4 Keys to Building an Onboarding Machine

The employee onboarding experience is one of the most critical points in an employee’s journey with your company. The Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM) reports “69% of employees are more likely to stay with a company for three years if they experienced great onboarding…organizations with a standard onboarding process experience 50% greater new-hire productivity”?(SHRM). First impressions are important! Employees remember their onboarding experience. If you wish to retain employees long-term and raise productivity from the start, a robust, experience-focused, and scalable onboarding process is required.

The Smarsh People Team is committed to creating a positive experience through the entire employee life cycle, starting in the interview process to the employee’s last day. Quality in experience is our focus, but we must achieve quality at scale. Recently, we were challenged by our growth rate. Our legacy onboarding processes were not built to deliver quality onboarding at scale. It was time for us to reboot and focus on uplifting the employee experience, building capacity, and scaling operations to meet the demands of our growing business.

Think about a time when you made a purchase, and how excited you were to open the package as soon as you got home. Product teams leverage user-experience experts that focus on your interactions with the product, from purchase to use. When someone starts with your company, it’s like unboxing that purchase for the first time.

How can you replicate this positive experience at scale? How can you create the employee-focused onboarding machine that will drive your company forward and contribute to the retention of employees over the long term?

In our effort to create an employee-focused quality onboarding experience at scale, the Smarsh Team identified four key elements to build an onboarding machine:

1. Partner with Experience Delivery Groups
2. Set Standards
3. Build Repeatable Processes
4. Scale Communications

The overarching vision: Reduce the time it takes to onboard employees by scaling processes and delivering a world-class onboarding experience.

1.??????Partner with Experience Delivery Groups

To tackle a project as significant as designing and delivering the experience of new employees at your company, plan to collaborate with many departments to help hire and onboard new employees. Once you have identified the key contributors or groups that have to do something to make the process successful, get aligned and ensure you all have the same vision for the experience of a new hire. Start with a visioning session, led by a senior leader or experience owner in your company. What programmatic elements do we need to include if we want to give new hires the best experience possible? How can we get new people in the door faster? How can we reduce the burden on our teams that contribute to delivering an exceptional onboarding experience? With the answers to these questions and a brief retrospective of the existing process, you can begin to create a scaled, employee-focused process from offer to onboarding.?

Unsure which groups to start with or who needs to be involved? Consider a few examples of how teams contribute to experience delivery, featuring the Smarsh Total Rewards, People Services, Talent Advising, and Corporate IT teams:

The Smarsh Total Rewards team spends significant time ensuring that Smarsh benefit offerings and compensation are market competitive. 2021 has been a challenging year for hiring. Reflecting trends in benefit offerings and compensation philosophies might be the reason someone decides to choose your company. The Smarsh Total Rewards and Talent Advising (recruiting) teams work together to create competitive offers for all candidates. When you get an offer from Smarsh, we want you to trust that it is strong and to be confident in the decision to join.

Once an offer is signed, it’s time to engage and keep the attention, excitement, and momentum high through the first day. The Smarsh People Services team ensures new hires receive a welcome communication within the first 24 hours of signing an offer letter. From that initial communication, there are customized follow-ups and additional information provided all the way through the new hire’s first day. New hires also receive a Welcome Box with Smarsh-branded goodies. What a wonderful way to feel valued, welcomed, and excited to get started!

Getting computer hardware to a new hire before their first day is essential to a successful start. As of mid-2021, acquiring computer hardware is not as predictable as it once was. Not that it’s difficult to acquire, but forces outside our control are playing more of an (unwanted) role. To mitigate this issue and prioritize speed of delivery, The People Services, Talent Advising, and Corporate IT (internal IT) teams partner to forecast computer hardware needs across the globe, enabling proactive procurement and resourcing, rather than a mad scramble, to equip new hires. Forecasting starts by analyzing stats on terminations and open requisitions by department and geography and estimating the dates computer hardware will be needed once roles are filled. To keep the process organized and teams informed, tools such as Jira can be leveraged to provide early alerts and track individual terminations and new hires. Forecasting and communicating more frequently on needs, terminations, and new hires have allowed the Smarsh Corporate IT team to reduce standard lead-time for a new hire from 10 business days to 5.

Once the new hire has signed and their computer hardware and account are in the works, the focus shifts to that day one, week one, 30, 60, and 90-day onboarding experience. These next few months?must?go well. Remember, first impressions are everything! Employees remember how they are treated during their onboarding experience, as it sets the tone for their time with your company. Our goal at Smarsh is to deliver an experience that helps new “Smarshians” feel confident they have made the right decision. Through our cross-functional and collaborative partnership efforts spanning from offer to onboarding, we have achieved a quicker turnaround time and improved our processes to create a more scalable and engaging solution.

2. Set Standards

???????????One of the keys to scaling is to simplify tasks and reduce decisions wherever possible--setting standards for your operations. For example, remove the need to ask managers what time their new hire should start. Remove the need to remember to schedule, reschedule and remind managers about the required day-one HR & Benefits meeting. Remove timing questions about new hire orientation by setting a recurring schedule. Help hiring managers and teams know what to expect when onboarding a new hire. These standards and schedules become routine and reduce stress for all teams involved.

???????????At Smarsh, we have set standards to scale across our start times (9 am local time, always) and the timing of our day-one HR & Benefits meeting (10 am PT for US employees). We have set a recurring schedule for our onboarding program, which now runs every two weeks, at consistent times for each session. Other areas of standardization that we have considered include hardware and software offerings, and early-stage learning program assignments. These standardizations have helped immensely, and we are always looking for more ways to simplify, standardize, and scale.

3. Build Repeatable Processes

???????????A key element in the kickoff of an onboarding overhaul is a group?retrospective, a moment to review what’s working and what is not. This is the time to open the windows on processes that don’t work, and air out the laundry in an effort to improve. Pay attention to what processes are not going as well and follow the?“5-whys”?to determine the root cause — then solve it. In a retrospective focused on global onboarding, for instance, we identified processes that were bespoke and required significant human intervention at each step of the process. Customized, manual, and laborious processes were slowing us down, and they had to go! To create a scalable onboarding program, processes must be as automated and repeatable as is reasonable and sustainable. Go deep and ask if what you have is good enough for now, and consider if it can truly support your rate of growth. Your manual processes may have been okay in the past, but perhaps you’ve grown beyond the capacity of your team or the team has more strategic work to cover.?It’s time to automate for scale.

???????????At Smarsh, we began with our HR Information System (HRIS), the system of record for all employee data. A glaring opportunity for a repeatable process surfaced in how we build and deliver packets of required documents to new hires. Before building a repeatable process, a human would need to individually select each of the 7+ required documents for the new employee based on their geography. That works if you need to customize each one, but is ripe for human error and seems pretty silly when you’re building a 40th kit for a regional hire that gets the same exact documents as the last 39. The Smarsh team slowed down to go faster by standardizing the new hire packets by geography. Now, when we prepare and send documents to a new hire in our HRIS, one package is selected. Rather than selecting each document individually, we’ve removed human error from the equation and created a much faster process.

???????????We all love self-service. Being able to change your cell phone plan online or take money out of an ATM after bank hours are common expectations of our time. Automate information gathering from new hires through readily available forms or self-service portals. A prominent example of this is required pre-employment background checks. Before evolving our processes, Smarsh spent time collecting and then submitting information about each new hire to the background check processor. This means we had to get the information from the new hire via a form, and then copy/paste or type it in manually to the background check processor’s form. This was so unnecessary! Now, new hires can enter their information directly into the background check processing portal. It takes the same amount of time for the new hire, and the People Services team at Smarsh simply receives a report, resolving the process in a much quicker fashion. Self-serve for the win!

???????????We find that for many new employees, the memory of the first day is a blur due to the amount of newness and stimulation all happening at once. Why then do many companies throw a bunch of information at employees on the first day with few resources to reference in the future? What happens when employees attempt to help a new hire but have no understanding of a new process or system?? We solved this at Smarsh by creating a New Hire Guide and Resource Center in our Smarsh Help Center, our central online resource for all internal processes, guides and knowledge bases. This live, interactive webpage houses information about culture, schedules, people, processes and systems and it’s always kept up to date! Gone are the days of searching for the onboarding PDF, we have the New Hire Guide!

These may appear to be incremental changes. With our rate of growth and hiring, these seemingly small but repeatable processes are saving considerable time! Now, we are turning our sights to even more ways to automate our process from offer to onboarding.

4. Scale Communications

The fourth key to building an onboarding machine is building processes to reduce repetitive work in delivering information to new hires—communications at scale. Consider what communications you send to all new hires, when and how often, and what information you expect to receive in response. The overarching goal is to reduce repetitive actions from your staff by minimizing the human intervention required to get new hires the information they need to get prepared to start at your company.

Two phases make up what are often considered onboarding communications:?Pre-boarding?communications, which happen?before?a person starts working at your company, and?onboarding communications, which start on a new hire’s first day and continue 30-90 days into their employment.

Typically, pre-boarding communications are sent to a new hire’s personal email address, and onboarding communications go to a new hire’s company-provided email account. Both pre-boarding and onboarding emails can be templatized and scheduled to send at various intervals and can be triggered by a new hire’s start date. Most communications sent in both the pre-boarding and onboarding phase are likely to be similar or identical between new hires, meaning this is a prime opportunity for automation. It is possible to significantly reduce the burden and repetitive tasks for your HR team by templatizing and automating the delivery of pre-boarding and onboarding emails.

???????????At Smarsh, a new hire’s experience starts immediately after they sign a job offer. We want each person joining our company to feel welcomed and fully informed on what is coming next. As with any change, fear often creeps in when people don’t have enough information. Custom attributes in templatized emails can connect directly with the new hire and reinforce confidence in their choice. Here are a few examples of email communications that we templatized, automated, and send to each new hire in the?pre-boarding process:

1. Congratulations on accepting your job offer!?– Send congratulations and inquire on what computer hardware the new hire wants so your IT team can ensure on-time delivery

1. Request to complete new hire documents?– Outline the required documents and request completion, including any instructions and reminders
2. Culture preview?– What is it like to work at your company? What is the dress code? Do you meet on video? Provide these and more details to the new hire
3. Computer hardware shipment tracking information?– If you are shipping equipment to a new hire, provide them the tracking information and consider including information about how to set everything up, or even providing tips and tricks on workplace ergonomics
4. The day before the start date?– Ready, set, let’s go! – This is the last touchpoint before the new hire will start. Help to reduce any first-day jitters and be sure to let them know when they will receive their account and login information so they can start strong on day one
5. Login information delivery?– It's go time! This is the official release of login information to the new hire and will enable them access to your company’s computer systems. Be sure to schedule this email communication to go out at a time that accommodates various time zones and local start times while also providing information on who to contact if something doesn’t go according to plan

Once the new hire has started, it’s time to help them connect to the culture of the organization, their team, and the larger community. Onboarding communications are used to help the new hire feel connected to the company, its leaders and culture. They also provide important resources and often solicit feedback on the experience so it can be improved for future new hires.?Here are a few examples of email communications that we templatized, automated and send to each new hire in the?onboarding process:

1. Welcome letter from the CEO?– How cool is it to receive a note from the CEO on your first day? This can be done at scale through automation. Craft a message that is personal and welcoming while also highlighting a few key cultural elements
2. Check-in on day 2?– How was your first day? Share some resources and remind the new hire that you want them to be successful and are there to help if they need anything
3. Introduction of learning opportunities?– What are the opportunities for learning at your company? Share information on how to access these resources
4. 30-day check-in?– Solicit feedback from the new hire on how the first 30 days have been, and what could be improved. Often, a 30-day check-in is performed by a manager meeting as well, to be sure the expectations of the role are clear, and the new hire is receiving valuable feedback on their performance and onboarding to the team
5. 60-day check-in?– Are you happy and engaged? Propose reflection on the last couple of months and prompt the hew hire for feedback on improving the onboarding process

Leveraging templatized and automated communications in your pre-boarding and onboarding processes will up-level the way your new employees connect with your company. Effective, clear and timely communication builds trust and employee engagement. With each of these communications, ensure the appropriate team monitors and addresses any responses from the new hire promptly. You may consider templatizing responses to common inquiries, revising templates to answer frequently asked questions, or even publishing a FAQ for new hires to ensure they have access to the most up-to-date and complete information possible to aid in their onboarding.

Automating pre-boarding and onboarding communications can be achieved in a few ways. This depends on the tools you have internally, along with the appetite to onboard and maintain a new tool specifically for this purpose. At Smarsh, we were successful in leveraging?SendPulse?to create mailing lists, email templates and automated workflows to deliver both our pre-boarding and onboarding emails to new hires. We have significantly reduced the burden on our HR specialist, and we are also getting information back from new hires quicker. This then helps our Corporate IT teams build proper hardware and ensure delivery to our new hires before their start date. Templatizing, automating and monitoring pre-boarding and onboarding communications have been a huge help to our HR and IT teams, while also creating a much more curated and confidence-inspiring experience for Smarsh new hires.

Getting Started & Looking Towards the Future

Building an onboarding machine is not effortless and cannot happen overnight. It requires close coordination with multiple internal departments and important decisions about the desired experience for new hires. To get started, solicit engagement from at least one member or leader of each contributing internal department, set the stage and vision for better onboarding experiences at your company, and invite people to participate in delivering the change. The best collaboration and long-lasting outcomes are built by teams with personal interest and commitment to making a positive change in your organization.

?For best results, consider determining an employee experience owner and project manager for your initiative. These roles will help keep people focused on the goal of up-leveling the experience and will help keep the team organized and moving towards the common goal. In your experience owner, find someone unafraid to ask the questions: “Is this good enough?” “Why do we have to do it this way?” and “How can we make this easier?” When selecting a project manager, find someone who is organized, skilled at communicating, and can help keep desired outcomes documented, while monitoring and encouraging team progress towards goals. The project manager’s job is not to make the decisions about what will happen (that’s the employee experience owner’s job), but to facilitate team collaboration and decision-making.

Once you have achieved an improvement in your onboarding experience and/or have built a sustainable onboarding machine, be sure to celebrate! Your efforts have directly contributed to improving your work experience and the future experience of new hires to come – bravo! Next, consider what else you can scale, automate or integrate, including how you might need to adjust processes to meet the needs of different geographies or employment scenarios. For example, we’re looking at integrations between our tools and determining possibilities of reducing human interaction with specific data. We may even find a way to integrate our Applicant Tracking System with our HRIS and internal IT systems. Can you imagine an onboarding experience where data flows gracefully from the time you submit your job application to when you start at your new job with your new company-provided user account? We can, and we’re taking steps to get there. Additionally, we’re adapting the onboarding machine we built in the US for other geographies with region-specific templates, automation flows and key information.?

We hope you’ll join us in this endeavor to deliver world-class onboarding at scale.?What have you standardized or automated in your organization to scale? What are you considering standardizing or automating next? What has made you say “WOW!” in an onboarding experience??We’d love to learn from you! Share your insights with us in the comments.

About the authors:

Kayla Silva?is the Manager of People Services at Smarsh and served as a key leader and collaborator in the overhaul and uplift of Smarsh onboarding processes. Kayla holds a Master of Science in Organizational Development from the University of San Francisco. She has six years of cumulative HR experience in various industries (SaaS, Industrial Design, and Commercial Real Estate).

Liz Lockhart?is the Sr. Director of PMO & Training at Smarsh and served as project manager on the overhaul and uplift of Smarsh onboarding processes. Liz holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Portland and is pursuing a Doctorate in Organizational Change and Leadership at the University of Southern California. Liz is certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) by HRCI.?