onboarding

noun

on·​board·​ing ˈȯn-ˌbȯr-diŋ 

ˈän-

1

: the act or process of orienting and training a new employee

… good onboarding leads to higher employee engagement and greater retention rates.

—Joyce E. A. Russell

2

: the act or process of familiarizing a new customer with one's products or services

Customer onboarding primarily involves answering customers' questions and addressing their concerns so they have a smooth, positive experience with your product or service.

—Aaron Agius

3

: the act or process of converting data to digital form

While many retailers are coming to terms with the need for data onboarding and management, there is still a massive chasm between collecting data and using it to the fullest advantage.

—Larisa Bedgood

onboard

ˈȯn-ˌbȯrd 

ˈän-

transitive verb

onboarded; onboarding

The workflow chart that was pinned to the wall was an excellent orientation for me, as a new employee, and anyone else being onboarded.

—Jill Duffy

It's easy to forget how difficult hiring people is and getting them onboarded and effective in their job.

—Sue Gilbert

Once a customer is onboarded, they can immediately start using the account for remittance payments …

—Richard Gluyas

Examples of onboarding in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

For many employees, HR is synonymous with investigations, terminations, compliance training and policy enforcement, not interactions like onboarding or career development—which are increasingly handled by tech tools like self-service systems. —Chakkry Arunachalam, Forbes.com, 20 June 2025

The use of robots and cobots (collaborative robots) is becoming increasingly commonplace, allowing for quicker onboarding of temporary workers and improving overall efficiency in warehouse operations. —Kalhan Rosenblatt, NBC news, 11 June 2025

Briatore joined Alpine last year, and since his onboarding, the Enstone outfit has been preparing to not only enhance performance in the current season but also plan for next year, when the sport enters a new era of regulations. —Saajan Jogia, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 June 2025

Make sure to introduce the technology as early as possible—ideally during onboarding or even the interview process. —Brett Beveridge, Forbes.com, 6 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1988, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for onboarding

• according
• affording
• awarding
• keyboarding
• recording
• rewarding
• skateboarding
• snowboarding
• boarding
• cording
• fording
• hoarding