Tips for improving your ‘pre day 1’ onboarding experience

What happens between a candidate accepting a job offer and their first day? In lots of companies, this is often just ‘waiting room time’… the business doesn’t really make much of an effort to engage and the new starter is left just counting down the days until their start date.

But at Youda we think pre day 1 onboarding experiences can be really impactful and it’s an area of the employee experience where automations and tech can make a big difference.

So here are a few ideas on how you could use Youda to improve your pre day 1 experience…

‍

1. Treat it like an email marketing campaign

‍

Starting a new job is a big moment in someone’s career and if you want to create a great first impression you should make it feel like a special occasion. You don’t want your new employee getting buyer’s remorse.

So think about setting up a series of automated messages just like you would for an email marketing campaign. What do you want your new starter to think and feel about your company before they turn up on day 1?

Is there an opportunity to share more about your brand, culture and story and to make your new starter feel good about the choice they’ve made. I’m sure they’ll have already seen some of this information going through your recruitment process, but when you’re a recruitment candidate you're usually preoccupied with making a good impression, rather than taking in new information. So think about sharing a series of short videos from your founders, leaders, employees and customers so your new starter can really feel like they ‘get’ you and your values.

Even a little ‘look forward to seeing you tomorrow’ message the day before they start makes a big difference.

And finally, give them an excuse to celebrate. It doesn’t have to be something huge. It could be a voucher. A pin badge. A sticker. A “post to my socials” button on the congratulations message you’ve sent them. Just something that gives them an excuse to share their good news with other people.

‍

2. Get the basics right

‍

Again this is another area where automations can really help. Make sure the digital contract is sent and signed. Make sure the Right to Work check has been completed and the manager is notified to do an imposture check on day one. And if you have a uniform, make sure you’ve given the new starter the chance to tell you what size they want and that you’ve ordered it so it’s ready and waiting on day 1.

It’s also worth sending a set of FAQs or even better giving your new starters access to a chatbot that can answer their questions. Every new starter will have practical questions about what to expect on their first day, things like uniform and holiday policies, when they’ll get their first paycheck, etc. And most new starters will feel a bit awkward bothering other people with these concerns. Particularly if it’s someone they haven’t met in person yet. Chatbots can manage this stuff really well, allowing people to get answers to their questions when they need it and not giving them the impression that they’re being a nuisance.

‍

3. Introduce them to the team

‍

There’s nothing worse than turning up on your first day and no one’s expecting you. So ahead of day 1, ask your new starter to share a bit about themselves and get a profile photo. 

Then, if you're using Youda, we can use the LLM to create a quick summary introduction and automatically post this message to your comms platform with a “Lucy’s starting with us tomorrow, she’s interested in darts, crochet and Columbian folk music”. That way people know to expect Lucy. They know what she looks like. And they have a few conversation starters.

‍

If you’d like to find out more about how Youda can help improve your employee experience with automations, book a chat with me now.