Gen Z Won't Wait Around for Bad Onboarding

First days at work should be thrilling. But for the majority of Gen Z new hires in recent years, that inaugural week is a warning sign rather.

The latest SoftwareFinder poll queried over 500 Gen Z workers who started new positions in the previous two years. What did they discover? Nearly 1 in 5 ghosted throughout training. Another 22% had considered peacing out prematurely, and 8% actually left within their initial three months.

That ain't turnover. That's exit-running on a grand scale.

Off to a Bizarre Start

First impressions matter. And Gen Z isn't making them. They were most commonly reported to feel confused, disoriented, and as if an afterthought when getting onboarded. More than half did not even feel invited to ask basic questions, like who to talk to, or how policies were being implemented.

One described it as such: "It was like I went to a party that nobody invited me to."

They turned to the internet instead of direct guidance. 77% said they had to Google not-a-covered onboarding problem. 35% said they visited ChatGPT instead of their real manager. Not good.

And it's not a matter of getting the fix to some technical glitch or HR process. It's a trend. If new hires are left to figure out the basics, they start to doubt whether the company is not ready for them, or worse, is not interested.

Not Asking for Much

The vast majority of Gen Z hires aren't asking to be babysat. They just need:

Clear pay information (90% said that does make a difference)
Transparency of remote/hybrid policy (74% would prefer upfront)
Sane career path (66%)
Actual mental health care (60%)
More than lip service DEI practices (54%)

Not too much to ask. Nobody's asking for meditation pods or catered lunches. Just truth and direction.

And that word, direction, is called upon a great deal. The majority of the study subjects said they had no way of knowing what their first week was going to be like. No schedules were given to them. No clearly stated goals. No individual to check in with.

Still Getting Decks and Dead Links

Most onboarding remains the same old playbook: 50-slide powerpoints, overly complicated documentation, maybe some pre-recorded videos. Only 34% said they had a peer mentor specifically assigned to them. Those that did? 79% said it was of huge help.

One said they picked up more from a Slack message with a colleague than from all training documents. Another mentioned that their mentor was "the one person who ever actually told me how things really worked."

Mentorship isn't credit extra. It's just plain old assistance.

And yet, there are still a few companies that seem to play down the extent of influence peer bonding has. People don't require shiny decks, they require someone to ask the stupid questions to.

Same Problems, Different Address

In-person or virtual didn't seem to make a difference. Onboarding was cringeworthy all round. Remote staff were a bit more likely to consider leaving early, but in-person staff complained too

One reported being taken to a desk, given a login, and dismissed for two days. Another was asked to "be creative" on a project before they found out what the company does.

Another reported, "I didn't even get to meet my team until day four. I thought maybe I was in the wrong Slack channel."

These are not aberrations. They're trends. The outcome? People wondering why they took the deal in the first place.

The Attention Span Myth

There are a few who like to spin the tale of how Gen Z is lacking in attention span. That's a cop-out. They're just accustomed to content being simple and uncluttered.

63% said that onboarding videos longer than 15 minutes were too long while they were being surveyed. 75% admitted scrolling through repetition or irrelevant parts.

Not because they are unmotivated, because they respect their time. And they understand when something is wasting unnecessarily.

Give them a five-minute explain vid. Text documents with plain text. Loom tutorials. Give them anything that has some respect for their time and simplicity.

When the First Week Is a Red Flag

There were some amazing tales. One manager never appeared all week, one had to pen a poem on corporate values, and one left two weeks later.

That's absurd. But it did happen. And they aren't typical.

Gen Z is listening. If the firm says they are "flexible" but rewards someone to eat their lunch out of the office, something is wrong. If the job description promises teamwork but the orientation is mysterious and lone-ranger, trust is easily lost.

And once lost, hard to restore.

What Works (to Them)

The solutions aren't hard:

Keep meetings short and sweet
Provide a clear map or plan
Have a friend, and not a supervisor, call to follow up
Give real answers about pay, policy, and opportunity
Call to follow up, ask them how they are, and be interested in the response
Make it easy to return to again so they won't have to wonder twice

That's not new. Just human.

Onboarding Isn't Just Admin Tasks

It's the company's opportunity to show that what they said they would have in the interview actually exists. And Gen Z is watching. Up close.

They don't care about leaving early. And certainly not about telling them why. A source described how they left a Glassdoor review of their same-day resignation. Another complained on Reddit that they were "left completely alone" for a week.

Others taught friends not to apply. And those friends complied. A recruiter admitted that when their rejected candidate called with a question, the candidate responded, "I heard your onboarding is a disaster."

That's not the sort of PR that can be fixed with a little branding Band-Aid.

It's Fixable

Gen Z isn't waiting for improved systems. If onboarding is fragmented or tone-deaf, they'll jump ship.

But that ain't no big secret. Optimizing onboarding isn't about hip-ifying it. It's about smart-ifying it. Give recently hired individuals some structure. Give them the keys to contact actual flesh-and-blood human beings. Be honest about what the work is, what the culture is, and what they're getting themselves into.".

If the first week is neat and respectful, they know they belong. If it's sloppy or cringeworthy, they don't. And if that's made clear, it's difficult to undo.

Onboarding is the company's first actual conversation with a new hire. It can build trust, or shatter it.

Gen Z has made one thing clear which one they will put up with.