty, follow the DAP Cycle, which helps you first identify what workflows are needed before creating the content.

The cycle has four parts:

  • Setup tracking to determine how users are interacting with your application
  • Analyze your usage to provide actionable insights on how and where to introduce workflows
  • Create and deploy your guided workflows
  • Continuously analyze and optimize your workflows to better meet users’ needs

By following the DAP cycle, you don’t waste time or money creating content users don’t need. The DAP cycle helps you quickly identify where on-screen guidance is necessary and how to best support your users.

Read More:- Digital Adoption Done the Right Way: What You Need to Know About the DAP Cycle

What best practices should I follow when creating interactive walkthroughs?

When building your interactive product tour and on-screen guidance consider adopting these best practices:

  • Learn your users’ behaviors and identify their needs
    As discussed above, you shouldn’t go crazy, creating tons of interactive walkthroughs without first figuring out how your users are interacting with the program, so you can build workflows best suited to their needs.
  • Make the Aha! moment obvious
    When users start to understand the value of your application, they’ve reached the ‘Aha moment.’ Leverage interactive walkthroughs to create an onboarding experience that seamlessly guides them and allows them to discover the value of what your platform does. Remember, onboarding isn’t about telling someone why they’ll love your new application, it’s about showing them. You’ll know your product tour is a success if users think, “Wow, this is going to save me so much time,” or “this is so much easier.”
  • Customize each user’s experience
    Not every user has the same needs – which is why it’s good to have walkthrough software that allows for user segmentation. Don’t waste someone’s time with a workflow on a feature or process they’ll never use. Create unique onboarding experiences that include product tours custom-tailored by your different user types.
  • Establish and track metrics to measure your success
    It’s essential to measure how users are interacting with your product tours and on-screen guidance. One key metric to look at is utilization and completion. How many people initiate a workflow, and how many people complete it? If ‘not that many people’ are launching the workflow, it could mean it wasn’t needed, or the process for starting the guided tour isn’t apparent and If ‘not that many people’ are completing it, you need to identify why they’re dropping off. Is the content not relevant? Are they abandoning the process?
  • Remind people when they haven’t finished onboarding
    If you’re using guided product tours as a part of your onboarding, hopefully, your walkthrough software allows you to track who has and has not completed the flow. Leverage that data to remind people to finish the process. Setup automated alerts that nudge people to finish their onboarding.
  • Break up workflows and processes into bite-sized chunks
    If your workflows are 20 steps long, you should probably revisit them and your process, in general. The more straightforward and simple a process and the resulting workflows, the more likely users will complete them.
  • Test and revamp your on-screen guidance content as needed
    Before you publish a workflow, it’s a good idea to have a small group of users test it out. You’ll also need to monitor your workflows and continue to optimize them as you learn more about your user behavior.
  • Onboard existing users to new features
    Onboarding is for more than just new users. When you roll out new features and updates, you should create new workflows to onboard your existing users to the new features. Make sure your interactive walkthrough illustrates the value of how the new feature makes a task easier or saves them time.

How can SaaS products use interactive walkthroughs?

Interactive walkthroughs are great for SaaS products looking to improve onboarding, product adoption, and feature utilization.

Benefits of Using Interactive Walkthroughs for SaaS Products

Faster Onboarding Product tours can quickly introduce new customers to the application so they can start using it immediately.
Better Adoption Product adoption is one of the highest priorities for SaaS products. If people aren’t using your application, they won’t renew their subscriptions. Guided product tours make your application easier to use and more “sticky” for users.
Improved Feature Utilization SaaS companies don’t want to waste time and money developing features that never get utilized. Create an interactive walkthrough to make sure that every feature gets utilized by your users.
Decreased Support Costs On-screen guidance can also help your support teams. Workflows enable users to figure things out on their own and decrease the number of support tickets your team has to field.

Faster Onboarding

Product tours can quickly introduce new customers to the application so they can start using it immediately.

Better Adoption

Product adoption is one of the highest priorities for SaaS products. If people aren’t using your application, they won’t renew their subscriptions. Guided product tours make your application easier to use and more “sticky” for users.

Improved Feature Utilization

SaaS companies don’t want to waste time and money developing features that never get utilized. Create an interactive walkthrough to make sure that every feature gets utilized by your users.

Decreased Support Costs

On-screen guidance can also help your support teams. Workflows enable users to figure things out on their own and decrease the number of support tickets your team has to field.

How can companies use walkthrough software with enterprise applications?

Software tours and on-screen guidance are excellent tools for companies that are implementing a new enterprise software solution or looking to improve their utilization of existing platforms.

Guided workflows make software easier to use and improve your overall user experience and productivity. Typical uses of on-screen guidance include:

  • Training
  • Onboarding, and
  • End-user support.

Benefits of Using Interactive Walkthroughs with Enterprise Applications

Faster Product Adoption Guided workflows make applications easier to use, so employees familiarize themselves with the platform faster. Apty clients report they can fully adopt new software 2-3 times faster using Apty’s interactive walkthroughs.
Decreased Training and Support Costs On-screen guidance reduces training and support costs. Users are less likely to open a support ticket when they can use the workflows to show them where to click and what to do.
Accelerated User Onboarding Product tours and on-screen guidance quickly onboard new employees to your applications. With guidance from a workflow, new employees can start using your software on their first day, with no additional training.

Faster Product Adoption

Guided workflows make applications easier to use, so employees familiarize themselves with the platform faster. Apty clients report they can fully adopt new software 2-3 times faster using Apty’s interactive walkthroughs.

Decreased Training and Support Costs

On-screen guidance reduces training and support costs. Users are less likely to open a support ticket when they can use the workflows to show them where to click and what to do.

Accelerated User Onboarding

Product tours and on-screen guidance quickly onboard new employees to your applications. With guidance from a workflow, new employees can start using your software on their first day, with no additional training.

Another benefit of using workflows as a part of your training program is that many interactive walkthrough software applications allow you to export your workflows into multiple formats.

For example, after creating a workflow in Apty, you can export it into these formats:

Exporting an Apty workflow saves the Learning and Development Teams countless hours as they can create the content once and export it into all the formats they need.

Read More:- How to Create Training and LMS Content Using the COPE Method

Conclusion: Why You Need Interactive Walkthrough Software

Interactive walkthroughs improve your user experience, production adoption, and onboarding. If you’re looking for the most productive and cost-efficient way to implement on-screen guidance, remember creating workflows from scratch is time-intensive and requires a specialized skillset.

Walkthrough software enables anyone to quickly build and deploy custom product tours with no coding knowledge. By utilizing walkthrough software, your developers and IT professionals are free to focus on other product improvements while you create an engaging and customized experience for your on-screen guidance.

Microsoft implementation isn’t an easy process. Enhanced functionality brings with it added layers of complexity. In many instances, failure to devise robust change management and adoption strategies is why the Microsoft implementation fails to deliver the required results. 

Change management involves helping people understand what’s happening, why this happens, and how they can benefit. It is crucial because it allows organizations to adapt to new technology quickly and efficiently.  

Without change management, your employees might struggle and fall back into their old ways and will never understand Microsoft’s benefits and true potential. It results in poor returns (negative ROI) and increases costs such as support and training.  

You can avoid all these things with a solid change management strategy. Change management and adoption strategies ensure that your employees use the new software as intended and get the most out of it. Without these strategies, Microsoft implementations are likely to fail. 

This is all about the “why,” Now, let’s dive into the most crucial factor, the “how.” We have explored and devised the most successful Microsoft adoption and change management strategies. 

Relevant Read: An End-to-End Microsoft Dynamics Implementation Guide

Microsoft Change Management and Adoption strategies:

Change management and adoption strategies allow you to communicate the essential details of the Microsoft rollout project to your employees and set the right expectations for the change. 

It allows your workforce to learn how to use it, ask questions about how it will work best for them, and how they can optimize their processes with the new system in place. It helps your employees quickly get up to speed on using new features/tools, ensuring they understand how to leverage them. 

There are 4 phases involved in the Microsoft change management approach,

  • Planning  
  • Awareness 
  • Learning and development  
  • Readiness and adoption

Each phase entails many different things; let’s dig deeper and understand that.

Phase 1: Planning

Before rolling out Microsoft, you must have a comprehensive change management plan. You can witness high reception from your employees if you complete the planning early.  

Here comes the challenge. The reception can be negative even. In that case, you must understand the reason for employee resistance and address it before proceeding. 

In the planning phase, you must communicate the whole change process and get stakeholders’ buy-in. Also, share factual data and success stories that show the positive changes brought about by rolling out Microsoft.

Phase 2: Awareness

Awareness creates the “buzz” around your new product Microsoft. Communicate the benefits and value of switching to Microsoft for your employees. Also, it’s critical to create a communication strategy to ensure that your end-users get the right message you want them to receive. 

Throughout the Microsoft rollout, it’s significant to offer employees a way to ask questions or give feedback. Always be open to feedback and address your end-user queries promptly.

Phase 3: Learning and development

This phase is necessary to onboard, educate and train employees on Microsoft. Effective Microsoft learning and development strategy can help companies shorten their employees’ learning curve. It allows users to adapt to the new working ways at the earliest. 

Develop a comprehensive training plan. Your training plan must accommodate – different learning styles, resource constraints, geographic challenges, and use cases. A comprehensive Microsoft training plan can lead to successful deployment and efficient business processes.

Phase 4: Microsoft adoption

Effective training can reduce Microsoft end-user ambiguity and help companies realize a quicker RoI by minimizing the end-user learning curve. Based on the training effectiveness, the timeframe for realizing fullest potential can take 6+ months since Microsoft adoption will not happen overnight.  

Have a close watch on the user adoption rate and find ways to optimize and maximize adoption. Leveraging the latest technology like digital adoption platforms can help companies realize value at the earliest.  

Apty can provide in-app Microsoft training that keeps your employees engaged and makes them learn quickly and better. Apty provides a seamless learning experience, keeps your employees engaged throughout the Microsoft training process, and ensures successful adoption.  

Apty can,

  • Improve employee productivity and reduce the burden on the support team  
  • Provide seamless training with in-app walkthroughs and announcements  
  • Drive user adoption and ROI of Microsoft investments

Apty helps employers analyze user behavior and understand where they get stuck. You can create customized software walkthrough content to help your users overcome their challenges. Apty helps employees master the Microsoft application with a solution-centric approach.

Microsoft Dynamics is revolutionizing businesses and enabling Digital Transformation. It provides enhanced employee and customer experience, enables high customizability and scalability, and increases productivity.

The implementation of MS Dynamics, however, requires strategic planning and preparation. Companies have to make sure that their employees are able to use it as intended. This blog will serve as a comprehensive guide for implementing Microsoft Dynamics at your organization.

9-Step Microsoft Dynamics Implementation Process

  • Define the “What” and “Why”
  • Assign a Team
  • Identify Key Metrics
  • Ensure In-depth Process Review
  • Create a Proper Plan
  • Maintain Clean Data
  • Test the System
  • Rollout and Evaluate
  • Train the Employees

1. Define the “What” and “Why”

The project teams must understand the company’s vision, mission, and roadmap. Having a clear understanding will help the team address the challenges that might come during implementation and have a smooth deployment. 

Relevant Read: Common Microsoft Dynamics Implementation Challenges

Once they define why different departments within the organization need MS Dynamics and what features they will need to carry out their day-to-day activities, the company can establish the expected business outcomes from the project. 

It will help them strategize various functional aspects of the business and prioritize those which can create an immediate impact on the company’s bottom line.  

A business needs to plan its present requirements and future expectations from the system. Understanding these aspects will also help project teams and Dynamics consultants to plan the way forward.  

With the latest features and functionalities, Dynamics is becoming a great prospect for growing organizations. Although, the vast amount of customization available has made things a little more complicated for companies. The custom functionality is only available through a standardized extension from the Microsoft store. So, this must be taken into consideration while migrating from the existing system. 

If all these factors are considered while planning, businesses can increase user adoption and expedite the change management process.

2. Assign a Team

There’s a common misconception that only the IT teams and the teams directly involved with the project have to deal with Microsoft Dynamics. An organization needs people who can understand the business side of the implementation too.

For this, they need subject matter experts from all the departments dealing with the business decisions and outcomes since they will be impacted by the Dynamics 365 implementation.

These subject matter experts will be key in determining the success of your D365 implementation as they understand their respective business units well. They can explain the requirements better and elaborate on the effect that the implementation will have on their department.

3. Identify Key Metrics

Now that you have assembled a team, you can proceed with defining OKRs and KPIs. These metrics are entirely different from the objectives of departments or organizational goals. KPIs should be measured at the team level where they own the responsibility of improving a particular aspect of the business.  

Quantifying this task will help business leaders check whether the implementation is in line with the organization’s expectations. 

Every team has specific KPIs and it is not limited to any set standards. It also varies from business to business. Having well-defined KPIs helps companies prioritize the right use case and allow them to steer the project towards success.

4. Ensure In-depth Process Review

Let the project teams and department heads review the capabilities of the new ERP software. It helps the team understand the features of D365 and get insights on how to use it for the benefit of the organization.

It allows them to identify and understand the skill gaps so they can plan the training program before the company-wide roll-out of Dynamics 365. 

It is also relatively easy to identify manual processes in the early stages. The project team can modify these processes by automating them so that the implementation is smooth. 

5. Create a Proper Plan

Once the organization knows what its end goal is from the implementation and the KPIs are set for each team, they can go ahead and create a plan. 

Since D365 is a complicated application, it is important to focus on the system’s design, architecture, integration, and processes. There are many technical aspects that the company will have to explore during the planning stage that they can leverage for their benefit.

But the Executive Sponsor and Dynamics Consultant must ensure that the team stays focused on the business’ goals and iteratively improve the execution. The human element is often ignored during the implementation stage and only considered during the user adoption phase.

This could lead even a well-deployed solution to failure. User adoption should be an inclusive part of the implementation process. So, design systems and processes that are usable by the people. 

Create a user adoption strategy that can address onboarding and training and one that focuses on developing long-term skills to ensure successful usage of Dynamics 365.

6. Maintain Clean Data

The toughest job while implementing any software is to maintain data integrity in the defined process. It becomes even more challenging when a new process is deployed. Making sense of what data is important is necessary. Missing crucial data could have a devastating effect on the company’s operational efficiency.

When D365 goes live, it is important to maintain data integrity where you have to introduce new compliances and regulations. 

There are 2 ways you will have to handle data while implementing D365:

  • Data Migration: The first step is to start looking at the quality of available data and decide what will be valuable. Discard outdated, irrelevant, and duplicate data during the migration process. Data cleansing is laborious work and needs tons of effort. Then, migrate the clean and accurate data onto the new platform.
  • Ensuring Data Integrity: It is also important to receive clean data from users after deploying the ERP. To ensure this, organizations need to create new data compliance policies and regulations. These must be followed by the employees and for that, companies must train employees or use technologies like a Digital Adoption Platform that not only ensure data quality but also process compliance.

7. Test the System

After the workflow and process creation, it is time to test the system and all the workflows on a test group. Straightaway deploying the solution across the organization is a costly affair and rectifying bugs or incorrect flows will be challenging. 

Start with a small test group and check the proficiency of the designed system. Understand the users’ reactions to the system and take their feedback. In this period, you can analyze the adoption rates and other parameters like process completion rate and data compliance using tools like Digital Adoption Platforms

The observation during the testing phase will help the project team create documentation and training content which will come in handy when the actual rollout happens.

8. Rollout and Evaluate

Deploying the complete solution at an organization in one go can increase the chances of failure. The deployment must be handled in phases.  

The go-live process can take a month to a quarter and the efficiency of the team is not defined by how fast they execute but by how well the deployed environment works.

The project teams of the respective departments or business units must be prepared to execute the implementation seamlessly. The support team must be ready to answer all the questions posed by the users.

The L&D team should provide training to the users to ensure successful adoption. An organization should also invest in tools like Digital Adoption Platforms that can make the Dynamics 365 implementation successful. 

Implementation is an ongoing process as the project team has to continuously improve the process and system add customizations and remove redundancies to achieve efficiency. It can only happen by planning consecutive releases over a long duration to create a refined version of your initial implementation.

9. Train the Employees

Training should be an integral part of the implementation strategy. Create training programs in the early stages of implementation planning and decide the training methods that would be required to enhance the skills of employees. 

It is often assumed that training programs are designed to post the implementation phase. However, doing so will delay returns from your D365 investment. 

Companies must prepare training programs while strategizing the implementation process. 

The designed training program cannot rely on only one single training method. You need several methods that can satisfy different users’ learning patterns. Every employee is different and so is their way of learning. So deploying training methods that can satisfy visual, auditory, reading, and kinesthetic learners is a necessity to make training programs successful. 

Relevant Read: Microsoft Dynamics Implementation Challenges

A Digital Adoption Platform allows you to create content that can address visual, reading, and kinesthetic learners’ needs. It can also hold content like PDFs, knowledge base links (reading format), walkthroughs (visual and kinesthetic), and videos (visual and auditory format) in its help deck which sits right on top of Microsoft Dynamics 365.  

Apty’s intuitive guidance simplifies Microsoft Dynamics for all your employees. It also acts as a repository of information that allows users to clarify their doubts without even leaving the platform. It reduces pressure on the support and IT teams so they can focus on higher priority issues.

No matter how good a product is, you cannot expect new users to get it right away without any direction. That’s where the necessity of User Onboarding comes into play.

Research says, 63% of customers say that onboarding – the quality of support users receive post-sale – is a significant consideration before they make the decision in the first place.

Since two-thirds of customers around the world consider User Onboarding in decision making, businesses need to focus on how to deliver the best onboarding experience.

In this blog, we’ll explore what User Onboarding is and then dive into some best User Onboarding examples.

What is User Onboarding?

User Onboarding is the process of making new users understand your product, providing an aha moment where users realize the value of your application, and guide them to activate faster.

If done right, users will become loyal to your brand and stay with you for a longer period. Done poorly, you are losing your game and will quickly end up in churn.

Before jumping into best User Onboarding examples, you should be familiar with onboarding basics such as:

  • How can users improve onboarding?
  • How do I onboard a new user?
  • What is the User Onboarding process?
  • What are the strategies for the best User Onboarding experience?
  • What is the onboarding flow?
  • What is onboarding in UX?

We have covered most of the questions in our blog “The Definitive Guide for User Onboarding

Once you’ve learned the basics of onboarding you’ll be interested in how to implement an effective onboarding to reap the benefits of having the best User Onboarding experience:

  • Increased user engagement
  • Educates users and reduces churn
  • Improved conversion rates
  • Faster product adoption
  • Reduced support
  • Increased revenue

Having understood the benefits let’s jump look at some companies that have the best User Onboarding experiences.

5 best User Onboarding Examples

  • Slack
  • Duolingo
  • Evernote
  • Dropbox
  • LinkedIn

1. Slack – a well-designed team messaging platform:

Slack, founded in 2009 by American software company Slack Technologies, is an effective business communication platform that helps companies to communicate internally.

Slack is essentially a chat room organized by private groups for your entire organization, designed to replace the conventional method of sharing and communication.

Why do we think Slack as the Best User Onboarding examples?

  • Hassle-free message search and in-built reminders features
  • Walks you through the onboarding with Slack bots, provides an interactive product tour
  • Slack is a one-size-fits-all solution pertaining to communication and file sharing
  • Users are allowed to do practice messaging and explore different Slack features
  • Slack channel bridges the communication gap and helps to keep your customers in the loop
  • Instead of bombarding with features, they are straight to the point, thereby minimizing the users from getting overwhelmed and confused

Top 5 competitors for Slack:

  • Chanty
  • Flock
  • Microsoft Teams
  • Fleep
  • Hangouts Chat

Slack stands out from its competitors by having the best User Onboarding experience which is simple to set up and administrate.

Also, its workspaces allow you to

  • Organize communications
  • Send private messages
  • Automate routine communications and actions
  • Protect your data using your encryption key
  • Share information, files, and more all in one place

Slack provides solutions for remote work, distance learning, engineering, financial services, IT, project management, and many more.

2. Duolingo – Language learning platform:

Duolingo is an American platform, one of the best User Onboarding examples, which includes a language-learning website and mobile app, and it wastes no time in the onboarding process.

Duolingo is the most downloaded education app with more than 300 million users, globally.

Why do we think Duolingo as the Best User Onboarding examples?

  • Users can select their language right from the landing page
  • Duolingo asks for your goal at the start itself to keep you engaged for longer
  • Two options are available
    1. Can start from the basics
    2. Take a placement test
  • Soon after the selection (2nd step), you will get a personalized user experience
  • Then, tooltips come into play. Introduce users to Duolingo features based on user knowledge and language selection
  • Approximately, within 10 clicks, users start learning what they want
  • Provides a very personal, interactive, and smooth User Onboarding experience.
  • Offers Digital language-proficiency assessment exam

Top 5 competitors for Duolingo:

  • Babbel
  • Italki
  • Rosetta Stone
  • Voxy
  • Mango Languages

Notable features:

  • Offers 95 different language courses in 37+ languages
  • Engages users in many ways like
    • Duo costumes
    • Flashcards
    • Images and more
  • Helps to complete lessons faster

3. Evernote – Best note-taking platform:

Evernote, developed by the Evernote Corporation in California, is an app designed for

Why do we think Evernote as the Best User Onboarding examples?

  • User onboarding of Evernote is easy and simple
  • Once you click signup, you can select the plans that you want
  • Post that you can start exploring the features accordingly
  • You can easily share your notes and whole notebooks with the team
  • Liberty to attach files (spreadsheets, pictures, docs) to any note
  • Chrome extension option available for saving news articles
  • Sync automatically between all devices and access when offline

Top 5 competitors for Evernote:

  • ClickUp
  • Google Keep
  • Microsoft OneNote
  • DropBox Paper
  • ProofHub

Notable features:

  • Sync & organize
  • Web clipper
  • Templates
  • Integrations and Spaces
  • Search Handwriting

4. Dropbox – modern file hosting platform:

Dropbox, operated by the American company Dropbox, Inc., is a wonderful User Onboarding example. Dropbox is a file hosting service that offers

  • cloud storage
  • personal cloud
  • file synchronization
  • client software and many more

Dropbox is primarily designed to reduce your work and makes files transfer easy and portable without the use of any external devices. This permits you to keep all important documents in one location, which is highly secured & easy to access.

Why do we think Dropbox as the Best User Onboarding examples?

  • Creating an account is simple and easy
  • Users are walked through the process in 7 simple steps with admirable illustrations
  • File sharing and collaboration within the team can be done instantaneously
  • A progress bar monitors the user flows and reduces complexity
  • Create, store, edit and share cloud content
  • Minimal steps and clear content

Notable features:

  • Centralize team content
  • Transform your folders
  • Flexible storage plans
  • Smart Sync
  • Third-party app integrations

Top 5 competitors of Dropbox:

  • Google Drive
  • Microsoft OneDrive for Business
  • Box
  • ShareFile
  • Egnyte

5. LinkedIn – Networking Platform:

LinkedIn is a platform built for networking. LinkedIn is one of the Best User Onboarding examples, as it is very simple and easy to setup.

LinkedIn, #1 professional network, for those who are looking to improve their professional life. LinkedIn primarily focuses on career development and professional networking.

Use LinkedIn to

  • Display your resume
  • Build your bio
  • Search for jobs
  • Learn & acquire knowledge
  • Share your thoughts and insights
  • Interact with top-level executives
  • Enhance your professional reputation

Why do we think LinkedIn as the Best User Onboarding examples?

  • The onboarding process is made very simple and easy.
  • You can just go ahead and create an account, and start exploring things.
  • The progress bar will be very helpful in completing your profile.
  • Start gaining exposure & knowledge right from the beginning. No complexity involved and the user gets adopted at the earliest.
  • Allows the user to explore and also asks the user about the functionalities that he/she would like to use.

Notable features:

  • Build your Connections
  • LinkedIn courses & certifications
  • Manage your Skills & Endorsements
  • Save your searches
  • Send messages without making a connection

Top 5 competitors of LinkedIn:

  • Xing
  • Indeed
  • ZipRecruiter
  • CareerBuilder
  • Glassdoor

These are some of the best User Onboarding examples. But, these applications don’t involve complex operations. So, the process of onboarding requires only a few steps which can be made appealing and effective.

But what if your application is robust and involves many operations? You still want to have the best User Onboarding experience. Is there any tool that can improve user onboarding?

Yes, there is.

Apty, the highest-rated Digital Adoption Platform, makes it easy to create the best User Onboarding experience for any SaaS product. The interactive software walkthroughs of Apty guide your users step-by-step and make the onboarding process smooth and fast.

Apty acts as a software layer on your application and provides in-app guidance where the users can follow the walkthroughs and complete any complex operations.

Why do we think Apty can make your software have the best User Onboarding experience?

  • Personalized interactive software walkthroughs
  • Improved User Engagement
  • Increased retention rates and minimizes churn
  • Maximize customer exposure to the full product value
  • Apty Analytics increases Usage and improves User Experience (UX)
  • DAP cycle
  • Increased Productivity
  • Real-time navigation and instruction

Apty is the only Digital Adoption Platform that follows the DAP cycle.

Here’s how Apty works:

  • Step 1:
    Apty analyzes your software usage and find out where your users are spending more time to complete and getting stuck.
  • Step 2:
    Once the actual hang-ups are found, identify ways to minimize the pain points by creating workflows that are needed by the end-users.
  • Step 3:
    Create workflows (Software Walkthroughs). These workflows are personalized content that addresses user pain points and makes them comfortable.
  • Step 4:
    Apty helps your users in real-time and gives the best User Onboarding experience for the application users.

If you are looking for a tool that can make improve productivity, and provide the best User Onboarding experience, then try Apty.