Reducing Staff Turnover Through Better Onboarding in Aged Care
Aged care has one of the highest turnover rates of any industry in Australia, often between 25% and 30% a year. Yet research consistently shows that a structured onboarding experience can cut turnover by up to 40% - and the first 90 days are where the battle is won or lost.
Why New Starters Leave
Most early resignations are not about pay. New staff leave because they feel unprepared, unsupported and overwhelmed. Being thrown onto the floor with minimal orientation, shadowing a different person each shift and receiving contradictory instructions erodes confidence fast.
Poor onboarding is also expensive. Replacing a single frontline care worker can cost upwards of $5,000 once you account for recruitment, agency cover and lost productivity - before you count the impact on residents and remaining staff.
What Great Onboarding Looks Like
The Essentials of Effective Onboarding
- • A structured program covering the first 90 days, not just day one
- • Consistent information for every new starter, on every shift
- • Practical, role-specific training delivered in small chunks
- • Clear expectations and regular check-ins
- • Early wins that build confidence and connection
How Video-Based Onboarding Helps
Video solves the consistency problem. Every new starter sees the same welcome, the same procedures and the same standards, regardless of who is available to train them. There is no more 'it depends who shows you'.
It also respects the reality of staffing pressures. New employees can complete core modules before their first shift or during quiet moments, and revisit them whenever they need a refresher. Managers get their time back while new starters get a better experience.
- • Welcome videos from leadership that build culture from day one
- • Short modules on essential procedures, available on any device
- • Embedded quizzes that confirm understanding before staff hit the floor
- • Progress tracking so managers know exactly where each starter is up to
Getting Started
- Map your ideal first 90 days for a new starter and identify what they need to know at each stage
- Record your best people demonstrating key procedures - authenticity beats polish
- Build a core onboarding pathway every starter completes, plus role-specific modules
- Assign a buddy and schedule weekly check-ins for the first month
- Ask new starters for feedback at 30, 60 and 90 days and keep improving
Conclusion
Turnover is not inevitable - it is often the symptom of an onboarding experience that sets people up to fail. Structured, video-based onboarding gives every new starter the same confident beginning, and the retention results follow.
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