The correct spelling for the term onboarding is one word with no hyphen. E.g., “All new staff members undergo a month-long onboarding process.” Furthermore, the hyphenated and the two-word versions are incorrect and do not appear in dictionaries.
The term onboarding refers to people becoming accustomed to a new work environment, usually through training or similar processes.
You can trace the term’s meaning to similar phrases that refer to new employees joining a company, such as welcome onboard. In this case, the word board refers to a company and being on refers to joining it. Therefore, onboarding is the process of joining the company.
- Companies with well-thought-out onboarding strategies have higher employee retention.
The correct spelling is always one word. According to Google Ngram, some people may use a hyphen. However, it is a misconception of the grammar rules to believe that the term needs a hyphen.
This misconception does not vary between the UK and the US, and both countries use the one-word version far more than the hyphenated version.
Furthermore, for AP Style, you should always write the term as one word without a hyphen.
Now we have covered the basics of the term onboarding. However, you should keep reading the rest of the article, where we explain more about the term onboarding and how to use it.
Onboarding
The term onboarding is the correct way to refer to the process of a person acclimatizing to a new company environment.
You commonly use the term to refer to activities such as training, inductions, or team-building processes.
We’ve collected five example sentences showing you how to use onboarding in a sentence:
- Promoted employees should also undergo onboarding for a new job at their current workplace.
- The HR department has streamlined the onboarding process to make it easier for new hires.
- Onboarding is crucial for ensuring that employees understand company policies and expectations.
- The manager was very supportive during my onboarding, helping me adjust quickly to the team dynamics.
- A well-designed onboarding program can significantly reduce employee turnover and increase job satisfaction.
On-Boarding
On-boarding as one hyphenated word is incorrect, and the term does not appear in dictionaries with a hyphen.
However, some people write the term with a hyphen, although this trend is an error, and you should not follow it.
Here is the correct way to write the term:
- Incorrect: My last job involved a three-month on-boarding plan that my boss designed.
- Correct: My last job involved a three-month onboarding plan that my boss designed.
- Incorrect: The company’s on-boarding process was confusing and disorganized.
- Correct: The company’s onboarding process was confusing and disorganized.
- Incorrect: She was unhappy with the lack of structure in the on-boarding program.
- Correct: She was unhappy with the lack of structure in the onboarding program.
On Boarding
The term on boarding as two words is incorrect when referring to the process of a new employee joining a company.
The following examples show that the correct way to write the term is as one word without a hyphen:
- Incorrect: He quit before he had even finished his on boarding week.
- Correct: He quit before he had even finished his onboarding week.
- Incorrect: The company’s on boarding process was highly efficient, including everything from orientation to role-specific training.
- Correct: The company’s onboarding process was highly efficient, including everything from orientation to role-specific training.
- Incorrect: Her experience with the on boarding program was positive, making her transition to the new job much smoother.
- Correct: Her experience with the onboarding program was positive, making her transition to the new job much smoother.
Also, there are some other circumstances in which the word combination on boarding may appear as two separate words, but obviously, the meaning is not the same.
As shown in these examples:
- I intend on boarding the aircraft first.
- Students spend almost $5000 on boarding for the semester.
- He plans on boarding the next flight to New York.
- Many international students spend a large amount on boarding and meals during their studies.
In the first example, boarding refers to getting on an aircraft. While in the second example, it relates to accommodation.
Example Sentences
Here are some more example sentences to help you understand more about the correct usage of onboarding:
- The company just introduced a new onboarding program that focuses on hands-on training.
- Effective onboarding is key to employee retention and job satisfaction.
- During onboarding, new hires are given a tour of the facility and introduced to team members.
- Sarah is responsible for overseeing the onboarding process for all new employees in her department.
- The onboarding checklist includes various tasks, ranging from completing paperwork to setting up company email accounts.
- The onboarding experience is critical for setting the tone of an employee’s career at the company.
- The HR department is collecting feedback to continuously improve the onboarding process for future hires.
Remember that onboarding is the only correct version to use of the word.