2024

What is the Average Onboarding Specialist Salary?

The demand for onboarding specialists is increasing each day due to the need for more smooth and efficient employee transitions. The specialist is responsible for ensuring that new employees are welcomed, oriented, and acclimated to their new positions. They facilitate the integration of new workers into the company culture.

Being a well-paid career, many individuals aspire to become onboarding specialists. According to Glassdoor, the average salary of an onboard specialist is $61,415 in the U.S. The salary can differ based on the company’s size, location, and industry. However, the salary ranges from $17,000 to $370,000.

The broad salary range in the onboard specialist salary is due to several factors, like the size of the company, its location, and the industry. If you are an employer or a job seeker, it is beneficial to know the average salary of an onboarding specialist. This guide will offer you a comprehensive overview of the average onboarding specialist salaries in different parts of the world.

Salaries Along the Onboarding Specialist Career Path

The onboarding specialist industry also has a few different job titles like every other industry. Your salary and responsibilities will increase as you move up the career ladder. Here are a few job titles in the onboarding specialist industry, along with their estimated annual salaries:

Entry-Level Onboarding Specialist: $44,844

Fresh graduates and individuals with no experience usually start their careers as entry-level onboarding specialists. Their job is to help new employees fill out paperwork and get acclimated to the company culture. They need to have excellent people skills and handle multiple tasks simultaneously. You can start your career as an entry-level onboarding specialist by searching for job alerts and applying to open positions.

HR Onboarding Manager: $67,836

After working as an entry-level onboarding specialist for a few years, the employers might promote you to an HR onboarding manager. You will be responsible for managing a team of onboarding specialists in this role. HR onboarding managers develop company policies, procedures, and programs related to employee onboarding. They earn a base payment of about $54,929.

Senior Onboarding Specialist: $58,269

As a senior onboarding specialist, you will be responsible for developing and implementing employee onboarding programs. They train and mentor new onboarding specialists. They also collaborate with different departments to ensure a smooth transition for new employees. They have years of experience in resolving conflicts, making them an invaluable asset to any company.

Customer Onboarding Specialist: $73,707

A customer onboarding specialist is responsible for developing and implementing programs to help new customers get acclimated to the company’s products and services. They answer customer questions and help them resolve issues. Customer onboarding specialists improve the product or service satisfaction and contributor to increasing customer loyalty. They also build solid relationships between the customer and the company.

Physician Onboarding Specialist: $61,650

A physician onboarding specialist is responsible for helping new physicians transition into their roles. They provide support and training to new hires. They build relationships with hospitals and other medical facilities. Physician onboarding specialists are responsible for arranging meetings of new hires with senior staff.

Director of Onboarding: $128,392

The director of onboarding is responsible for leading the entire employee onboarding process. They develop and implement employee onboarding programs, train and mentor new onboarding specialists, and oversee the whole process. The average salary of a director of onboarding is $107,915. They also get an additional payment of $20,478.

Locations

The geographical location is one of the main factors that affect the onboarding specialist salary. The expenses of living and the cost of doing business differ from place to place. For example, the cost of living is high in New York City, while it is relatively low in Houston.

The demand for onboarding specialists in an area also influences the salary of an onboarding specialist. If the demand is high, the salary will be high as well. Let’s take a look at the average salaries of onboarding specialists in various regions.

U.S. Southern Coast

The salary of an onboarding specialist in various cities in the U.S south cost are:

Los Angeles: $41,074

San Francisco: $47,591

New York

Onboarding Specialists earn the most in New York, with an average total pay of $110,000, the same as the national average salary of onboarding specialists.

Newzealand

In Newzealand, the average salary of an onboarding specialist is $63,518 per year.

Australia

Onboarding specialist salary ranges between A$58,500 – and A$155,000 in Australia.

Europe

The base salary of onboarding specialists varies widely in various regions of Europe. Let’s learn how much an onboarding specialist makes in some of the major countries:

  • Berlin: €35,000
  • Spain: €65,890
  • London: €37,994
  • Barcelona: €35,325
  • Madrid: €43,451
  • Munich: €94,837
  • Brussels: €60,268
  • Dublin: €41,912
  • Paris: €72,603

Education

When it comes to showing an employer you are the most qualified candidate for the role of onboarding specialist, your education and experience are the most important aspects. Let’s learn about the qualification of an onboarding specialist:

College diplomas

An Onboarding Specialist should have, at minimum, a Bachelor’s degree. Most employers prefer to hire an onboarding specialist with a degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field. You can also go for a master’s degree in organizational leadership or human resources management. These degrees prepare you to handle the complexities of the job and give you the knowledge you need to succeed.

By learning about human resources and business operations, you can better understand the expectations of the role and how to meet them. This knowledge will help you be a more effective Onboarding Specialist and improve your chances of being promoted.

Certification and Guides

In addition to your degree, you may want to consider getting certified as an onboarding specialist. Certifications show that you have the necessary skills and knowledge to perform the job effectively. Many different certifications are available, so you should choose one relevant to your experience and qualifications.

AirSlate Academy

AirSlate offers an online course that covers all the essential topics for an onboarding specialist. The experts of AirSlate Academy have designed the course to give you the knowledge and skills you need to succeed in the role.

New Employee Onboarding Certificate Program

The New Employee Onboarding Certificate Program is designed by Association for Talent Development (ATD) to help onboarding specialists learn the essential skills for the role. The program enables you to develop a custom onboarding plan for your organization and learn how to implement it effectively.

Recruiting, Hiring, and Onboarding Employees

Coursera offers the Recruiting, Hiring, and Onboarding Employees course. It covers the entire onboarding process from start to finish, including finding and hiring the best candidates, onboarding them effectively, and retaining them long-term.

HR Training Centre

The HR Training Centre offers a range of courses that cover the essential topics for an onboarding specialist. Experts have designed the courses to give you the knowledge and skills to excel in the role.

Onboarding and Retention Certificate Course

Association for Advancing Physician and Provider Recruitment (AAPPR) has built this course to help you with your skills in the field of onboarding and retention. This course will help you learn about best practices, current trends, and strategies to improve your skills in this field.

Human Resources – Employee Onboarding and Motivation

This course is designed by Alison to help you understand the onboarding process and how to motivate employees effectively. You will learn about different onboarding methods, creating a positive onboarding experience, and retaining employees after they are onboarded.

New Employee Onboarding Guide

This guide is designed by SHRM, a renowned institute in the field of Human Resources. Experienced HR professionals have created it to help onboarding specialists learn the essential skills for the role. The guide covers everything from finding and hiring the best candidates to training them effectively and retaining them long-term.

Regardless of the degree and certificates, you need several skills to excel in an onboarding specialist career. Focusing on communication skills, leadership qualities, and multitasking abilities will undoubtedly help you in your role.

Industries

Because recruitment is an ongoing process, onboarding specialists are essential assets. When the recruiter hires new employees, the onboarding specialist oversees the other approach to make an employee part of the company. Let’s examine the several industries in which an Onboarding Specialist is likely to have worked.

  • Vanguard: $50,123 per year
  • Software service companies: $39,240 per year
  • Uber: $20 per hour
  • Mind-body: $19 per hour
  • Vacasa: $22 per hour
  • Elio: $17 per hour

FAQs

What does an onboarding specialist do?

The responsibilities of an onboarding specialist can vary depending on the company. However, some common responsibilities of an onboard specialist include helping new employees adjust to their new role, providing resources and information to new employees, and assisting with any questions or concerns that new employees may have.

An onboarding specialist works closely with the human resources department to ensure that new employees have a smooth transition into their new roles. They develop training sessions, orientation materials, and communication plans to help new employees acclimate to their new workplace.

To learn more about this role, watch the video below or skip ahead.

Do you need a degree to be an onboarding specialist?

Yes, you need a degree to be an onboarding specialist. The educational requirements for an onboarding specialist can vary depending on the company. However, many companies prefer candidates with a bachelor’s degree in human resources, business administration, or a related field. Some companies also accept an associate degree or equivalent experience.

Knowledge of human resources enables you to understand better the expectations of the role and how to meet them. This knowledge will help you be a more effective onboarding specialist and improve your promotion chances. Knowledge of business administration also enables you to understand the complexities of the job and how to handle them.

What is a client onboarding specialist?

Client onboarding specialists are responsible for the successful onboarding of new clients. They work with the sales team to ensure that new clients have a positive experience with the company and are able to utilize the company’s products or services effectively.

Client onboarding specialists develop and implement customer onboarding plans, train new clients on the company’s products or services, and answer any questions that new clients may have. They also work with other departments within the company to ensure that new clients are set up for success.

 


If you are new to Human Resources and are looking to break into an HR role, we recommend taking our HR Certification Courses, where you will learn how to build your skillset in human resources, build your human resources network, craft an excellent HR resume, and create a successful job search strategy.

 

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Josh Fechter
Josh Fechter is the founder of HR.University. He's a certified HR professional and has managed global teams across 5 different continents including their benefits and payroll. You can connect with him on LinkedIn here.