Welcome on board - the new imc onboarding journey
How imc is leveraging new work to create a new culture for welcoming new team members
No more boring onboarding processes! The pandemic has left its mark, and we embarked on a holistic new work approach. Now, it’s time to rethink our onboarding journey as well.
As a digital learning provider committed to creating digital learning experiences, this was a challenge: We had to set a high standard. While we already proved ourselves in many (onboarding) projects,we now had to design and implement a successful process at imc.
Challenge accepted. Hybrid, global and unique – these characteristics were a must for the onboarding journey we wanted to create while integrating gamification elements and, of course, our Learning Suite.
Well, and it should be fun. Quite the wish list.
At the same time, we wanted to move away from pathetic handbooks, boring guidelines, and isolated solutions for individual locations. Having an onboarding journey that inspires and motivates while turning our brand and our brand values into an experience to complement our global processes was important to us.
In our latest move! article, we took a look behind the scenes of the new onboarding programme and present several exclusive highlights.
A different take on onboarding
We all know that exhilarating joy we feel when signing a new employment contract. The days leading up to that first day of work are usually marked by anticipation and excitement.
We were determined to hold onto these positive vibes. Using a hybrid approach was also a key factor. “While the imc team loves digitisation, we strongly believe in human communication. Thus, the journey should not be exclusively digital,” says Kerstin Steffen, Director Brand Strategy at imc.
Claire Raistrick, HR Manager and member of the Onboarding Project Team even goes a step further and sums up the grand objectives: “At imc, we believe that onboarding is an art. Each new employee contributes their uniqueness, as well as huge potential for performance and success. At imc, we create an environment that allows employees to reach their potential. Loosing the energy of a productive employee is a lost opportunity. Loosing a new employee through poor onboarding is criminal.”
Seizing the new opportunity: Welcome to imc!
What exactly can our new recruits expect? “Today, this super-sweet – and personal – welcome message from my team arrived in the post. What a fantastic gesture! Thank you!” Vanessa Steinmann had left this comment on LinkedIn. It is but one of many examples.
At imc, we are confident that welcoming new team members already starts with pre-boarding. That is why we post out a personal greeting and invite our new recruits to our brand-new pre-boarding cockpit. A win-win situation: The new recruit can get a feel for our Learning Suite and start exploring everything they need for a successful start – from welcome videos to our cultural playbook. In addition, our BizQuiz is great fun while playfully offering valuable introductory information on all aspects of imc. Of course, Onboarding Buddy Smarty is always on hand to support the onboarding mission.
Time for surprises
We came up with a number of specials to ensure that everything goes smooth in the first few days and weeks. The custom-created Welcome Boxes unleashed waves of enthusiasm, delighting both our existing and new team members. Jan Stauder, IT Engineer at imc, claims that everyone loved the fruit-jelly foxes resembling the “smart fox”, a popular German cartoon character. When Claudia Michels started her new role as Corporate Designer, she was over the moon to receive the imc coffee mug and clover seeds with the message stating, “We grow together.”
Our new brand training is yet another highlight in our onboarding programme. We already created this for several customers. Now, it has become a key component for our own journey. The objective: Going beyond understanding the corporate brand and diving into a full experience. In this gamified course, our mascot Smarty takes the new colleague by the hand to discover imc brand identity together.
Entertainment and networking: Our Welcome Days
How do you beat this? We went another step further with our hybrid Welcome Days. Our Welcome Days are THE networking events for all new imc team members. For two days, everyone seizes the opportunity to meet imc leadership personalities, and gain insights into the product portfolio.
“We wanted to make sure that entertainment and networking are not neglected,” says Desiree Stroh, HR Manager and Welcome Days Host. “You can participate in activities like bingo, quizzes or the virtual photo box, that provide technical content while also offering variety and fun. These onboarding moments should make new colleagues feel that they made the right choice in joining imc and giving them memories of their first steps they can look back on with a smile.” Jennifer Wilhelm, HR Manager and Welcome Days Organiser, emphasises just how important it is to get newbies on board, create memories and form connections with them that will stay with them for a long time on their journey with imc.
Orientation phase: Check!
We wanted our onboarding journey to continue beyond the first few weeks after welcoming our new imc family members. “Work in progress” is the motto under which we are still developing additional creative ideas to turn this phase into yet another experience.
Mission completed
After six months, it’s “mission completed”. A reason to celebrate. For all of us. And best of all: The journey continues. A range of events and campaigns like our brand ambassador programme or our diversity and inclusion initiative encourage employees to get involved and network, even when working in a hybrid system.
Are we proud of our new onboarding journey? Absolutely! Is it perfect? No. That’s why we are aiming for continuous improvement. Leveraging our employees’ help to shape things is one of the fundamental principles of our new work model. That is why we are inviting our team leaders and colleagues to get involved and help shape these new processes.
We must say though: After two months, the feedback we received makes it clear that it is all worth it – and that is great encouragement for us to step it up a bit more. Let us surprise you!
New work at imc: Shaping the work culture of tomorrow
In the move! interview, we show what New Work looks like at imc and how a shared working environment is designed with the best possible results for everyone.
New initiatives for (Mental) Health and Happiness at imc
Mental health is more important than ever: we show what new approaches we are adopting to promote contentment and health at imc.
Contact person
I' ve been working as a permanent member of the imc Marketing & Communication Team since 2021. The mix of creative content creation, social media and online marketing activities excites me the most about my job.
My goal is to inspire people with creative and innovative content and to make the imc brand more tangible.
My passion besides my job? Travelling a lot and discovering the world. I am always happy to receive feedback or suggestions at Doreen.Hartmann@im-c.de!
