onboarding
6 synonyms and 1 antonyms for onboarding, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Noun — The process of taking on a new employee and getting them settled, trained and productive, covering paperwork, introductions, systems access and early training.
Synonyms
Less common
Still standard English, but they carry more weight.
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
Synonyms by Meaning
1. noun
The process of taking on a new employee and getting them settled, trained and productive, covering paperwork, introductions, systems access and early training.
“Her first week of onboarding was mostly compliance videos and setting up laptops.”
Opposites
2. noun
The steps a product or service takes a new user or customer through when they first sign up, such as account setup, verification and an introductory tour.
“The app's onboarding is four screens long and asks for far too much information.”
How to Use Onboarding
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
Business jargon, but now widely understood and standard in HR and tech.
Etymology
A compound of the phrase 'on board', as in bringing someone on board, with the -ing ending; it spread through business and human-resources usage.
Full origin of onboarding →Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between onboarding and orientation?
Orientation is usually a single event, often a day or two of introductions and paperwork at the start. Onboarding is the whole longer process that surrounds it, often running for three to twelve months until the person is fully effective.
What is the opposite of onboarding?
Offboarding, which is the structured process of an employee leaving: handovers, exit interviews, returning equipment and revoking system access.
Is it spelled onboarding, on-boarding or on boarding?
Onboarding as one word is now the standard form in business writing. On-boarding is a slightly dated variant and 'on boarding' as two words reads as an error.