Are You Doing Client Onboarding Right? 5 Common Pitfalls

Positive onboarding processes can set you up for successful, long-lasting client relationships. They inspire confidence and build trust from day one, helping you retain happy, loyal clients. This is crucial, since repeat customers spend over 60% more on average than new ones!

But poor client onboarding can cause this relationship to break down before your journey together has even started. In fact, 67% of client churn occurs during this process! Ineffective onboarding also delays time-to-value (TTV): the time it takes clients to experience the benefits of your product or service.

In this article, we look at 5 common onboarding mistakes your organisation must avoid to create professional first impressions and build a great long-term client reputation.

1. Failing to Communicate

46% of Australian consumers highlight communication as a primary pain point during early brand interactions. A lack of communication after recruiting new clients means they won’t understand the benefits of the product you’re offering, leading to immediate confusion.

And if they’re partnering with a service-based business, clients who are left in the dark may feel that no progress is being made, even if planning for their project is happening behind the scenes. This can cause them to get cold feet and begin looking to competitors for similar, yet better-organised services.

Avoid these scenarios by setting clear expectations from the start, ensuring clients understand what they’re going to achieve from your services and when they’ll reach each milestone. Do this by: 

• Creating a clear communication schedule and sticking to it, using the client’s preferred communication method. They may ask for weekly in-person meetings, for example.
• Recording all deliverables and talking clients through your processes to ensure you’re always on the same page.

Another great method for maintaining strong communication is with onboarding software. Onboard Express, for example, keeps all stakeholders in the loop through notifications and reminders, delivered via personalised client portals.

Use these portals to continue communication throughout the service, too, with regular check-ins and updates on projects beyond the onboarding stage.

2. Asking for the Same Information More Than Once

While it may not seem significant, asking clients to fill out multiple forms with the same information is one of the biggest client onboarding mistakes you can make. 

This issue comes from data silos caused by disconnected systems, where important client information isn’t accessible to all departments. The result? Frustrated clients who must waste their time repeating this information.

The solution? Onboarding systems that synchronise data across all departments. Workflows automatically send contracts and other onboarding documents to the relevant personnel, ensuring no one misses out on vital data.

Onboard Express’s onboarding platform also securely stores client data to prefill all forms. This keeps records up to date and ensures clients only have to enter data once, saving time for your staff and creating a smoother client experience.

3. Lack of Personalisation

A one-size-fits-all onboarding approach doesn’t consider client pain points and preferences, leading to dissatisfaction. 

For example, some may prefer more face-to-face meetings, while others might work better with information shared in smaller chunks via an online portal. 79% of clients also prefer self-service tools and would choose them over talking directly to a representative.

The key to avoiding this common onboarding pitfall is by use flexible onboarding workflows, tailored to each client’s unique needs.

Customisable workflows make a great first impression, showing that you care about getting your service right from the beginning. This is important, since almost two-thirds of clients decide whether to stick with a product or service during their very first interaction! 

4. Using Slow Manual Processes

Employees spend up to 40% of their time searching for information, while HR staff spend 57% of theirs on administrative tasks during onboarding. These manual processes significantly slow down client onboarding, causing frustration and creating unprofessional first impressions. 

Hand-drafted contracts and documents leave room for compliance gaps and data entry errors. The constant back and forth between clients and HR staff to get documents signed and approved also causes further delays.

This is particularly damaging for clients operating in industries like aged care. Speedy onboarding is key for effectively admitting clients whose existing care provisions have fallen through, or who require extra care after periods of illness. 

However, manual administrative processes combined with workforce shortages, which could reach 110,000 by 2030, slow onboarding down. And, as we’ll discuss further, that’s where onboarding software comes in!

5. Rushing Onboarding

Though onboarding quickly and effectively is crucial, it doesn’t mean the process should be rushed. Failing to take time to fully understand the client’s goals can lead to missed steps and, eventually, a loss of trust.

Instead, build a structured process with a thorough client onboarding checklist, from completing vital paperwork to ongoing check-ins once they’re integrated into your client base. 

Include dedicated time to discuss what the client hopes to achieve through your partnership, too, creating a clear strategy with realistic goals and achievable timeframes. This approach may take longer now, but it saves significant time later on when trying to correct your strategy to better fit their goals. 

How to Get Client Onboarding Right

Want to get the balance right between fast and thorough onboarding processes? Tackle all of the common client challenges we’ve covered by switching manual workflows for a dedicated onboarding platform. 

Onboard Express is purpose-built to enhance both the client and employee onboarding experience. Our flexible software is fully scalable and ideal for organisations with growing onboarding needs, supporting clients across multiple locations or divisions, for instance.

Streamlined contract creation tools allow you to customise onboarding documents to each client by prefilling information across several templates and switching specific clauses on and off. Mobile-first workflows mean this onboarding paperwork can be completed from anywhere, featuring secure e-signatures and fast online approvals.

These workflows also prioritise compliance, performing quick calculations and instantly applying new rates to the relevant client paperwork. Once completed, all onboarding documents are also stored securely in one place to ensure you’re always audit-ready.

Book your Onboard Express demo today to see how we can help you get client onboarding right every time.