It’s been said that the hiring process is a two-way first impression — for both candidates and the businesses they interview with. However, when gauging what life will look like in the long term at a new job, it may be more accurate to say that the real first impression is during the onboarding process.
Beyond initial training and setting expectations for the role, new hires begin a number of working relationships with their colleagues, sometimes going beyond direct team members to include cross-functional colleagues. When organizations help facilitate these connections, new hires feel more comfortable and prepared for their role. Guidance from Gallup strongly recommends involving a new hire’s supervisor and team in the onboarding process, and it notes that employees are over three times more likely to consider their onboarding process successful when their managers take an active role.
Built In Colorado spoke with new hires from Gogo Business Aviation and Homebot about their onboarding processes and what they found most helpful about the process. In addition to providing a wealth of informational resources and training, the highlight of both experiences is the support that the new hires received from their team.
Gogo Business Aviation provides broadband connectivity services for the business aviation market.
Tell us about your experience with the onboarding process at Gogo Business Aviation. What resources, tools, or people were made available to you during the process?
In my first 90 days at Gogo Business Aviation, I’ve been offered a plethora of resources to support my onboarding journey that has enabled me to feel more integrated into the team and allowed me to become an active contributor quickly and efficiently. From the beginning, I felt that Gogo’s onboarding process was setting me up for success. From setting clear expectations ahead of my start date to a regular cadence of onboarding resources delivered to my inbox — and in-person group training on key topics like people management and interview skills — I’ve been able to apply my learnings and put things into context as I build my knowledge of the business.
“From the beginning, I felt that Gogo’s onboarding process was setting me up for success.”
How did the onboarding process contribute to your understanding of the company culture, values and expectations?
A strong company culture is extremely important at Gogo, and at each stage of the onboarding process, we’re reminded of the foundational values on which the business operates. I especially appreciated the company’s empathetic approach to cultivating and retaining key talent that was laid out during my people management training, and the invaluable opportunity to participate in multiple cross-functional projects and strategic meetings helped me build relationships with internal stakeholders and learn the inner workings of the business.
What about your onboarding experience was different from past experiences starting in a new role? What do you think made it so effective?
Jumping into an organized and efficiently run onboarding ecosystem at Gogo has been exciting and motivating. The roadmap that was outlined as part of my Gogo onboarding experience has been one of the most helpful and clearly defined of my career. Additionally, I found the structured intervals at which resources and tools are delivered to my inbox to be an effective way to ensure maximum retention. I’m really thankful for the resources Gogo invests in their onboarding program and truly honored to be a part of the team.
Homebot is a client engagement portal for lenders and real estate professionals.
Tell us about your experience with the onboarding process at Homebot.
I had a great onboarding experience at Homebot! Throughout the process, I was able to meet with and learn from Homebotters from different departments and benefit from their expertise, from my colleagues in engineering to folks in sales. Our Newbotter Onboarding in Google Classroom helped get me up to speed — we have self-paced general onboarding that is really comprehensive for our new hires. My team leader made sure I was supported with resources like a 30-60-90 plan throughout the onboarding process.
How did the onboarding process contribute to your understanding of the company culture, values and expectations?
Meeting a variety of Homebotters through the onboarding process gave me a chance to learn how others live out our company values and to get their perspectives on how to be successful. I was provided with a career framework that helped set expectations for my current role as well as lay out what’s needed to advance at Homebot. More than anything, my direct teammates were wonderful about providing guidance and assistance and sharing knowledge.
“More than anything, my direct teammates were wonderful about providing guidance and assistance and sharing knowledge.”
What about your onboarding experience was different from past experiences starting in a new role? What do you think made it so effective?
The extent to which Homebot’s onboarding experience is thought out to provide a steady ramp-up over time and the breadth of the company’s people I was able to meet helped me a lot. I was able to quickly understand the company’s mission. I also gained an understanding of my alignment with the company and the people I’m lucky to get to work with through the experience.
I continue to feel supported by the ways we keep everyone on the same page, such as our All Hands Alignments, where the entire company meets quarterly to discuss successes and learnings from the quarter and to build on them for the next.
