Onboarding: New approach in introduction days creates solidarity

Onboarding Interview Merel

ONBOARDING

New approach in introduction days

creates solidarity

You never get a second chance to make a first impression. That’s why ICT Group wants to introduce new employees to the company in a pleasant way. The goal: to enable people to experience that they are more than welcome and that they are part of a greater whole. Within a period of three days, they meet new colleagues, discover the broad scope of ICT Group and get to visit a client.

Due to the circumstances of the last two years, the programme for new employees had to be restricted to a digital introduction. This worked well, even despite all the limitations. However, we could not wait until we were able to organise physical meetings again. In the meantime we have worked hard on a new format with even more attention for our new colleagues.

Diverse team Jolijn van de Laar and Huub van der Linden succesfully run this project together wtih management trainee Karmen Mosselaar and form a diverse team that is an excellent reflection of the group of people passing through the introduction programme. Jolijn explains: “Most of our new colleagues have a technical

background, but there are also people who will be working in consultancy, sales or project management. This is a group that consists of young people for whom this is their first or second job, but the group also includes experienced professionals. In addition, there are always some people in the group who come from abroad and still want to learn a lot about Dutch culture. We are certainly taking this into account by sharing fun facts about the Netherlands.

Purpose of the programme The main goal of the programme is that new employees feel at home, right from day one. We want them to feel safe so that they ask and learn things. And they need to realise they are part of a greater whole. “We believe it is helpful if employees get to know many colleagues from other business units right from the start. Whether they encounter a question in their project for which they can use expertise from another business unit, or perhaps they might want to do a different type of work one day, it is important that they know where to find each other. And, of course, this also invites them to get together after the introduction to do something fun.”

Company, customer and culture The introduction days are by no means an isolated event. Instead, they are the start of a six-month onboarding programme. Day 1 is all about getting to know ICT Group as a company. What do we do and what do we stand for? But the first day also pays attention to practical matters: how do I declare travel expenses, who do I contact for information and who can I turn to if I have a problem? Afterwards, the participants are given a book to take home with them in which everything can be read again. The morning of the second day starts with a visit to a customer. “It feels a bit like a school trip: the whole group travels together in the bus,” says Jolijn. “The customer visit is quite substantial. We select clients who are good at demonstrating what ICT Group excels in.” The afternoon programme is light-hearted: a lunch, a fun activity and to conclude the day, a drink in the pub.”

“The last day,” Karmen adds, “is all about culture: the entire group gets together for a brunch for which all participants bring something to eat from their own culture and background. “Where one person gets Bossche bollen from the bakery, another spends half a day in the kitchen preparing a traditional meal according to his or her grandmother’s recipe. This immediately starts the conversation about where everyone comes from and how they grew up.”

Powerful programme We are proud of the fact that we have received high marks from participants since the start of this onboarding programme. The key points of the feedback clearly demonstrate the power of the programme: people develop a bond, feel part of a group, and continue to visit each other regularly afterwards. In this way, we establish connections between ICT Group’s various companies and create solidarity. And that, after all, is what it’s all about.

NIEUWE OPZET INTRODUCTIEDAGEN CREËERT SAAMHORIGHEID

Het introductieprogramma, dat de kick-off vormt voor een halfjaar durend onboardingprogramma, is vernieuwd. Het doel: nieuwe medewerkers laten voelen en ervaren dat ze deel uitmaken van een groter geheel. Vanuit de overtuiging dat ze daardoor later in hun werk sneller de expertise van een ander bedrijfsonderdeel zullen inschakelen. En dat, mochten ze ooit op zoek willen naar een nieuwe werkuitdaging, ze die binnen ICT Group zullen vinden. Nieuwe medewerkers komen drie dagen lang fysiek bij elkaar en doen samen verschillende dingen om het bedrijf beter te leren kennen. De eerste dag staat in het teken van kennis opdoen over ICT Group: welke business units en dochterbedrijven hebben we? In welke markten zijn we actief? Dag twee draait om een klantbezoek, waar een leuke activiteit aan is gekoppeld. En de derde dag staat in het teken van cultuur.