Creating a new joiner out-of-box experience

THE CHALLENGE
Standing up a new shared services center is a challenging task, especially given the typically high turnover of associates between offer and start date in these environments. We asked: how might we create a memorable experience that reinforces associate’s decision to join and stay with the organization during a rapid intake of 5,000 new team members?

THE SOLUTION
Leveraging research conducted to understand the past onboarding experience of new team members, we designed an out-of-the-box experience prototype featuring a welcome letter, user-friendly FAQs, a fitness wearable technology, an assortment of products produced by the organization. With the prototype in hand, we tested it with recent joiners, refined it, and shipped it to incoming new joiners ahead of their first day. 

THE VALUE
The out-of-the-box experience prototype was well-received and drove a 25% increase in new joiner engagement, 60% increase in new joiner retention, and 18% increase in new joiner productivity. When considering the average annual salary of recipients, along with the cost of turnover, the increase in engagement, and the speed to productivity, the return on a mere $200,000 ($200 per gift x 1000 new joiners) investment exceeded 300%.  That’s meaningful impact!