#BrittFlipp

[frontierdispatches]

My First 100 Days

Britt, one of our associate consultants, reflects on the importance of a strong onboarding experience at any size company.

I’ve worked at creative shops big and small, and the one thing that has been inconsistent from job to job is my onboarding process. It can be difficult to feel welcomed or confident as a new hire, especially one who's eager to impress a new team. I can say, honestly, that it felt a bit easier this time around as I joined The Frontier Project, which was a big relief. 

As I approach my own 100-day mark at a consultancy built upon making organizational change happen, I wanted to take a moment to reflect. In these 100 days, I have come to realize that the valuable training I’ve received and the specific resources that have been at my fingertips since before I started (as referenced below), could easily be integrated into the onboarding practices of any employer. Here’s how:

Day -15: A hand-written welcome note from our CEO, along with recommended reading, arrive in a beautifully wrapped package at my doorstep a mere two days after I formally accept the job offer. 

Day -5: An introductory email is sent to the entire Frontier team, updating them on my impending arrival and a warm pitch on why I'm the right fit for the job. LinkedIn invitations, welcome emails, and coffee dates ensue, making me feel like I’m a part of the team. (And I haven’t even started yet.)

Day 1: An employee onboarding breakfast (complete with rainbow bagels) takes place and 44 team members take an hour out of their busy schedule to get to know me. I receive my shiny new laptop from Jonathan, go on studio tour courtesy of Mila, sit down with Lauren so she can get to know me and write my bio, and settle in to listen to welcome podcasts from chairwoman, Ryann.

Night 1: I have difficulty falling asleep while wondering how this insanely intentional job fell into my lap.

Day 2: Now begins the nitty-gritty onboarding. I attend operations training with Lucy and Ned and unusually entertaining paperwork and benefits review with Kelsey. With an hour to spare, I start reading a Frontier favorite, The Power of Habit, before leaving the studio at 4 PM to join the team on a brewery bike tour for its monthly happy hour. (It was as hilarious as it sounds.)

Day 3: (Did you think this list would go all the way to Day 100? I’ll spare you.)

As the days went on, my training and onboarding became more intense and more time consuming. I was eager to get my hands dirty with client work but was told over and over again: “Be patient. Be observant. Keep learning right now.” I’m glad I listened. Between attending Frontier Academy workshops (open to all of our employees for professional development), internal skill-building sessions, and countless meetings with newfound mentors. I had a lot left to learn.

And because of that entire first month I had to scour our server, review process maps, meditate, and ask every question under the sun, I knew I was set up for success when I was hurled into my first client project. The confidence I felt was refreshing, and it was born in thanks to the time I was given to prepare, to the foundation created by our company to make sure new employees feel validated, heard, and invested in.

This small window of time where an organization can foster a relationship with their newest employee is crucial to increasing their loyalty to one another, and in turn, maintaining workforce retention and engagement. But for some reason, companies continue to forget just how important it is and employees continue to search for greener pastures.

Could the expense and effort that goes into an onboarding process as intensive as ours possibly be worth it to another company, no matter their size? Time and time again I would answer: absolutely yes.

Not only have I been groomed into a more self-sufficient, capable employee (in record time) – but a dedicated one as well. And The Frontier Project has been at the helm of helping new employees at other companies feel the same way. Take the custom onboarding app that our Press team is building, for example:

For a Fortune 100 company who prides themselves in their history but noticed a continual loss (and attraction) of millennial employees, our Press team took a storytelling-based approach through the creation of an interactive app, pictured above. This pocket navigator allows them to seamlessly embark on their journey, acclimate themselves, and explore all that their company has to offer them (their peers included) in a format that is convenient and enticing.

Feel like your company’s onboarding practice could use a refresh? If you’re ready to start a conversation, here’s what you need to know now:

> Your Guide // Britt, Associate Consultant > Contact // britt@thefrontierproject.com