Onboarding Process Improvements

In the last year, Demandbase has cut our TTV (time to value) by 55%. How? Our onboarding leader Graham Grome redesigned our onboarding process around 6 core principles: 1. Start Onboarding During the Sales Process Onboarding doesn’t start with the onboarding kick-off meeting, it starts with the first conversation with the customer. The very first interaction begins the process of understanding needs, roles and responsibilities, and timelines. Through the sales process the scope plan is in development and it is essential that this is handed off to CX and the onboarding team (and that pre-Sales resources stay involved) after the deal is closed. 2. Ground in Strategy to Generate a Value Roadmap Even with the scope in place, it’s critical to begin with strategy in onboarding (not dive into tactics and tasks). You need to know what the business outcomes the customer wants to achieve and the path to get there. That is why we begin with GTM Strategy Discovery sessions and deliver a Value Roadmap with clear now, next, and later actions that align to the customer’s GTM goals. 3. Tailor Configuration to Outcomes Every onboarding should be tailored to customer priorities. No two GTM’s are the same, being flexible in configuration is really important. Out-of-the box will not grow with your goals. We keep projects moving on target, surface risks early, and ensure that platform configuration supports business outcomes, not just your setup. The goal is to help you drive measurable value as quickly as possible. 4. Bring Customer Success into Onboarding As you grow, Onboarding and Customer Success become specialized functions. To maintain a “zero hand-off” approach make sure to include the Customer Success team members who will work with the customer moving forward through the onboarding process. 5. Make sure you leave Onboarding with a Value Measurement Plan You cannot show value without it. Every customer leaves onboarding with a Value Measurement Plan aligned to their objectives, so progress and impact are clear from day one. 6. Measure CSAT Post Onboarding It all sounds good, but how do you know it’s actually happening and where the process can improve? Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) surveys. Feedback on onboarding has to be operationalized, it’s too important to have any blind spots or to stagnate as customer needs evolve. ——— Customers have more options than ever, they are under pressure to justify their spending, they want results now (as they should!), and they know new AI-driven solutions are coming out every day. If you don’t adapt your onboarding to meet these demands, you will be in a world of hurt on churn.

One size doesn't fit all in onboarding. I learned this when my manufacturing client struggled with their employee retention. Their previous onboarding process wasn't working: → Office and floor workers received identical orientations. → New hires were confused about expectations. → Training materials didn't match job requirements. We created two distinct onboarding paths. For office staff: 1. Digital-first approach: → Software training modules → Communication tools setup → Team collaboration guidelines 2. Administrative focus: → Company policies → Benefits enrollment → Project management systems → Internal processes documentation For floor workers: 1. Safety-first approach: → Equipment handling → Safety protocols → Emergency procedures → PPE requirements 2. Hands-on training: → Machine operation → Quality control standards → Shift management → Team coordination The results were clear: → Better team integration → Faster time-to-productivity → Improved safety compliance → 40% reduction in early turnover Key elements that made it work: 1. Clear documentation: → Step-by-step guides → Visual aids → Checklists for each role 2. Feedback system: → Weekly reviews → Adjustment opportunities → Two-way communication Now my client has: → Improved operational efficiency → Higher employee satisfaction → Reduced training costs Your onboarding process needs to match your workforce. Don't force everyone through the same system. Create targeted experiences that set your teams up for success.

Onboarding is one of the most overlooked yet critical processes for ensuring a new employee’s success. At Proletariat, as we scaled rapidly, we knew that hiring fast also meant evaluating and adjusting quickly. That’s why we implemented structured 90-day onboarding plans. Check out this template: http://bit.ly/3CIa79i The Goal of a 90-Day Onboarding Plan By the end of the onboarding period, one of three things should be clear: 1. The employee is successful in their role and fully ramped up 2. The role has been adjusted to better fit their skills or the team’s needs 3. The employee moves on if the fit isn’t right Key Objectives of a 90-Day Onboarding Plan 1. Craft Personalized Goals That Align with the Team Strategy Every role is unique, and job descriptions often don’t capture the full nuance of what success looks like. A great onboarding plan ensures: - The new hire’s goals fit within the team’s broader strategy - The plan adapts to the individual’s strengths while addressing growth areas - The employee understands how they create value early on 2. Prioritize Tasks to Build Early Wins New employees often feel like they’re “drinking from a firehose” in their first few months. Instead of overwhelming them, sequence tasks in a way that builds momentum: - Start with achievable wins: Give them clear, valuable contributions early on - Gradually increase complexity: Move from simple tasks to strategic ones - Provide structured learning: Direct them to the right resources and people 3. Set Clear Expectations for Progress Success should never be vague. By clearly defining what progress should look like at key milestones, both the manager and the new hire can track growth and course-correct early if needed. Here is an outline: - First 30 days: Learning - focus on absorbing information and initial tasks - Days 31–60: Integration - deeper collaboration and ownership of responsibilities - Days 61–90: Autonomy - fully contributing and delivering measurable results How to Use an Onboarding Plan Effectively 1. Build the Plan Together The onboarding plan should be a collaborative effort between: - The new hire (so they understand expectations and contribute to goal-setting) - The hiring manager (to ensure alignment with team objectives) - Other stakeholders (who will work closely with the new hire) 2. Treat It as a Living Document A static onboarding plan is too formulaic to be useful. The plan should evolve based on feedback and real-world performance. Follow these steps: - Regularly review and adjust the plan - Use check-in meetings at 30, 60, and 90 days to assess progress - Be flexible! If the plan needs adjusting, don’t force a rigid structure 3. Involve the Broader Team Successful onboarding is not just about ramping up a new hire—it’s about integrating them into the team and broader company culture. Provide cross-team introductions and broadcast early wins and progress to give the new employee positive visibility.

🔎 When analyzing the onboarding processes of various companies from a DEI perspective, I have noticed that some organizations understand the importance of having a buddy system, providing DEI training during onboarding, and introducing new hires to ERGs. However, there are also overlooked foundational steps that can drive significant change: 💡 Step 1: Conducting a DEI Audit of an Existing Process Before designing your inclusive onboarding program, it is crucial to conduct a DEI audit of your current process. This audit involves assessing your onboarding materials, procedures, and practices through a diversity and inclusion lens through employee personas. It helps identify any gaps, biases, or exclusions that may exist, enabling you to make targeted improvements. 💡 Step 2: Developing Pre-Onboarding Resources Pre-onboarding plays a vital role in setting the stage for an inclusive onboarding experience. Create materials that introduce new hires to practical information, but also your organization's culture and DEI initiatives. Providing this information in advance helps new hires familiarize themselves with your commitment to DEI and sets expectations for their onboarding journey. 💡 Step 3: Designing an Inclusive Onboarding Program for the First Year Extend the onboarding process beyond the initial few days or weeks to encompass the entire first year of a new hire's journey. This extended timeline allows new hires to deepen their understanding of your organization, build relationships, and fully integrate into the company culture, fostering a sense of belonging. 💡 Step 4: Training Onboarding Facilitators and Buddies While many organizations recognize the importance of training onboarding facilitators, they often overlook the significance of training buddies in DEI. These people play a crucial role in supporting new hires and shaping their onboarding experience. Provide comprehensive DEI training to both facilitators and buddies, empowering them to create an inclusive and supportive environment. This training should cover topics such 🧠 unconscious bias, 💬 inclusive communication, 🗺 cultural competence, ensuring that they can effectively guide new hires through the onboarding process in an inclusive way. ________________________________________ Are you looking for more practical tips and DEI content like this?  📨 Join my free DEI Newsletter: https://lnkd.in/dtgdB6XX

Forget Onboarding: Focus on What Really Improves Community Engagement Many onboarding efforts in online communities fail. They overload new members with unnecessary steps, overwhelming them with information they’ll never use—while completely ignoring the real reasons people don’t engage. Instead of adding more onboarding tactics, simplify the experience and focus on what actually moves the needle: → Personal messages → Event sign-ups → Digest emails Why Most Onboarding Journeys Are a Waste of Time The reality is, most communities don’t need complex onboarding. → Most members are transactional. They come to ask a question, get an answer, and leave. → You can’t force people to engage. The reason most don’t participate isn’t because they don’t understand the platform—it’s because they lack the time, motivation, or confidence. → Information overload kills engagement. People are bombarded with emails, notifications, and pop-ups. The majority of onboarding emails go unread. So instead of more steps, cut the clutter. What You Should Stop Doing Immediately → Automated email sequences. If you send onboarding emails, keep them minimal. Focus on highlighting value (like upcoming events), not explaining how to use the platform. → First-badge notifications. Nobody needs a pop-up celebrating their first post or like. → Welcome emails that get ignored. Unless it’s personal or surprising, it’s better to remove it entirely. → On-site tutorials. Most users click through these without reading. If needed, make it opt-in or move it to a troubleshooting section. Think about it: When was the last time you joined a community and actually followed an onboarding guide? If a platform isn’t intuitive, people leave rather than learn how to use it. What Actually Improves Community Engagement Only five onboarding tactics consistently improve long-term engagement: → Genuine personal messages. A real, well-researched message (not a template) from an actual community manager makes a difference—especially in smaller communities. → Encouraging people to follow groups or members. Giving new members something to subscribe to (like groups, topics, or specific people) keeps them engaged. → Getting members to sign up for events. This is surprisingly effective. A scheduled event creates a reason to return and engage. → Introduction threads (for smaller communities). They work—but only if done right. Instead of generic intros, ask people to share something others actually care about. → Ensuring members get digest emails. Email digests keep people coming back. If your platform doesn’t support them, it’s a major red flag. Final Thought: Less Is More Most onboarding strategies are about adding more steps. But the best results come from removing friction. → Cut the unnecessary steps. → Make engagement easy. → Highlight real value (not features). If your onboarding process is longer than your community’s core value, it’s already too much.

Most companies spend months perfecting their product UI, then throw together onboarding in a weekend. This is backwards. Your onboarding IS your product's first impression. It's where users decide if they trust you enough to change their workflow. Our initial onboarding was basically "here's the docs, figure it out." But now we redesigned onboarding like a product feature: - User research on where people got stuck - Built interactive tutorials that actually work with real data - Added progress indicators and clear next steps - Made it feel as polished as our core platform The result? 3x improvement in day-7 retention. Your onboarding experience should have the same design rigor as your core product. Because if users don't make it through onboarding, they'll never see how great your actual product is. What's one thing you wish every product explained better during onboarding?

In a world where efficiency is key and first impressions are crucial, leveraging automation in HR processes isn't just a luxury—it's a necessity. Integrating automated account provisioning with HRIS systems like BambooHR or Workday can transform a new employee's experience, making it frictionless from the start. Here's how it simplifies HR processes: • Automated Account Creation: As soon as a new hire is confirmed, their details flow from HRIS to the chosen SSO (our preference is Okta), triggering automated account setups and application invitations. This means they have immediate access to essential tools from day one. • Tailored Application Access: Recognizing each department's unique needs, we collaborate to set up role-based access control, ensuring reliable and consistent access to necessary applications, customized to specific requirements. • Zero-Touch Computer Deployment: New hires can start training immediately, without the hassle of extensive setups. By linking MDM (our preference is Jamf) to your identity provider, employees use one password for both their SaaS tools and computers, streamlining their workflow. Benefits of this approach: • Reduced Manual Work: Automating routine tasks significantly lessens HR's workload, enabling a focus on strategic and people-centric activities. • Consistent Process Execution: Automated systems guarantee consistency and compliance, reducing errors in HR processes. • Improved Employee Experience: A smooth onboarding journey enhances job satisfaction and leaves a positive first impression. • Remote Work Compatibility: These processes ensure that geographical distance doesn't hinder efficient onboarding and offboarding. In essence, automating HR processes is a strategic move that enhances competitiveness and overall efficiency.

Stop expecting customers to magically become power users 🛑 After 10+ years of building products, I've noticed something: companies often look in the wrong place when trying to fix retention or adoption problems. In fact, as part of my job, I review and audit hundreds of onboarding playbooks, product guides, and enablement demos each quarter. And I've spotted a pattern: The companies struggling most with churn almost always have ineffective onboarding and guidance for their users. These bad onboarding demos start dangerous cycles: 🚫 They set poor expectations → users get confused or overwhelmed → they leave before ever seeing the value. The result? Most churn before reaching any meaningful milestones in adoption or activation. On the other hand, a GOOD demos and guidance look like this (at a high level): ✅ The product's value is clear → users are walked through a series of “aha!” moments → they stay because value is realized. To make a good onboarding demo: • Personalize and segment for each use case (don’t spray and pray the same content for different use cases or ICPs); • Make it modular, self-paced, and interactive; • Make your content accessible so customers can find it when THEY NEED it, not when YOU THINK they want it (i.e. in-app, out-of-app, links, email sequences, knowledge base); • Track engagement and dropoffs and iterate on length/messaging; By implementing just 1-2 of these simple tips in your onboarding demos, I guarantee you’ll see improvement. Not just in the numbers but in the quality of customer conversations and their readiness for success. But trust me: a great onboarding demo isn't just a sales tool - it's your first retention touchpoint. // Want to reduce your churn? Start by fixing your onboarding demos and guidance 💭

What’s the ROI of a structured onboarding program? When I first started building SDR teams, I thought onboarding was simple Give new hires a handbook, a few training sessions, and let them figure it out by practicing on their prospects But that “sink or swim” mindset? It cost us—big time. High ramp times. Low morale. Costly turnover So, we rebuilt our onboarding process from the ground up. Our 17-hour structured onboarding program includes: 1. People (all about them, their roles, expectations and day-to-day activities along with examples of a what good looks like) 2. Prospect (who we’re reaching out and to why, key players, org charts, etc) 3. Problem (common industry pain points, why do they exist, common impact of these) 4. Process (all about the how) 5. Product (what does it do? How does it do it? Why does that even matter? Proof it actually works) 6. Practice, practice, practice - make it a habit Once had a manger tell me he’d give me 49% of what I needed to be successful: the tools, the scripts, the playbooks, but if I didn’t put in 51% and practice, it’d never work Managers can’t care more about your success than yourself The results? • Faster ramp-up times • Better early performance • Increased confidence and retention The biggest lesson we learned? Onboarding isn’t a cost—it’s an investment. Missed targets, employee churn, and low engagement cost far more than the time and resources spent onboarding If your team is struggling with high turnover or slow ramp times, ask yourself: Are we truly setting new hires up for success from day one? What is my onboarding playbook missing?

How we reduced engineer onboarding from 3 weeks down to a few hours: Engineer onboarding should be measured by one thing: time to first pull request. By that standard, most onboarding processes take far too long—three weeks or more. And that delay is expensive. Not just in salary, but in lost momentum, senior engineers getting pulled in, and work that stalls while new hires find their footing. At Uplevel, we knew ours could be faster. So we asked: How do we shorten the distance to a new engineer’s first PR? Here’s what we did: Instead of dropping new hires into the deep end, we built a simple, structured onboarding task—something that walked a new engineer through our actual workflow but without the complexity. All they had to do was: ✅ Check out a GitHub repo ✅ Add their email to a file ✅ Submit a pull request ✅ Get it merged That’s it. Instead of three weeks, the engineer had a pull request within a few hours. Plus, they were contributing real work within their first week. They started feeling productive right away, instead of drowning in “setup mode.” When people think of onboarding, they think of documentation. We’re more interested in creating momentum. P.S. If your team wants to optimize engineer onboarding, ping us at Uplevel.