How 4 Boston startups help employees avoid feeling like ‘the new guy’

by Justine Hofherr
November 30, 2016

The onboarding process at many companies can be a drag. Sitting through hours of staged videos and reading endless piles of paperwork can quickly turn an employee’s first day into a total snooze-fest.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. Many tech companies are finding that creating fun and unique traditions for new hires not only makes employees feel welcome, but also sparks a passion for the organization that continues to grow over the course of workers’ careers. Plus, making onboarding fun can help new employees avoid feeling like "the new guy."

We caught up with four Boston tech startups to hear how they spice up the onboarding process.

 

Responses from Robert Case, HR & Talent Acquisition Manager at WHOOP

Do you have any interesting traditions for new hires to go through?

New hires at WHOOP receive a Team WHOOP Jersey that recognizes what employee number they are. It's "Team Jersey Day" whenever a new employee starts at WHOOP which means employees are encouraged to wear their team jersey as we welcome a new hire to the team. In addition to traditional HR & team specific onboarding, employees also receive their very own WHOOP Strap and are on boarded to our product and platform.

In a technically diverse environment that contains experts in domains stretching from Big Data, Digital Signal Processing, Sports Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Native Mobile, and Web technologies to name a few — this understanding of the ins and outs of our product creates the fundamental building blocks for important collaboration with other WHOOP team members. The tangible aspect of being able to use our product on a daily basis further sparks the high level of passion our employees have for our mission of unlocking human performance.

How do you avoid making new hires feel like "the new guy?"

Immersing a new hire in our environment starts during the WHOOP interview process. In addition to meeting the members of your core team, most candidates meet with leaders that cut across technical domains. Every candidate who interviews also meets with CEO Will Ahmed in the late stages of our process prior to receiving an offer. During our weekly Friday team lunches Will then welcomes the employee to the team and describes the role and impact that the new employee will make with us. Ultimately, we embrace the "new guy,” their expertise and celebrate the impact we hope to make together.

How are new team members integrated into their specific departments?

With such diversity of technical talent and teams at WHOOP we're lucky enough to be able to have exposed a new hire to most of their core team during the hiring process. This creates good buzz and context heading into a new hire’s first few weeks. No team at WHOOP is the same, but most celebrate new hires with outings.

What advice would you give other tech companies about onboarding new hires?

Make sure your new hire has an open line of communication with team members outside of their core team and direct manager. Communication with someone who can provide insight on some of the unique qualities and dynamics of the environment is important to help fill any blanks.

 

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Responses from Trisha Spillane, Director, Public Relations & Brand Communications at Rue La La 

 
Do you have any interesting traditions for new hires to go through?

We love when new hires join Rue La La, and we do our best to make it an easy and seamless transition. We give our new Associates a full day of onboarding that covers our history, industry, culture and values and gets them familiar with the overall space.  

Upon arriving, we set them up in our photo studio for a headshot and load them up on Rue swag so their working area is set and ready to go! On their first day, we introduce them to a “buddy” – someone they will be working and interacting with – and their buddy takes them to lunch for an informal meet and greet. From there, we are always make sure to call out new members of the team during All Associate’s Meetings and in the weekly company “Ruesletter.”

How do you avoid making new hires feel like "the new guy?"

It actually begins in the interview process. We move quickly here at Rue, but we make sure new hires meet a great cross section of teams that they will have interactions with.  

There’s never a shortage of social activities at the office either. Most teams have a weekly get-together, and this is a great way to meet existing and new members of the team.  

We’re serious about our work – but we like to have fun!

We also offer "Bagel Fridays" with the CEO, which is a great way to have a casual conversation with our CEO, and new hires typically get an invite to a waffle breakfast, a tradition started by one of our Technology Associates.

How are new team members integrated into their specific departments?

The new Associate's manager will set up an onboarding schedule to ensure they meet with various groups across the organization.

What advice would you give other tech companies about onboarding new hires?

I would make sure you focus on the entire interview and onboarding experience and be sure to make both experiences consistent.

 

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Responses from Melissa Palardy, Marketing Manager at PatientPing

Do you have any interesting traditions for new hires to go through?

At PatientPing, we get super excited when new employees start! We list their name and position on our Wall of Wins, a dedicated space in our office for celebrating achievements. We really value new employees having a deep understanding of our mission, vision, and product. Every new employee gets coffee with our CEO during onboarding, and receives a warm intro at our weekly team checkin. During onboarding, each new employee gets face time with members of different departments to receive a deep dive into our sales pitch / strategy, product, and market landscape. We also give new employees a fun Welcome Packet, with everything they might need to know as they are getting up to speed, from IT information to the best coffee shops and restaurants in the neighborhood.

How do you avoid making new hires feel like "the new guy?"

Prior to new employees starting, we set up their desks and computers so that everything is ready to go when they arrive on their first day. We also send them team bios with fun facts and photos, as well as contact information, so that faces are familiar on the first day!

How are new team members integrated into their specific departments?

All employees get one-on-one meetings with their managers and mentors throughout their first week. Teams also like to get lunch on the employee's first day to welcome and celebrate their addition to the team. We also send out 30, 60, 90-Day Check-In Questionnaires to ensure that they have the tools, resources, and support they need to be successful. The one-on-ones with managers continue weekly to discuss professional development and ongoing projects.

 

 

 

Jason Ketola, VP of Operations at MaxMind

How do you avoid making new hires feel like "the new guy?"

We have simple and common sense traditions, both of which are designed to prevent hires from feeling like “the new guy.” We take new in-office employees out to lunch their first day, and in their first week, both in-office and remote employees are scheduled to meet many new co-workers across departments, so they can make a number of connections and get a broader sense of the company.

How are new team members integrated into their specific departments?

We get new team members working collaboratively right away. For software engineers, for instance, this means setting up many opportunities to pair program with others. We like to give new employees real work from the get-go so that they can start to participate meaningfully in meetings and discussions and can feel a sense of contribution as quickly as possible.

What advice would you give other tech companies about onboarding new hires?

Documentation helps tremendously. Starting a new job involves getting a lot of information thrown at you, so document common procedures and answers to questions that new employees can use as a reference.

Conversation is key. A lot of information is carried around in our heads. Show new hires your organizational chart pointing out whom to talk to about what, encouraging them to ask questions.

Iterate. A month or so after each new hire, ask the hire what she thought of her onboarding experience and what could be done differently. This is the best source of ideas for improvement in the onboarding process.

 

 

Photos via companies and Shutterstock

Does your company have a unique on boarding process? Let us know

 

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