TMUniversity: The New Experience

Last week, we talked to the Learning & Development team about the previous onboarding process and why they thought it could be better. This week, hear more from Ahna, Em, and Jacob about what they hope new team members take away, how they’re building community in a remote-first world, and their favorite parts of the onboarding experience!

What are the top three things you hope new Thirty Madison team members come away knowing?

Em: Although we are able to share a lot of information during their first week, there are definitely a couple of things we want to ensure all of our new hires know walking out of TMU.

1. An understanding of the Thirty Madison mission, vision, and values and how we apply them into our work day.
2. Company culture and norms. We don’t want any new hires to feel excluded because of an acronym they don’t recognize or a monthly meeting they didn’t know about. Our goal is for them to leave TMUniversity being informed on all Thirty Madison norms.
3. Confidence in their ability to make an impact at Thirty Madison. We encourage our new hires to share recommendations, ideas, and feedback as soon as they are ready to do so. We know coming into a new company can be intimidating at times, but Thirty Madison is ready to cheer them on!

Jacob:

1. Walk away knowing how each one of our five values shows up at Thirty Madison, and what role they play in driving our mission through these values.
2. Actively and comfortably participate in fostering a culture of psychological safety through open communication, feedback, and recognition.
3. Confidently feel like they have made the best decision for their career by joining Thirty Madison.

Ahna:

1. Cohort connection with each other, facilitators, and guest speakers.
2. Clarity about our vision, values, and future.
3. A feeling of investment in the company before they even jump into their role.

How are you balancing remote onboarding with building a true cohort of new team members?

Em: Onboarding in a remote world definitely has its challenges. However, we have designed TMUniversity to provide flexibility in our cohort’s schedule when needed. No two cohorts will be identical and that’s what keeps it exciting! We’ve added in self-guided learning time (off Zoom), breakout rooms, cohort discussions, activities, and breaks throughout the experience to keep everyone engaged and excited to learn.

Jacob: We have an emphasis on vulnerability and open communication to foster cohort connectedness. We also have intentional self-guided time, mixed with engaging facilitated content and discussions. We’ve built in lunchtime and off-camera breaks to combat Zoom fatigue. We also help familiarize new team members with best practices for working remotely.

Ahna: Transforming a group of individuals into a connected and bonded cohort by the end of the onboarding experience is exactly what the L&D team lives to accomplish with every cohort! We achieve this a few different ways:

• lnvest in people as new hires before they jump into the day-to-day of their roles.
• Engage in activities designed to build confidence and self-sufficiency.
• Replicate a hybrid environment, even in a Zoom-oriented world.

What is your favorite part of the new onboarding process?

Em: Oh that’s an easy one! I love getting to spend so much time with the new hires. Being able to help our new team members feel comfortable, excited, and prepared for their new role is incredibly rewarding.

Jacob: My favorite part of the new onboarding process is the intentional time I get to spend with all of the new employees at Thirty Madison. Everybody remembers their first week at a new company, and it makes me so excited knowing that I have the opportunity to make it impactful, engaging, and most importantly FUN! Since the big corporate shift to a hybrid/remote workforce, it’s so easy for employees to feel disconnected from the other people that work at their company, especially those who are outside of their immediate team or department. So I love the fact that our new onboarding process takes a human-first approach to onboarding; the same approach we take to healthcare at Thirty Madison.

Ahna: New hires feels invested in from the moment they start their first day at Thirty Madison, set up for success by the end of their multi-day experience, and inspired to embark on their Thirty Madison career journey!