The best free employee onboarding software for 2024

New employees with a positive onboarding experience are 18 times more likely to feel strongly committed to their employer. Yet, many companies struggle to create this crucial foundation and grapple with disconnected processes.

Small businesses often lack the resources for robust onboarding solutions, while larger organizations face scalability hurdles. HR professionals find themselves caught between ensuring compliance and creating a welcoming experience. Then, startups slow their growth with poorly planned onboarding.

This guide is your roadmap to solving these critical issues, whether you're a small business owner, an HR professional, a recruiter, or a team lead in a large corporation. We'll explore the best free employee onboarding software, comparing features, pros, cons, and pricing to help you transform your onboarding from a liability into a powerful asset for retention and productivity.

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What is employee onboarding software?

Employee onboarding software is a digital tool designed to simplify and automate the process of integrating new hires into an organization. It typically includes features for managing paperwork, scheduling orientation activities, and providing essential information to newcomers. Organizations use this software to create a smoother onboarding experience, helping new employees feel welcome and prepared for their roles.

While general HR software covers broader human resources functions, onboarding software focuses specifically on the integration process of new hires. Onboarding software often includes more detailed features for task management, document tracking, and new employee engagement during their first few months. It may also offer more specialized reporting and analytics related to onboarding effectiveness.

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Benefits of using onboarding software

Here's a breakdown of the advantages offered by onboarding software:

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Streamlined processes: Onboarding software automates paperwork and administrative tasks, reducing the time HR teams spend on manual data entry and document handling. This automation allows for faster processing of new hire information and smoother completion of required forms.
Improved engagement: Interactive content and resources provided by onboarding software help keep new hires engaged throughout the process. This can include personalized welcome messages or video introductions to company culture.
Centralized information: Onboarding software serves as a single repository for all relevant materials. New employees can easily access training materials, company policies, and role-specific information in one place. This centralization also helps HR teams maintain version control and ensure all new hires receive up-to-date information.
Analytics and feedback: Onboarding software often includes tools for tracking key metrics such as time-to-productivity and completion rates for various onboarding tasks. It can also facilitate the collection of feedback from new hires about their onboarding experience. These insights allow companies to measure the effectiveness of their onboarding program.
Consistent experience: Onboarding software ensures that all new hires receive a standardized onboarding experience regardless of their department. It provides a structured framework that can be easily replicated and scaled as the company grows. This consistency helps maintain organizational culture and values across different teams and offices.

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Key features of free employee onboarding software

Now, let's explore the key features of free onboarding software:

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User-friendly interface: Beyond basic navigation, a truly user-friendly interface often includes features like role-based dashboards, progress trackers, and intuitive search functionality. It may offer customizable widgets for quick access to frequently used tools and incorporate responsive design for seamless use across devices.
Customizable onboarding checklists: Onboarding software typically allows HR teams to create task lists for different roles or departments. This feature often includes the ability to set due dates, assign responsibilities, and create dependencies between tasks. Some systems may offer template libraries or AI-assisted checklist creation based on job descriptions.
Document management: These tools usually provide secure storage for important files, eSignature capabilities for digital document completion, and version control to ensure the most up-to-date forms are used.
Integration capabilities: Make sure that your onboarding software offers integrations with popular HR information systems, payroll software, email providers, or collaboration tools. But keep in mind that more advanced or custom integrations might be limited in free versions.
Training and development resources: These platforms typically include a learning management system (LMS) component for hosting and tracking completion of orientation materials. Features may include the ability to create custom learning paths, embed multimedia content, and generate completion certificates.
Employee feedback mechanisms: Free onboarding software often includes basic survey tools for collecting new hire feedback. This might involve customizable questionnaires, pulse surveys at different stages of onboarding, or anonymous feedback options.

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The best free employee onboarding software solutions

Here's a list of the leading 7 free employee onboarding platforms.

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Software 1: Softr

Softr is a versatile and user-friendly platform designed to streamline the employee onboarding process for organizations of all sizes. With its intuitive interface, Softr enables HR teams to create customized onboarding experiences that cater to the unique needs of each organization.

What you'll love most about Softr is how it puts the power in your hands. No need to wait for the IT team or struggle with complex software. You can create and launch your onboarding portals in no time and improve your process on the fly.

Key features

Drag and drop builder
Employee profile creation
Pre-built onboarding templates
Self-service onboarding portals
Automated workflow setup
Custom forms for data collection
Embedded content support
Document management
Interactive checklists
Feedback collection
User role management
Dynamic content translation (via plugin Weglot)
Airtable and Google Sheets integrations
Dynamic search with filters and sorting
Analytics dashboard
White label options
Role-based access control

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Employee feedback tracker template by Softr

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Pros

Clean interface
30-day free trial
Scalable for different company sizes
Highly customizable and flexible
Popular data source integrations
Active user community

Cons

The automations are a bit complicated

Pricing

Softr's flexible pricing structure includes a free plan and paid options starting at $59/month (billed monthly) or $49/month (billed annually). The Basic plan provides a solid foundation with 3 published apps and 20 app users. Even with this starter plan, you can customize with custom code and embed Softr apps on other websites.

Customer reviews/support

G2: 4.8 out of 5 (407 reviews)
Capterra: 4.7 out of 5 (60 reviews)
Product Hunt: 4.8 out of 5 (371 reviews)

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Ideal for

Creating personalized onboarding portals
Designing interactive welcome experiences
Automating task assignments for new hires
Facilitating team introductions
Delivering role-specific training materials
Gathering feedback from new employees
Providing self-service resource centers
Customizing onboarding for different departments

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Software 2: Wrike

Wrike is a project management software that offers versatile solutions for different business processes, including employee onboarding. Wrike's approach to onboarding leverages its task management and collaboration features to simplify the process for both HR professionals and new hires.