Onboarding programs are a vital component to any organization. Once you have spent the effort (and money) to get the right person for the job, you not only want them to be impressed and feel they made the right choice, you also want to get them to get up to speed as quickly as possible so they can do their job and make you look good. But there is also a lot of down time to any new employee. Once they have completed orientation and make it back to their desk, there is only so much time they can fill until they achieve a full work load.
I have completely redesigned 2 onboarding programs over the past 5 years. Each with different challenges. You can click through a full demo via the link below.
One program presented the challenge of getting information to the new employee prior to their start date. Since most resources and courseware are hosted on the company intranet or LMS, it is difficult to disseminate information prior to access. I solved this by producing a 5 minute welcome video hosted on Youtube which detailed what to expect on day 1: How to get there, what to wear, who they would meet, etc. And this was sent out via email in newletter format by partnering with the recruiting department. I was also able to create a presence on the internet site to allow for a link to presentations which would be valuable to the new employee. Of course, all content was reviewed and approved. This allowed for the new employee to be fully prepared and led to a successful onboarding experience.
The most recent onboarding redesign is shown above. This program design presents the new employee with an online environment for which to search and enjoy. Once orientation class is complete, the new employee is able to access the onboarding dashboard. Here he/she can add their name and create an avatar. There are links to company information; important contacts, payroll schedules, a CEO greeting, etc. and games to help the new employee feel more comfortable at their job. Mandatory and compliance courses are arranged on a weekly schedule, along with other online fun elements, such as games and scavenger hunts. The new employee sets off on a 4 week journey where each week presents a new set of courses to complete. This sets up the new hire for success by presenting these required courses at the time when he or she is ready for them. Plus, this self-paced programs turns early gaps of down time into a productive and valuable experience.
