How RXBAR and Zipwhip are using Greenhouse onboarding to elevate their new hire experiences

3 mins, 10 secs read time

What’s the secret recipe for an employee’s success? According to research, it’s great onboarding – with a refined process, fresh swag and flavorful activities that are heavy on the inclusion. The secret ingredient to make it even better? Greenhouse Onboarding (GHO).

We recently dove deep into the important steps of the onboarding process with this Ultimate Onboarding Checklist. Now, we’re giving you a real-life look at Greenhouse Onboarding in action. We caught up with Talent leaders who’ve mastered the onboarding process, Grace Leeker, People Manager at RXBAR, and Allison Milligan, People Ops Coordinator at Zipwhip. Read on to learn their best tips and tricks for new hire success and retention.

What onboarding techniques are you using to effectively onboard new hires?

Grace: We use Greenhouse Onboarding to be sure that no one gets forgotten. The feature that sends specific emails depending on the type of hire is incredibly helpful. We also love using the e-signature templates. We have the new hires sign everything they need on their own time instead of taking time to do it on the first day.

Allison: Zipwhip relies heavily on Greenhouse Onboarding to set the stage with new hires, and to maintain communication and engagement in the days leading up to their start date. Other techniques include having hiring managers check-in with their new hires weekly prior to their start date and using Zipwhip to do so. We welcome the hire on their first day in a classroom setting with IT to get them up and running before their manager and team take over. Zipwhip has shifted to lean in heavily with managers and ensure that they are supported as they onboard their new team member. The tasks in GHO definitely have a supporting role in this to make sure everyone is held accountable and kept on track.

Why do you feel it's important to have a strong onboarding strategy?

Grace: It is the first interaction the new hire has as part of the team, and we think it is so important that they feel a sense of belonging even before they are inside the doors. We call those interactions "pre-boarding" and then, once they get here, it is onboarding. All of our new hires go through two weeks on the customer service team, which allows them to learn about the product and interact with customers directly. This has an impact on how comfortable the new hire feels in their role after they graduate from customer service.

Allison: A strong onboarding strategy is imperative. It is crucial to set new hires up for success leading up to and on day one. I believe that a strong onboarding process can truly make or break a new hire’s experience and overall first impression. Strong onboarding also sets the manager and team up for success so they can best support the new hire. GHO has really allowed us to engage employees early in the process.

How are you measuring the success of your onboarding initiatives?

Grace: We have individual check-ins with all the new hires to see how they are doing, what they liked and what they would have changed. By keeping things informal, we are able to iterate the process quickly.

Allison: We always facilitate regular touch bases with managers and new hires for real-time updates. Additionally, the new hire survey that GHO sends out is incredibly valuable to us. It allows us to consistently get important and honest feedback.

If you’re ready to build an exceptional new hire experience that begins the moment an offer is accepted, request a demo for Greenhouse Onboarding today.