It is your first day. After being recently accepted for the job role you were desperate to get, your journey begins today. You’re thinking about the connections you’ll make with co-workers and what projects you’re going to work on. You’re excited, enthusiastic and eager to learn.
But, when you arrive, you are taken to your desk that has a chunk of paperwork piled on it. ‘Lovely! Once you’ve set up, go ahead and read through this. Get back to me when you’re done,’ your boss says with a short smile before heading straight back to their office. You find yourself feeling deflated – this wasn’t the warm welcome you were hoping for and you are not sure how to feel about your new job anymore…
The Problem
Is your onboarding process failing to inspire your new hires? It’s not uncommon for businesses to forget about the importance of onboarding. It is largely neglected and treated like another pile of paperwork; but skimming through a dull handbook on their first day is not going to create the positive, lasting impression your new hires are looking for from your company.
It’s no secret that companies need to step up with their onboarding strategies. Research conducted by the Harvard Business Review found that 49% of companies’ onboarding process is only ‘somewhat successful’. They also found that as much as 22% of companies have no formal onboarding programme at all. Additionally, a study from Gallup found that a staggering 88% of employees were unsatisfied with their company’s onboarding, claiming that their employer did a ‘poor job’ with the process. It’s clear to see that a passive approach to onboarding is not going to ensure a positive work ethic from your new hires; so how is an effective onboarding process achieved?
The key to making an onboarding process successful is to make it engaging for the new hires. It is crucial that the process is not one-sided and adapting your onboarding process to be more reciprocal will make your new hires feel welcomed to the company and kick off their journey with you. Here are some ways to make the onboarding process something to enjoy.
Make Onboarding a Game
One of the best ways to capture the attention of your new hires is to introduce games into the process. Introducing games into your onboarding process will create a fun, active environment and spark competitive drive; giving your new hires a thrill straight off the bat. What better way to start off your journey with a new employer?
When it comes to educating your new hires on complex topics such as business vision and strategy, games not only make the teaching of this information more accessible for participants to absorb. They are also more likely to retain the information handed to them, embedding company values from an early stage.
Games provide an interactive platform and allow you to set custom challenges for participants. Services from Green Hat Games offer you the opportunity to create a game that directly relates to your company’s values as well as bring fun into the onboarding process.
These bespoke games worked exceptionally well for London Borough authority, Barnet Council. Once they recognised their onboarding programme wasn’t as efficient as they needed it to be, they reached out to us.
The Green Hat team worked together with Barnet Council. We offered a solution: gamification training techniques to increase engagement. This game took shape in the form of a board game which included creative activities and strategic thinking. It covered a variety of topics relevant to the council including organisation, journey to improvement, services, values, objectives, models and plans.
The sessions resulted in absolute success with Barnet Council saying that it was the “most engaging and ‘edutaining’ session we have ever delivered.” Participants loved it too, giving it an amazing overall rating of 4.3/5. It showed that enthusiastic and engaged participants made for an effective, successful delivery.
Onboarding Days
As we now know, onboarding should be more than a 20-minute process. It will take time to absorb the information properly. However, with enthusiasm, excitement and entertainment, you can ensure that your new hires enjoy their time learning with you.
Dedicating a whole day to training and introducing them to their new workplace is a wonderful way to offer them a warm welcome. A day filled with activities, interaction and variation will give them a clear insight into the company values, the services offered to clients and plans for the future of the company.
An example of what this day could involve:
– Ice breaker games
– Collaborative group work
– Presentations
– Team activities
– An interactive walk showcasing divisions and departments
Onboarding days are best done with a well-structured plan of how the day will pan out. Green Hat Games can guide you through this process by providing bespoke games, helping you structure your day and providing apps which can be used throughout the day.
The apps supplied by Green Hat Games are not only designed to involve the new hires, but you are involved too. These apps give you the ability to track progress live; helping you assess participation rates, engagement levels, and compare teams progress. By making a day out of your onboarding process, you will soon see the atmosphere come alive and leave new recruits enthusiastic to begin their journey with you.
Make Use of Devices
Another, more flexible way to introduce a new onboarding process is to make use of devices. With devices, the onboarding strategy can be spread over a course of a few weeks as opposed to one concentrated day.
Handheld, touch screen devices are not uncommon and almost everyone has one. So, why not make use of these tools? Using interactive apps on these devices can have the same effect as an onboarding day by introducing them to the workplace environment and educating them on culture and values through a screen.
Green Hat Games are highly experienced in the field of sharing culture and values and can help you along the way through the interactive onboarding process.
Not only this, but it has an accessory called the ‘Values Booster’ which assigns missions for the new hires to complete. Full of interactive activities, it ensures that your new hires remain engaged and complete necessary tasks. These missions encourage new recruits to act according to the expected behaviours and bond with colleagues; including missions such as ‘Introduce yourself to a colleague you haven’t spoken to yet and invite them to have coffee.’ This helps new hires to understand their role within the organisation as well as establish themselves within the community.
Don’t Underestimate
The first impression is crucial. Ensure that it’s a brilliant one and kick off their new journey with interaction, enthusiasm and fun. A two-way system is the way to make your onboarding process thrive; so, make the right decisions and results will soon appear.
