Exceptional employee outcomes require exceptional onboarding
The importance of Onboarding
During the Christmas holidays, I expect many of us will be attending some in-person parties with guests we do not know very well e.g. friends of friends or a distant relative we have not met before. You can probably relate to the more enjoyable pre-pandemic gatherings where you not only received an invite but were made to feel welcomed, valued and included in the fun. Usually, it was the host who took the time to introduce you to people you didn’t know or seated you next to others who shared common interests at the dinner table.
Similarly, a good onboarding experience for new employees really helps them in their journey to be “high performers and for them to feel a sense of belonging and learn what defines success”. This journey starts before onboarding with the hiring process and the invitation to join CBC. Like many companies, CBC had to adapt to the new reality of working remotely at home due to the pandemic. Our interview process has transitioned to using the phone and Google Meet video calls. Although video calls can make it harder to communicate body language and have other challenges, they have made it more accessible for candidates with different needs who no longer need to come to our office. This also applies to remote candidates who live outside of the Greater Toronto Area.
How we do Onboarding
Successful candidates who accept a job offer to work at CBC are sent a welcome email by their hiring manager with details on what to expect on their first day and how to access work email accounts and other systems. A courier is then used to deliver equipment to new employees at their homes so that they have their laptop, monitor, mouse and keyboard before their first day of work.
To help new employees in our department keep track of what to do and when, we followed the example of other companies and used a Trello board checklist. CBC also has an intranet with a corporate welcome toolkit for managers and employees. The toolkit has links to information about company wide policies, employee discounts, training courses and other useful resources.
Previously, onboarding was done in person by the hiring manager and the new employee’s product or functional team. There was also a half day Digital Strategy & Product (DS&P) department orientation event and office tour every two to three months. This included a presentation from our head of our department about our strategy and mission. The Directors and Senior Managers also talked about how our teams work together while our partners on the Engagement & Inclusion and HR teams shared how they support our department to make our hiring more diverse and increase belonging, inclusion and psychological safety in our workplace.
Now online, every new employee is still assigned a Compass Buddy mentor to help them get to know people on their team and in the department. This is usually someone on the same team so that training on the team’s products and/or processes can be provided virtually. Most of our Agile teams will have a welcome lunch with new employees too over a Google Meet video call. Some people have even wanted to get to know others more in teams across the department on a one on one basis so they have used the Donut app that integrates with our Slack workspace to set up virtual coffee meetups.
The previous in-person half day department orientation event was condensed to a 1.5 hour Google Meet video call (held every quarter) to avoid Zoom fatigue. Hopefully in the future, when Covid masking and capacity restrictions are lifted in our Toronto office, we can resume in person tours. This includes a behind the scenes look at our TV and Radio studios as well as newsroom and broadcast control rooms.
As new employees become more familiar with the work they need to do, their manager will have ongoing Performance Dialogue meetings with them (usually once a month). This involves a strengths based approach to identifying skills to develop with an action plan that has annual objectives as well as longer term development goals for learning and growth.
Department meetings and socials
Every month our DS&P department holds an AMA (Ask Me Anything) meeting where people can ask the Directors of our department Leadership team anything they want to know about. At the start of the meeting, new employees are welcomed who joined since the last AMA meeting. We then use Slido to answer any anonymous questions that have been submitted before the AMA or during the meeting. Candid questions have been asked about our Departmental Guidelines for Hybrid Work, product planning process, career progression opportunities and when our next Staff Appreciation Day will be.
The Staff Appreciation Days have helped provide a touch point for people in our DS&P department to recognize and give kudos to each other on Miro or Mural online whiteboards (especially after a big event like Olympics or the fiscal year end). We also have some fun playing games like Mario Kart on Nintendo Switch, Pictionary on skribbl or just hanging out in a Google Meet chat room or on our Gather Town space (where we have an interactive virtual version of our office space).
Another touch point is the Integrated Demo that is held every 3 weeks. Teams and individuals have the opportunity to present projects they’re working on to the department. This has included 20% work.
Looking forward to the future
The latest development with our onboarding is that a limited number of people are now being allowed to work in our Toronto office (if they prefer to work in the office some or all of the time instead of at home). Some people have chosen this option because they already live close to the office and their home environment may not be as optimal to work without distractions. Or they just want a change in scenery after being at home for so long! However, some people that joined CBC during the pandemic have never been to the office before. Fortunately, some of the people returning to the office used to work there pre-pandemic so they have offered to give tours of the office to those that want one. If the pandemic situation improves then more people will be allowed to work in the office (as long as they follow safety protocols on socially distancing and masking). It will be interesting to see how the social connections grow for the people that have chosen to come back to the office now.
An exciting initiative that is also about to start is our new Women In Tech Employee Resource Group (WIT ERG) Mentorship Program. The purpose of the program is to increase confidence, community and visibility for women in technology at CBC/Radio-Canada by sharing perspectives on work, and supporting personal growth as they explore career development. Each matched pair will meet at least once a month for 6 months of mentoring. Two training workshops will also be delivered on Allyship in Action: Bystander Training and Emotional Wellness for Women.
You can now see that onboarding involves more than just helping a new employee feel at home during their first few weeks at CBC and extends to them being able to contribute their best in their work, on their teams and in their ongoing career development.
To join our teams at CBC, check out our current openings here.
