Linearity’s Onboarding

Getting Started

The button is right there.

You’ve filled out all the necessary fields, answered all the questions, and uploaded all the necessary documents. You press Send, and your new job application is complete.

Great news! The company liked your CV and scheduled a follow up. Over the next week, you go through at least two interviews, speak with the People team, and work on a sample task.

You’re almost done. You’ve spoke to the position’s manager and answered all of their questions, sometimes more than once.

Now you wait. Finally, you get the call. You got the offer! ??

But whether this is your first job at a new company or you’re starting a new chapter in your career, you’ll probably be asking yourself:

What now?

The Onboarding

At Linearity, our initial onboarding process is a critical step in the employee lifecycle.

It’s the start of our official relationship with the employee, and we want to make sure that every step has been planned with intention and care, and that all of the employee’s questions are answered. It’s also important for the employee to feel safe and welcomed onto the team.

This process starts immediately after the contract is signed. We make sure that the new employee receives all of the information they need before they start. For this, we use the HR software system HiBob, which allows us to automate most of this.

Right after the new hire signs their contract, they receive a welcome message from HiBob, which asks them to take a moment to fill our their profile on the platform. This ensures that everything else will work smoothly.

Of course, we have several different types of onboarding.

Some people are able to start within a week of accepting their offer, while some need to give a notice period of two or three months. But it’s important that we offer all of our new hires a seamless and standardized experience.

As a company that puts remote and flexible work first, we hire people from all around the globe, so our onboarding process also reflects that by offering a similar experience to everyone, no matter where they are.

Before the First Day

Before the new hire’s start date, they receive several different emails from us, containing all the information they’ll need for their first day.

Additionally, our People Experience Partner is responsible for their overall hiring experience and is always ready to help them out before, during, and after their onboarding with any additional questions.

A week before the new employee starts, they get access to their company email and other important accounts, information about the introductory meetings scheduled for their first day, and, of course, their equipment.

They receive a package at home with all of their needed equipment, as well as some company swag, like a branded Linearity backpack, laptop sleeve, water bottle, socks, and stickers.

All of this couldn’t happen without a great team working behind the scenes. In addition to the People Experience role, the new hire is supported by People Ops, their manager, the recruiter, and also a buddy. This is an established employee from a different team who helps to engage the new employee in the company culture, and answer any questions they have that aren’t related to the duties of their role.

Each of these people play a part in ensuring that the new employee’s onboarding experience is smooth and enjoyable, from their first day to their sixth month.

Internally, we have automations set up that send out tasks and reminders to all parties involved. This ensures that everyone is aware of the process and is full prepared for the new hire’s first day.

Starting the New Job

Once the big day arrives, everyone is fully prepared and excited.

Transparency is important to us, and we want everyone in the company to be on the same page from their very first day. On a new hire’s first day, their first meeting is a welcome session, where we give them an overview about Linearity, our values, the tools we work with, and our strategy for the future.

During their first week, the new employee is welcomed by the rest of their team, and have scheduled 1:1 calls with their new colleagues. They also learn to use our product through a demo session, and of course, complete their first tasks.

But for us, onboarding doesn’t stop there; it continues for the new employee’s first six months at the company. During their first month, they have regularly scheduled 1:1 sessions with their manager where they can give and receive feedback on how they’re doing so far. After the end of their first month, the employee is asked to share some feedback about their onboarding experience through a survey. This helps us refine the process and identify anything that’s not working or needs to change.

Our buddy program officially lasts until the end of the third month, but ideally it will continue beyond that, both employees will have made a new friend! Since our buddy program is intentionally interdepartmental, this helps our team to build a sense of community throughout the whole company, not just in each separate team.

The ultimate goal of this onboarding process is to make sure that the employee feels valued, included, and welcomed within their team from day one. We want to make sure that everyone working for Linearity is onboard with our strategy, our goals, and our values, and are as excited as we are to help us achieve them.

Conclusion

We want to ensure that each new employee at Linearity receives the best onboarding experience they’ve ever had.

We want to ensure that they have all their questions answered, and that their role and tasks are clear for them.

And finally, we want to ensure that they’re happy they’ve chosen to embark along this journey with us; helping us build the best product we can for our community.