Day one for a newly hired employee should introduce them to the organization’s culture, their colleagues, and important company benefits and policies. It should be a positive experience.
Often though, it’s a day of paperwork, presentations, and procedures. In employee onboarding, a lot of this can be avoided with a preboarding strategy.
Preboarding for Benefits
Like many employers, one of our clients kept details about their benefits close at hand and behind a firewall. Their recruiters were touting those benefits, though, so we encouraged the client to post their Benefits Guide in a place where new hires could explore it well ahead of their first day on the job.
In a simple, concise email, they now send new hires a document telling them exactly what to bring on day one. And they send a link to the Benefits Guide, advising them to explore their options, gather up their questions, and be prepared to enroll that day if they want to.
See the case study about this transformation.
A New Day One — No Slides!
We had already helped our client build a robust benefits portal, so we added an area dedicated to onboarding. From here, presenters can explain benefits by jumping to different information on the portal — from medical and wellbeing to retirement planning and voluntary benefits. And, of course, to the enrollment site.
It’s a much less formal, and more engaging, experience for the new employees, and for the presenters (some who were nervous and merely read the slide text). Plus, employees leave the room familiar with navigating the benefits and enrollment sites. (Some even leave the room enrolled in their benefits!)
Of course, onboarding continues for the next couple months as these newbies acclimate and find their way. But if first impressions really are everything, this benefits department is engaging new employees from the start.
