Speed to Productivity

What is speed to productivity?

Speed to productivity is the time it takes for new employees to contribute meaningfully in their role. Also referred to as time-to-productivity, this metric is often used to measure the efficiency of an organization’s onboarding process. Many organizations focus on decreasing the average time for new hires to reach full productivity by maximizing preboarding and onboarding programs. 

Example: To improve speed-to-productivity ratio, we started adding engaging preboarding processes to reduce the time spent on paperwork during onboarding. 

To enhance speed to productivity, companies often implement 30-60-90 day plans with clear objectives, provide mentorship, and develop customized training for particular tasks.

Why is speed to productivity important?

Reducing the time to productivity for new hires offers many benefits. Quicker speed to productivity means new hires are contributing to the organization’s bottom line sooner, improving the cost efficiency of training. The faster new employees can reach independence, the sooner the entire team can go back to their normal workload, thereby increasing morale. 

For employees themselves, quicker time to productivity means accelerated job satisfaction and motivation, leading to more collaboration. Retention rates increase, saving organizations from costly turnover and dropoffs. 

Best practices for enhanced speed to productivity

To accelerate new hire productivity, it’s important to invest in a robust onboarding experience that delivers clear expectations, relevant learning, and quick integration into company culture. Organizations should strive to cultivate a culture that encourages questions and collaboration to help new hires get their footing. 

Training programs—whether preboarding, onboarding, or beyond—should be role-specific, utilize real-world examples, and encourage practical application as soon as possible. It’s also important to monitor new hire performance to accurately measure new hire training efficiency.