Rethink Onboarding: Turn Early Moments into Long-Term Engagement

New Hire Experience is Slipping, and the Effects on Retention and Performance Surface Quickly.

Nearly 1 in 5 new hires say their onboarding experience is worse than their previous employer. Fewer than half fully understand their benefits when it matters most. And yet many organizations treat onboarding as a checklist rather than the engagement strategy it needs to be.

The result is a gap that opens early and compounds quickly. New hires who feel overwhelmed, under-supported, and unclear on their benefits are less likely to feel connected to their employer, less likely to engage with wellbeing programs, and more likely to leave before the organization realizes any return on its hiring investment.

This session shows HR and benefits leaders how to close that gap.

What You Will Learn:

• How to design a structured communication strategy that uses timely, push-based outreach to guide new hires through critical onboarding milestones and decisions rather than leaving them to figure it out on their own
• Why one-on-one benefits counseling improves decision quality, increases enrollment, and helps employees choose programs that fit their actual needs
• How to connect onboarding effectiveness to measurable business outcomes including higher engagement, stronger benefits utilization, and improved early retention
• What a real-world case study reveals about what happens when a structured onboarding approach replaces a one-time event, and the outcomes that become possible as a result

Why This Matters Now

Organizations are investing more than ever in benefits programs designed to attract and retain talent. But those investments only deliver value when employees understand, enroll in, and engage with what is being offered. When onboarding fails to build that foundation, the cost shows up in turnover, underutilization, and a workforce that never fully connects with what their employer provides.

Treating onboarding as a structured, ongoing engagement strategy rather than a single moment changes that equation. The right communications, delivered at the right time, with the right support, turns early confusion into long-term confidence.

Your Presenters

Sean McNally, VP, Engagement Services, Alight
Sean works directly with organizations to develop strategies that optimize the employee benefits experience, increase participant understanding, drive enrollment, and enable effective decision-making. As a client service leader, he partners with HR and benefits teams to identify communication needs, build engagement strategies, and deliver outcomes that move the needle on utilization and retention.

Jessica Borchik, SVP, Engagement & Partner Strategy, Alight
Jessica is a strategic leader in employee benefits and engagement with deep expertise in helping organizations strengthen employee connection, education, and long-term retention. She specializes in aligning solutions and partners to deliver high-impact, concierge-style onboarding experiences, and brings an employer-focused, data-driven approach to simplifying complex benefits ecosystems and driving better outcomes at scale.

Who Should Attend

• HR and benefits leaders responsible for new hire onboarding and the early employee experience
• Total rewards professionals looking to improve benefits enrollment quality and utilization from day one
• Employee communications and engagement teams evaluating how to reduce friction in the new hire journey
• HR operations and technology leaders exploring structured, data-driven approaches to onboarding
• Anyone whose organization is investing in competitive benefits but not yet seeing the engagement those programs deserve

ACCESS YOUR FREE ON-DEMAND WEBINAR

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