A simple tool with a big impact

At Hello Group, we use a simple online management tool to introduce new employees to our spirit and culture as soon as they’re hired.

Helene Brinkgaard, our People and Process Lead recently talked to StepStone about our onboarding process. The article, published in Danish on StepStone.dk 29 May 2017, has hit a nerve with HR professionals around the country.

The following is a translation of the original article.

Onboarding that works: “It should be simple, fun and engaging”

At the strategic design company Hello Group, new employees encounter the company spirit and culture as soon as possible. The company recently established a set-up where new employees are welcomed into the workplace via a simple online project management tool. And it’s proving a great success.

In the past five years, Hello Group has grown from 20 employees to over 70. With this rapid expansion, it became increasingly clear that the company had to find an effective way to present its strong culture and family atmosphere to new employees.

Behind the drive to create an onboarding experience that is both cool and inspiring is Helene Brinkgaard, People and Process Lead at Hello Group.

“It’s important to capture the spirit and culture”

“We were in a situation where after a few months, new employees still didn’t know the basic things, which is a challenge that many companies experience. So, I began to look for ways to introduce new employees to the Hello that I know and love. How could we best communicate our culture and tell the crazy, fun, and interesting stories that form the basis of our way of working?” says Helene, pointing out that an effective onboarding process is crucial.

“Onboarding should be prioritised, because new employees are quickly drawn into projects. At the same time, we all know how important it is to experience the company spirit and culture when we start a new job. People come to Hello because they’ve heard that it’s a good place to work. And we have to live up to that.”

“We needed a tool that could tell new employees everything they needed to know about Hello. We use Trello, a tool for online project management, so I used an existing Trello board as inspiration. It seemed an obvious choice to use it to onboard new employees, and at the same time familiarise them with the tool,” explains Helene.

Not a new idea, but its unique

Though the idea of ​​using an online management tool for onboarding isn’t new, Hello Group’s use of the Trello board is unique to them. As it would be for any company, because the board’s content, and what is necessary for employees to know about the workplace will differ from company to company.

“The lead in charge of the new employee decides what’s on the board. It functions as a space where we can cover all the small details that we forget in passing. And when there are breaks in the intro program, the employee can use the board to immerse themselves in our culture. But it never stands alone. It’s not a replacement for talking to colleagues — but it takes the employee by the hand and tells them what they need to know, but also what’s nice to know,” explains Helene.

“The time the employee uses on the board is well spent. The employee can get to know their colleagues, how the office functions, and discover all the small details. I have the impression that it often serves as an icebreaker, because new employees suddenly also possess this tacit knowledge. What the employee learns through the board is a good starting point for working with a customer, and demonstrating the strong mentality that we appreciate at Hello.”

Occasion for self-reflection

According to Helene, the benefits are clear:

“We quickly realised that it’s something you really notice if it’s not there. But when it’s available, it’s just something that works, and it’s helpful for employees. Because there is no longer an unmet need. Our leads also feel that it takes some responsibility off their shoulders, because they don’t have to worry about leaving out the small details,” explains Helene.

“When we created the board, we were forced to reflect on our regular procedures, and on the fun stories that create the culture of the company. What is it that makes our workplace unique, compared to other companies? That’s something you can use in many other aspects of your employer branding,” notes Helene.

“At Hello, we try to make the world a more interesting place by using human-centred design principles to create innovative and relevant products and services, together with our customers.

One of the basic principles is an experimental approach to our projects. We experiment with design and learn from that experience. We build solutions based on insights and hypotheses, which we test, then we iterate.

It’s the same dynamic approach that we use for our onboarding process. The Trello board is a living product that everyone contributes to, and it improves all the time.”

A part of international recruitment

The board also contains content for Hello’s non-Danish workforce.

“The ‘You are new in Denmark’ board was suggested by a Turkish employee. He was dealing with all the practical things that you experience when you settle in Denmark. He added the cards to the board, then I added relevant guides that I found online. And that’s what’s so cool about the board — it’s co-created.”

The board can also be used for international recruitment, as it’s often the administrative part of recruitment that can seem daunting to businesses. However, if you gather the information in one place, it can be used for future recruitments, and you also make it easy for both yourself and employees to adjust to life in Denmark, and the Danish labour market.

Throw yourself into it!

According to Helene, it’s up to other companies to do what works best for them.

“It started as a fun list to help the leads remember what to say to new employees, but over time the board has become hugely enriched and has become a valuable tool. And a tool to reflect on our processes. When we adopt a new process, it’s important that we include it on the Trello board. And then the decision suddenly becomes a part of a whole — I think many companies could use this,” concludes Helene.

How to make your own Trello board

• Set up your Trello board with lists and cards covering your onboarding activities
• Repeat until you’ve covered everything, and ask your colleagues to add their ideas as well
• Make sure that the mother board has an owner, and that the board is continuously updated
• Remember to ask new hires who used the board for any additional information they would have liked to know

Let us know how it works for you, or if you’ve adapted the board in fun and different ways. We’d also love to hear what other different things you use Trello for, and how that’s working for you.