The conventional approach to onboarding is to push as much information as possible on to new people hoping for knowledge retention, skill building, habit development, accelerated performance and employment retention. This sounds good except that people retain up to 20% of information pushed at them. And worse forming new habits for performance requires a uniquely different learning process and the process we use for knowledge and skill development.
What works is question based onboarding.
In this process we teach people how to formulate and iterate their questions as they come into new work and move into new performance. This is a new competency for most people in it results in 80% retention rather than 80% loss of new information. It also helps people get engaged in the culture and form new connections quickly which accelerates their confidence and learning capacity. This is practical work because ultimately need to make learning central to their work as they go forward in this happens only to the degree that they are able to form and follow new learning questions.