New Employee Onboarding: An Online, Streamlined, and Successful Process
By Vivian Engen, Process Improvement & Change Management Intern
November 9, 2018
The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) welcomed a new era of online new-employee onboarding on May 21, 2018. Gone are the days of new-hire paperwork, handwritten signatures, and confusion about where to send or scan each document. The new-employee onboarding process at CDOT has gone electric, and is seeing a lot of success!
Why the change?
Before the transition in May, most new-employees were not met with a functioning computer or a state email address on their first day of work. Instead, they were handed a stack of onboarding documents to complete. Once the forms were filled out, new-hires would wait up to two weeks before the onboarding process was finalized. This caused frustration for both employees and managers, as well as lost time and resources for CDOT.
Gary Vansuch with an intern going through the onboarding process
CDOT’s Division of Human Resources (HR) saw an opportunity for improvement and jumped at the chance to build a more efficient onboarding process for CDOT employees. “We pinpointed recurring problems [such as late paperwork, broken fax machines, and lost emails] to a lack of connectivity in the regions,” explained Alaina Strauss, an HR Technician III and part of the team behind the new process. “We knew we needed the right online system with the ability to condense, track and streamline all onboarding materials throughout the state,” she continued, “We set out with a goal to prioritize efficiency and provide new employees with a positive first impression of what it’s like to work at CDOT.”
What does the new employee onboarding process look like?
New employees now receive all onboarding paperwork electronically, eight days prior to their first official day at CDOT. Once they submit the completed onboarding materials to HR, the employee’s information is entered into SAP (the digital employee self-service portal), contacted by the benefits coordinator and registered with the timekeeper to set up payroll. “Before, this process could take up to two weeks,” explained Beverly Wyatt, Human Resources Manager and the new onboarding process project lead. “The fact that most of the onboarding now takes place before the new hire even comes into the building on their first day is a huge improvement that not only saves valuable CDOT resources but also enhances the employee experience.” Beverly also mentioned that if interested, new employees have an abundance of information about their new position and the onboarding process at their fingertips if they are eager for additional information.
“My onboarding process was quick and easy,” said Jaqueline Barraza, one of the first employees to use the new system. “I really appreciated being able to fill everything out on my own time on my personal computer.” Due to the new process, she was able to “show up and be productive” on day one.
Managers have also responded well to the improvements. “Everything was easy and straightforward,” said Jessica Myklebust, an Environmental Manager, when asked about shepherding a new hire through this system. “I was a little bit unsure about what to do, but I called HR and we set up some time to go over everything together,” she said. “My new employee was in the system and ready to go 30 to 40 minutes into her first day,” she continued, “We also didn’t print out a single piece of paper to complete the onboarding process, which is a huge improvement.”
Engaging New Employees
The new onboarding process also emphasizes employee engagement from day one. “We heard about some new hires who didn’t meet their supervisors until two weeks into the job,” explained Melanie Vigil, an HR specialist at CDOT Headquarters. “This is something we came in knowing we wanted to fix because the first impression greeting is really important,” she said. “If you get to a new job and don’t meet your supervisor for two weeks, chances are you won’t feel valued or very inclined to invest back into the team with hard work.” Now, new employees sit down with their supervisors on their first day to talk about policy and procedures, as well as a timeline for what to expect over the next thirty days.
According to Jaqueline Baazara, the program seems to be doing just that. “I got a feel for who my supervisor is and what the expectations for the job were based off that initial contact in the onboarding process,” she said. “Right from the beginning I felt like part of the team and that I knew what I was getting into.”
Additional questions about new employee onboarding? Contact melanie.vigil@state.co.us