How we Onboard – lockdown, no problem.

I have been facilitating the onboarding journeys of our Customer Experience colleagues at Voys for over two years now and up until a few weeks ago, I have done this face-to-face, in the office while sitting right next to a new colleague and with our amazing colleagues (an extensive wealth of knowledge and experience I lean on) right there to support the journey.

Needless to say, times have changed. The office is no longer where we meet daily to do our work and enjoy each other’s company and sometimes crazy conversations. The office is now in our homes – each one working on their own as we adhere to the restrictions placed by the national Lockdown – as we respond individually and as a collective to the responsibility we have in curtailing the spread of COVID-19. The times we’re in call for a different way of onboarding.

We’ve recently started using an onboarding application that makes it possible to onboard remotely. It’s called Appical and we love it because we can offer a tailored and engaging onboarding experience through it. We have always had an Onboarding Learning Path with a variety of topics that tie together to make up the whole learning journey. Being able to facilitate this via Appical, has ensured that at the right time, a new colleague is learning just what they need to and can self-test as they go along. Giving them power and ownership over their own learning. At any time, the new colleague is free to ask the Onboarder and colleagues questions as and when they arise. We’re using the following platforms to have these conversations: Slack, video calling via Google Meet and Jitsi or via a VoIP call.

Here’s what a new colleague, who is being onboarded via Appical, had to say about their experience thus far, “the Onboarding Pack is very organised and informative, with links and instructions to information sites and points (our internal knowledgebase, The Oracle).  The Dashboard is great as it gives you guidance on where you are supposed to be by when.  The tick box/ checklist scenario also supports the sense of achievement for tasks completed as you progress through the Initial Onboarding”.

This new take on how we onboard is not only empowering, but it also ensures that the onboarding journey can be facilitated without having to physically be in each other’s space. I must admit, nothing beats human interaction, but these times call for us to be adaptable and to innovative and that is exciting stuff! We’re also learning a lot about what works and what doesn’t and are testing and improving as we go.