Organisations with the highest three-year retention rates spend nearly four times longer onboarding their new joiners

While many organisations focus on pay, progression, or programme design as key retention levers, new data suggests that one of the most powerful predictors of retention could happen much earlier in the employee lifecycle than expected.

In 2026, at a time where Early Careers functions must demonstrate clear return on investment, new findings reveal that few stages deliver more demonstrable impact than onboarding.

Traditionally, efforts to address this have focused on downstream levers such as pay or progression. While these factors matter, new data from ECO and The Smarty Train reveals a clear and compelling pattern: organisations with the strongest three-year retention outcomes invest significantly more time and intention much earlier in the employee lifecycle.

ECO research reveals that high-performing programmes spend nearly four times longer onboarding new joiners than their lower-performing counterparts. In addition, the more face-to-face, human, and identity-building the induction experience, the greater the long-term return for these organisations.

Unpacking the findings

Time invested upfront matters:

When organisations were split by third-year retention performance, a stark difference emerged in the length of initial induction and onboarding. High-performing programmes spent a median of 86 hours onboarding new Early Careers joiners, compared to just 23 hours among lower-performing programmes.

This suggests that organisations that invest more time early appear to create stronger foundations that pay off years later.

Human connection plays a central role:

Organisations with stronger retention outcomes reported delivering 63% of their induction and early learning face to face. In contrast, lower-performing organisations delivered just 27% in person.

While digital learning has clear benefits, this data points to the continued importance of human interaction in the earliest stages of employment. Face-to-face onboarding creates space for informal learning, social connection, and cultural immersion, all of which are harder to replicate virtually.

The baseline for onboarding has risen:

The data also shows that many onboarding practices once considered optional best practice are now essential: 86% of organisations reported having a keep warm strategy in place, and 95% reported having some form of buddy system.

In other words, simply having these elements is no longer a differentiator. Retention outcomes appear to be driven by the quality, consistency, and integration of onboarding experiences rather than their existence alone.

What are best-practice organisations  doing to ensure their onboarding programmes foster retention?

The challenge for 2026 is clear: Early Careers functions who are able to strategically invest in their onboarding offering will see the greatest retention impact. Here’s how:

• Reframe onboarding as the start of retention, not the end of recruitment: The most effective programmes don’t approach onboarding as a simple administrative necessity. Shortening onboarding to accelerate productivity may deliver short-term efficiency, but the data suggests it risks undermining long-term retention. Talk to our ECO team about conducting a strategic review of your induction offering
  
  
• Prioritise human connection early: While digital tools can support scale, face-to-face interaction remains a powerful driver of belonging. Organisations should look for opportunities to increase in-person elements during induction, particularly those that enable peer connection, exposure to leaders, and informal learning. This doesn't require abandoning digital delivery, but rather being intentional about which moments benefit most from human presence. Talk to our Solutions Team about designing human-centered moments and experiences that stick 

Not sure where to start?

The data that informed the 2026 Early Careers Trends Report was collected from over 30 leading global organisations using TST’s Early Careers Optimiser (ECO) methodology. For more information on how ECO has helped organisations build data-driven, human-centred strategies for their Early Careers, talk to our data experts.

Early Careers Retention represents only part of the challenges facing Early Careers functions in 2026 and beyond. For a comprehensive understanding of all five trends shaping Early Careers, download the 2026 Early Career Trends Report, which includes additional insights, case studies, and actionable recommendations.