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    5 ways to communicate your onboarding journey to existing employees

    Even the best onboarding solution can fall flat-on-its-face without buy-in from your wider team.



    You can spend months researching engagement tactics, designing beautiful UX and mapping a smooth company integration, but without the backing and enthusiasm from existing employees, you’ll face an uphill battle. 

    [Read] Christine Lutz of Lufthansa’s first-hand account of why having your existing team on board is the key to success


    Luckily there are plenty of great ways you can engage your team and turn them into ambassadors for your new onboarding journey. 

    And the best part? Your team members will benefit, spending less time carrying a colleague who isn’t up-to-speed: companies with strong onboarding programs see new hires reach productivity 34% faster than those without.

    Here are just 5 ways to get your company on board with onboarding:

    1 Organize a launch event


    Having an internal launch can be a great way to communicate that your new process has ‘arrived’.

    Often your wider team won’t know just how much work has gone into your new onboarding journey, so giving them a ‘peek behind the curtain’ can be a brilliant way to get buy-in from your existing staff.

    2 Run an internal email campaign


    A great way to let your colleagues know about your new onboarding journey is through an internal email campaign. Now let’s be clear, we’re not talking about a black-and-white wall of text sent the day before ‘go live’. We mean a well-coordinated message, beautifully designed and sent with intent.

    Think of it in three waves:

    Onboarding-comms-3-waves 

    3 Host a company-wide demo


    Sometimes the best way to tell people about an idea is just to SHOW them.

    Take a page from the developer’s handbook and treat your new platform launch as a product update.

    Show your existing staff, and stakeholders in particular, exactly what your new journey will look like from the perspective of a new-hire. Walk them through each of the onboarding phases (preboarding/induction & orientation/integration) and give them confidence in what you have worked so hard to build.

    4 Film a video introduction with a key in-house influencer


    Often a great idea just needs an in-house champion. So throw some weight behind your innovations and see if the CEO (or another engaging company influencer) will film a short video introduction to your new onboarding journey.

    Ask them a few questions about what has changed and what everyone can expect going forward (be sure to brief them first!).


    TOP TIP

    Have your influencer look directly into the camera when filming their interview. This creates a more personal feeling for viewers than someone who is distracted reading prepared notes.

    Create connection, not separation!



    5 Throw a company-wide celebration


    ABN AMRO, one of the Netherlands’ largest (and oldest) banking institutions, threw a week-long company-wide celebration to kick their new onboarding journey off with a bang.

    It worked for them, and it could work for your organization too. You can be sure there won’t be an intern or part-timer who hasn’t heard about your new journey by the time you’re done.

    The ABN AMRO celebration checklist:

    ✔️Stickers and badges for all the team
    ✔️Posters for the lunchroom and elevators
    ✔️Company-wide morning tea
    ✔️Onboarding ‘swag bag’ for key stakeholders
    ✔️Strong, consistent internal communications

    [Watch] Wouter Smit on the ABN AMRO onboarding launch

     

    The takeaway?


    It is important to remember that effective internal communications don't have an end date, so be sure to let people know when things change.

    Send out an email to celebrate one year of onboarding, or invite managers to a content update session and encourage them to report back to their team.

    Remember: Your new onboarding program needs in-house champions - so give them something to be excited about!



    OK, so you know how you’re going to launch your new program. But have you built it? Need a hand?

    Watch our on-demand webinar and get ready to Reinvent your onboarding for 2020 (and beyond!)

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    Topics: Onboarding
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