Employee Experience: Staff Onboarding Guide
The employee experience was explored through a human-centred design (HCD) process to ultimately design an onboarding guide for new UX employees.
Employee Experience: Staff Onboarding Guide
The employee experience was explored through a human-centred design (HCD) process to ultimately design an onboarding guide for new UX employees.
Employee Experience: Staff Onboarding Guide
The employee experience was explored through a human-centred design (HCD) process to ultimately design an onboarding guide for new UX employees.
Background
An energy provider was rapidly expanding their UX team from six people to over 40. To support this period of growth, there was a need for an onboarding guide to assist these new hires. The purpose of the guide was to get new employees started with the basics, before building familiarity with the organisational landscape while also feeling empowered to hit the ground running in their new role.
Background
An energy provider was rapidly expanding their UX team from six people to over 40. To support this period of growth, there was a need for an onboarding guide to assist these new hires. The purpose of the guide was to get new employees started with the basics, before building familiarity with the organisational landscape while also feeling empowered to hit the ground running in their new role.
Background
An energy provider was rapidly expanding their UX team from six people to over 40. To support this period of growth, there was a need for an onboarding guide to assist these new hires. The purpose of the guide was to get new employees started with the basics, before building familiarity with the organisational landscape while also feeling empowered to hit the ground running in their new role.
What we did
Research was crucial to understanding the needs of new UX team members and creating an onboarding guide that contained relevant information.
What we did
Research was crucial to understanding the needs of new UX team members and creating an onboarding guide that contained relevant information.
What we did
Research was crucial to understanding the needs of new UX team members and creating an onboarding guide that contained relevant information.
Team workshop
A workshop was held to align the team around the purpose and objective of the onboarding guide. It was also used as an opportunity to gather their input into the content, structure and tone of the guide. As custodians of the guide after completion, it was vital to foster a sense of ownership.
Team workshop
A workshop was held to align the team around the purpose and objective of the onboarding guide. It was also used as an opportunity to gather their input into the content, structure and tone of the guide. As custodians of the guide after completion, it was vital to foster a sense of ownership.
Team workshop
A workshop was held to align the team around the purpose and objective of the onboarding guide. It was also used as an opportunity to gather their input into the content, structure and tone of the guide. As custodians of the guide after completion, it was vital to foster a sense of ownership.
Staff interviews
Interviews were used to understand the new employee experience, find out what kinds of information would be helpful in an onboarding guide and identify any gaps or pain points with the existing onboarding experience.
In-person interviews were held with both recently hired UX team members as well as longer serving team members. Just one or two people at a time were interviewed, in order to allow team members to share thoughts freely. In addition, stakeholders in the broader department who were connected to the team were also interviewed. This allowed us to understand not only the perspective of new team members, but also ensured that information was gathered from relevant stakeholders. Researchers from Nomat were also able to gather information by participating in the new employee induction process as a new contractor.
At the heart of the project was answering the question “What do I need to know to start working in this team?”
Analysis and synthesis
The interview findings were synthesised using affinity mapping to uncover themes.
A key theme identified through the interviews was that the needs of new employees tended to follow a similar progression over the first few months. This process revealed that there was some information that was crucial to getting started in the first week, with information needs evolving over the following months. Another theme that emerged was that there were a range of different information sources and processes related to the centralised HR function of the organisation which initially took some time to navigate. These insights informed the structure of the guide, ensuring information was prioritised in an order relevant to new employees.
Staff interviews
Interviews were used to understand the new employee experience, find out what kinds of information would be helpful in an onboarding guide and identify any gaps or pain points with the existing onboarding experience.
In-person interviews were held with both recently hired UX team members as well as longer serving team members. Just one or two people at a time were interviewed, in order to allow team members to share thoughts freely. In addition, stakeholders in the broader department who were connected to the team were also interviewed. This allowed us to understand not only the perspective of new team members, but also ensured that information was gathered from relevant stakeholders. Researchers from Nomat were also able to gather information by participating in the new employee induction process as a new contractor.
At the heart of the project was answering the question “What do I need to know to start working in this team?”
Analysis and synthesis
The interview findings were synthesised using affinity mapping to uncover themes.
A key theme identified through the interviews was that the needs of new employees tended to follow a similar progression over the first few months. This process revealed that there was some information that was crucial to getting started in the first week, with information needs evolving over the following months. Another theme that emerged was that there were a range of different information sources and processes related to the centralised HR function of the organisation which initially took some time to navigate. These insights informed the structure of the guide, ensuring information was prioritised in an order relevant to new employees.
Staff interviews
Interviews were used to understand the new employee experience, find out what kinds of information would be helpful in an onboarding guide and identify any gaps or pain points with the existing onboarding experience.
In-person interviews were held with both recently hired UX team members as well as longer serving team members. Just one or two people at a time were interviewed, in order to allow team members to share thoughts freely. In addition, stakeholders in the broader department who were connected to the team were also interviewed. This allowed us to understand not only the perspective of new team members, but also ensured that information was gathered from relevant stakeholders. Researchers from Nomat were also able to gather information by participating in the new employee induction process as a new contractor.
At the heart of the project was answering the question “What do I need to know to start working in this team?”
Analysis and synthesis
The interview findings were synthesised using affinity mapping to uncover themes.
A key theme identified through the interviews was that the needs of new employees tended to follow a similar progression over the first few months. This process revealed that there was some information that was crucial to getting started in the first week, with information needs evolving over the following months. Another theme that emerged was that there were a range of different information sources and processes related to the centralised HR function of the organisation which initially took some time to navigate. These insights informed the structure of the guide, ensuring information was prioritised in an order relevant to new employees.
Iterative design process
Multiple design iterations ensured that all the information was brought together in a structure that was intuitive and digestible.
After collating the information that would be relevant to new hires, the draft structure and direction was shared with the team in a workshop to gather feedback. Once the direction, structure and contents were agreed on by the team, Nomat commenced copywriting and consolidating information, while also utilising the client’s existing brand guidelines to design the MVP of the onboarding guide. Some key design challenges included striking a balance between being clear and succinct while also being appropriately comprehensive. Setting expectations around what was and wasn’t included in the team onboarding guide was crucial so staff would be clear about when to seek information from the centralised human resources department. The overlap with the standard employee induction as well as other existing generic company resources needed to be considered throughout.
Iterative design process
Multiple design iterations ensured that all the information was brought together in a structure that was intuitive and digestible.
After collating the information that would be relevant to new hires, the draft structure and direction was shared with the team in a workshop to gather feedback. Once the direction, structure and contents were agreed on by the team, Nomat commenced copywriting and consolidating information, while also utilising the client’s existing brand guidelines to design the MVP of the onboarding guide. Some key design challenges included striking a balance between being clear and succinct while also being appropriately comprehensive. Setting expectations around what was and wasn’t included in the team onboarding guide was crucial so staff would be clear about when to seek information from the centralised human resources department. The overlap with the standard employee induction as well as other existing generic company resources needed to be considered throughout.
Iterative design process
Multiple design iterations ensured that all the information was brought together in a structure that was intuitive and digestible.
After collating the information that would be relevant to new hires, the draft structure and direction was shared with the team in a workshop to gather feedback. Once the direction, structure and contents were agreed on by the team, Nomat commenced copywriting and consolidating information, while also utilising the client’s existing brand guidelines to design the MVP of the onboarding guide. Some key design challenges included striking a balance between being clear and succinct while also being appropriately comprehensive. Setting expectations around what was and wasn’t included in the team onboarding guide was crucial so staff would be clear about when to seek information from the centralised human resources department. The overlap with the standard employee induction as well as other existing generic company resources needed to be considered throughout.
Outcome
The onboarding guide was created to answer key questions upfront with progressive disclosure of more complex and detailed information. The copywriting utilised an engaging tone of voice, which helped convey the personality of the team. The copy itself was short and digestible, allowing further resources to be connected. A supporting checklist tool for managers was also created in tandem with the onboarding guide, to help the existing team to on-board new staff efficiently and effectively. The MVP of the onboarding guide was provided to new hires and their feedback was gathered to understand the effectiveness of the information and identify any areas that required further iteration.
“Comprehensive overview on all the things you need to know right away”
New starter (UX Designer)
Outcome
The onboarding guide was created to answer key questions upfront with progressive disclosure of more complex and detailed information. The copywriting utilised an engaging tone of voice, which helped convey the personality of the team. The copy itself was short and digestible, allowing further resources to be connected. A supporting checklist tool for managers was also created in tandem with the onboarding guide, to help the existing team to on-board new staff efficiently and effectively. The MVP of the onboarding guide was provided to new hires and their feedback was gathered to understand the effectiveness of the information and identify any areas that required further iteration.
“Comprehensive overview on all the things you need to know right away”
New starter (UX Designer)
Outcome
The onboarding guide was created to answer key questions upfront with progressive disclosure of more complex and detailed information. The copywriting utilised an engaging tone of voice, which helped convey the personality of the team. The copy itself was short and digestible, allowing further resources to be connected. A supporting checklist tool for managers was also created in tandem with the onboarding guide, to help the existing team to on-board new staff efficiently and effectively. The MVP of the onboarding guide was provided to new hires and their feedback was gathered to understand the effectiveness of the information and identify any areas that required further iteration.
“Comprehensive overview on all the things you need to know right away”
New starter (UX Designer)
Interested to know more? Let’s Talk.
Interested to know more?
Let’s Talk.
Interested to know more? Let’s Talk.