Ways to Create a Collaborative Onboarding Experience

Stop “welcoming” new hires. Give them a win in 30 days instead. When I first hired 8 years back, I thought the best onboarding was all about making new hires feel at home. I was wrong. New hires actually struggle with: → Understanding the business and their role. → Aligning with company culture and expectations. → Getting that first “win” to build momentum. → Building relationships with colleagues. I’ve now completely changed our onboarding process. The only goal is to get new hires to their “first win” fast. Instead of generic training, we work backward from their first big achievement. Here’s the framework: Step 1: Define the “first win” (within 30 days) Every new hire gets a specific, meaningful milestone. 1. It should be important enough that not doing it has a business impact. 2. Something that pushes them but is achievable with team collaboration. 3. It should give them real insight into how we operate. Our new Demand Gen Marketer’s first win was securing Market Development Funds (MDF) from a partner. To do this, they had to: - Work with our internal team. - Engage with a partner manager. - Propose a campaign relevant to both companies. This wasn’t just a task (it was a meaningful contribution). Step 2: Provide context (without overloading them) Most onboarding programs drown new hires in endless presentations. We limit training to what they need for their first win. 1. A 45-minute deep dive on the company’s journey, priorities, and challenges. 2. Targeted learning on only what’s relevant for their milestone. 3. Hands-on guidance instead of passive training. For the Demand Gen hire, we focused on: - Who the partner manager was and their priorities. - How the partnership worked. - What MDF campaigns typically get approved. Step 3: Align them with our work culture Culture isn't learned in a handbook. It’s experienced. Every new hire is paired with a mentor to guide them through: → Quality Standards → What "good" looks like in our company. → Processes & Tools → How we work and collaborate. → Feedback Loops → How we review, iterate, and improve. The result? New hires achieve something meaningful within their first month. They feel pride, momentum, and confidence (not just onboarding fatigue). Great onboarding isn’t about information. It’s about impact. 💡 How do you set up new hires for success?

Every company is different. Every team is different. Every leader is different. Every team member is different. So...leaders, when you bring a new person on to your team, do yourself, the new hire, and existing team members a favor and have everyone , (including yourself), create and share a "How to Work Best With Me" document or email. Having been a people leader several times, I have done this every time a new person joined the team. And it is so important. Let's break down the key elements for both existing team members and new hires to include in their "How to work best with me" comms. For existing team members: 1. Communication preferences: - Preferred communication channels (e.g., email, Slack, in-person) - Best times for meetings or quick chats - How they like to receive feedback 2. Work style: - Whether they prefer collaborative or independent work - Their approach to problem-solving (e.g., analytical, creative) - How they handle deadlines and pressure 3. Strengths and expertise: - Areas where they excel and can offer support to others - Specific skills or knowledge they're willing to share 4. Growth areas: - Skills they're currently developing - Areas where they appreciate extra support or patience 5. Personal quirks or habits: - Any particular work habits that others should be aware of - How they tend to react under stress 6. Project management: - How they like to organize tasks and track progress - Their preferred level of autonomy vs. guidance 7. Decision-making style: - How they approach making choices (e.g., data-driven, intuitive) - Their comfort level with risk For new hires: 1. Previous work experience: - Brief overview of their background and how it relates to the current role - Any significant differences between their previous and current work environments 2. Learning style: - How they best absorb new information (e.g., visual, hands-on, reading) - Their preferred onboarding pace 3. Initial goals: - What they hope to achieve in their first few months - Areas where they'd like to contribute or learn quickly 4. Support needs: - Types of resources or guidance they find most helpful when starting a new role - Any concerns or uncertainties about the new position 5. Cultural adaptation: - Any cultural differences they're navigating - How the team can help them integrate smoothly 6. Motivations: - What drew them to this role or company - What keeps them engaged and excited about work 7. Potential challenges: - Any anticipated difficulties in adjusting to the new role - How colleagues can best support them during the transition By including this information, leaders, existing team members, and new hires can foster better understanding, collaboration, and integration within the team. Also, these documents should be living documents, updated as people grow and change in their roles. #Leadership #Teams

A good onboarding plan conveys: People - Who do you need to know Personalities - How to collaborate well Process - How to do stuff Policies - What the rules are Politics - What the unwritten rules are Think about format. How should you best convey this information? How should it be referenced or reinforced? Self-paced resources? One-on-one convos? Group trainings? A combo? It's going to be different based on the role, what you need them to know, and when. And WHEN. What information must be conveyed immediately vs later? If later, how do you ensure "later" doesn't become "never?" When I was still leading teams, my go-to onboarding template was: 1️⃣ Pre-scheduling 1:1s with key stakeholders in the role, prioritized and spread out over the first 14-30 days. No agendas, just get to know you's. 2️⃣ Pre-scheduling 1:1 role-related chats with process/policy/outcome stakeholders. These stakeholders were strongly requested (required, if poss) to create a 1-2 guide for the new hire to have as a reference. The new hire was expected to read the reference BEFORE the meeting and come with questions. It's meant to be more of a conversation than a training. 3️⃣ Creating (if needed) a role wiki that tracks with the JD, naming stakeholders and linking to recommended tools/docs 4️⃣ Making sure the team has updated their "User Manuals," documents that explain their roles, a bit about their personalities, and working style. These manuals include the sections "When I'm At My Best" and "When I'm At My Worst" so preferences and quirks are explicit, instead of discovered slowly by accident. 5️⃣ Scheduling 2x weekly hour-long 1:1s for the first month, staggering down in frequency and duration as needed into the appropriate cadence for their role and growth trajectory. Sounds like a lot, but it's worth it to make sure you get the best out of someone. So many downstream problems and costs can be avoided with decent onboarding, and it doesn't have to be high-tech.