by Arielle Shipper

The other day, I was chatting with a senior HRBP at a large public company with 10k+ employees looking to revamp their onboarding program for executives. Their basic problem and observation was this: as a new hire, you have a ton of information coming all at once. Their execs are expected to absorb that info and have a necessarily shorter timeline to productivity, because within 90 days they have to develop a strategy and align a team. All of their execs might need to eventually know certain things, but they might not need to know it in the first 30 days. Maybe 60 days is the right timeline for a particular piece of knowledge. That conundrum is applicable for this company’s execs, but it’s also applicable for all new hires, no matter their role or the company’s size.

It makes sense that this company is being thoughtful about new onboarding: 86% of new hires decide if they’re going to stay at a company within the first 90 days. 82% of companies with strong new hire onboarding processes see an impact on retention. The list of staggering statistics on the ROI of strong onboarding is long.

There is such powerful evidence that thoughtful and thorough onboarding makes an impact on time to productivity, retention, and company metrics as a whole, but I’ve personally had plenty of new hire onboarding experiences that look something like “Here’s a laptop and a Notion board. The benefits review is at 10am and lunch is at noon!” I bet you have, too.

That kind of onboarding is a totally one-dimensional experience, and it’s often borne of a lack of ownership, lack of resourcing, or lack of imagination—or a constellation of all three. Whatever the cause(s), it’s ineffective. 

This large public company was looking to build a four-dimensional onboarding process in order to make their execs productive as quickly as possible: delivering an interactive process with a just-in-time information flow. Frankly, that’s the most effective kind of onboarding. 

The Power of Dimensional Thinking

This dimensional approach isn’t just a cute metaphor: it’s a powerful way to reimagine the onboarding process:

1. It highlights the evolution from passive information consumption to active, experiential learning.
2. It emphasizes the importance of engagement, interactivity, and personalization.
3. It embraces a just-in-time model of delivery that reduces the proverbial “fire hose” of information and increases a new hire’s ability to retain it.

What does that mean in practical terms? Here’s how I think about the different dimensions of onboarding:

1D Onboarding: The Flat Map

It’s linear, static, and overwhelming—like trying to use an NYC subway map to find a specific address. 1D onboarding is the quintessential one-way fire-hose flow of information, and relies heavily on new hires, managers, buddies, and other teammates to guide themselves through the onboarding process. Hallmarks include:

• A simple checklist or landing page
• One-way information flow
• Limited engagement and interaction
• Example: A new hire checklist in Notion or a 90-day guide to onboarding for managers in a spreadsheet

2D Onboarding: The Guided Tour

This is the “wised up” version of the flat map, and comes with some introductions to people you may need to know across the team, and maybe even some scheduled 30/60/90-day check-ins with your manager. Maybe your checklist is even customized to your role or department. In a 2D onboarding process you might find:

• Networking opportunities like coffees or lunches
• A buddy system
• Example: Some scheduled events or facilitated introductions to folks across the team to help build networks paired with a static checklist

3D Onboarding: The Interactive Model

Layer on interactivity and responsiveness, and you’ve got the more immersive 3D onboarding experience. It doesn’t just tell you about your role and company culture: it asks you to experience it, and to report back via incorporation of quick-pulse polls at regular intervals and interactive task lists with reminders.

• Gamification elements (badges, progress tracking)
• Regular feedback collection—and real-time responsiveness to it
• Tracking of task completion and nudges if necessary
• Example: Delivering tasks and feedback collection where new hires are working (instead of forcing them to a separate, static system) and consistent iteration of the onboarding process

4D Onboarding: The Living Ecosystem

Here’s the thing about onboarding: it doesn’t last a day, or a week. Official onboarding most often lasts at least 90 days, but true new hire time to productivity (TTP) can range from 6-18 months. That’s why when you deliver elements of the onboarding process is just as important as what you’re delivering.

4D onboarding is adaptive, evolving, and continuous. It’s not a one-time event, but a journey that unfolds over weeks or months with:

• Content and introductions drip-fed at the right moments
• Adaptive paths based on performance and feedback
• Evolving goals and milestones
• Example: “Week 1: Complete basic orientation. Week 2: Shadow a senior team member. Month 1: Lead a small project. Month 3: Present your first quarter achievements to the team.”

The Bottom Line

This senior HRBP for a large public company hit the nail on the head: if they were going to make a measurable impact on TTP and retention for their execs, they were going to have to invest the resources to create a 4D onboarding process. In their case, it meant finding an owner to assess baseline metrics and formulate a plan, and bringing in some additional tooling including automation capabilities to help them deliver the right content at the right time to the right people.