Niuz Bites
- 20% of new hires in senior care leave within the first 45 days, usually because of confusion or isolation.
- Onboarding that prioritizes clarity, connection, and communication dramatically improves early retention.
- Niuz delivers the tools to welcome, orient, and engage staff before burnout takes root.
Early turnover in senior care is often due to poor onboarding experiences, with 20% of new hires leaving within 45 days. Effective onboarding in 2026 emphasizes pre-boarding connection, mobile access to essential information, peer and leader engagement, and consistent feedback. Implementing these strategies can significantly reduce turnover, improve staff clarity and confidence, and enhance team cohesion, ultimately saving costs associated with recruitment and training.
You Only Get ONE First Shift
The first few days on the job are when new staff decide whether they’re in or out – often subconsciously. In long-term care, where the stakes are high and the environment is fast-paced, this decision happens even faster.
A great first shift builds confidence and loyalty. A chaotic one? That’s the beginning of disengagement.According to data from the Society for Human Resource Management, 20% of all new hires leave within their first 45 days – a figure that may be even higher in senior care due to the emotional labor and operational pressures of the job
Why New Staff Leave Early
While compensation and workload matter, early resignations in senior care are often driven by softer, preventable issues:
- “I didn’t feel prepared.”
- “Nobody showed me where anything was.”
- “I didn’t know who my supervisor was.”
- “I felt invisible.”
These aren’t performance issues – they’re onboarding failures.
A disorganized, unwelcoming onboarding experience sends the message that staff are an afterthought. That feeling leads to early turnover, poor morale, and eventually more vacancies.
What Better Onboarding Looks Like Today
The onboarding process shouldn’t start at orientation. It should start the moment someone says “yes” to the job.
Best-in-class onboarding in 2026 includes:
- Pre-Boarding Connection
- A welcome message from leadership
- First-day schedule and contact list
- Introduction to the team before Day One
- Mobile Access to What Matters
- Digital access to policies, shift expectations, and required reading
- No waiting for someone to print, email, or walk over a binder
- Clarity from the start
- Peer & Leader Engagement
- Shoutouts for new hires
- Inclusion in the recognition feed from Day One
- Scheduled check-ins with mentors or managers
- Feedback & Clarity
- Daily pulse surveys to check how they’re feelings
- A clear place to ask questions and get answers
- Regular reinforcement of expectations
This kind of onboarding leads to faster productivity, higher engagement, and lower turnover – especially among CNAs and PSWs, who experience some of the highest early exit rates in the industry.
The Cost of Getting It Wrong
If a new hire leaves in the first few weeks, here’s what you’ve lost:
- Recruiting and HR time
- Interview hours
- Onboarding resources
- Lost shifts and coverage scrambling
- Morale impact on staff who feel “it’s always like this”
And now you’re starting over – again.
According to the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care, the cost to replace a single CNA can range from $3,000 to over $10,000 depending on geography and training investments.
You can’t afford to treat onboarding like a side project.
How Does Niuz Support Better Onboarding?
Niuz gives senior care teams a structured, simple, and consistent way to onboard staff — all from their phones or workstations.
With Niuz, you can:
- 📲 Share welcome videos, documents, and shift notes instantly
- 🎉 Celebrate new hires on the recognition wall
- 📘 Provide a digital library of training and policies
- 📥 Track “read receipts” for important updates
- 🗣️ Collect feedback through surveys and daily check-ins
This isn’t just paperless onboarding. It’s culture-building onboarding.
A Real-World Example
One Niuz customer revamped their onboarding flow with three simple changes:
- Added a welcome video from the Director of Care
- Shared a digital “first shift checklist” via Niuz
- Posted a kudos for every new hire on their first day
The results?
- First-90-day turnover dropped by 33%
- Staff reported higher clarity and confidence
- Team cohesion improved, especially across shifts
Related: Recognition That Sticks
Start Strong, Stay Strong
Retention doesn’t begin with performance reviews — it begins the moment a new hire sets foot in your building.
When you build clarity, connection, and consistency into your onboarding experience, you create a foundation for everything else to go right.