Onboard Week day 4 – Culture is our key to success
Day 4 was a party. WOHOO!
Jan Arnoud delivered a story about the onboarding at Rabobank (that we helped to create with Yes! We Connect 😉). The global onboarding sessions at Rabobank are build on two pilars: 1. personal connections and 2. Connecting the new joiners to the cooperative culture of the bank.
And then there was the refreshing talk of HelloFresh. Hedwig Schaap and Ard-Jan Schinkelshoek made us crave for all that delicious food in the pictures. They showed us a lot of ways to transfer a company culture to your people. From both organizations we got an insight in multiple initiatives related to diversity and inclusion.
In the preparations to Onboard Week I had big expectations of day 4 and I was not disappointed.
Below my 14 learning from day 4 for you.
Learning 1 Strong culture, translated into good behaviour, equals success
Both Rabobank and HelloFresh point out that a strong culture is an important factor in being successful as a company. The issues that companies face are complex and can only be solved with a diverse group of people.
A strong culture is a guidance for people and makes them do the right things. This leads to a better collaboration internally and a strong brand externally. Et voila, your recipe for success (there was a lot of food involved today).
Learning 2 Culture needs cultivation
Jan Arnoud states that in principle the Rabobank cooperative culture has not changed fundamentally over 100 years. Though it has adapted slightly over time and with the expansion to other regions of the world, but the foundations laid by the founding father are still visible.
Ard-Jan and Hedwig have a shorter history to reflect on, but they also see that in a fast growing company it is very important to nurture your culture well. At HelloFresh the DNA of the organization can be recited by and is lived by every employee
Learning 3 Being able to be yourself is a productivity booster
Ard-Jan stated that not being included in the culture makes people unable to contribute fully and in the end they will leave you. And also Jan Arnoud touched on this point. When people cannot be themselves at work, they will use a lot of energy on being something that they are not. In doing so, they will not spend that energy on their work. So it is in the interest of organizations to make people feel at home at be themselves at work.
Learning 4 Strong culture exist when personal and company values match
If the people that work in the organization are able to connect their personal values and purpose with the values and purpose of that organization, then you know your culture is robust. Jan Arnoud explained that this is one of the main shifts he noticed in his extensive career at Rabobank. The others being the focus to experience and building employee journeys. The third being the use of data in the workplace.
Learning 5 What can you do to transfer a culture to new hires
There are a number of things you can do and without even trying to be complete, here are some examples:
Try to recruit people that fit the culture (also by talking with them about this topic).
Welcome people as you would like to be welcomed yourself.
Get to know each other (that was also in yesterday’s topic).
Talk about your culture.
Have your new joiners discuss the culture with each other and colleagues in the organization.
Explain to people what behaviours go with the culture (and what not).
Give the good example (at HelloFresh there is always food and a lot of gatherings involve food, food preparation, cooking, kitchen sessions…)
Train people on the behaviours and give each other feedback on the behaviours (also continues in the employee journey after the onboarding phase)
Buddy system. Make sure you have the right people for this and train them for their role.
Share food! (Just a general tip for a good life, do it even if it has no effect whatsoever on your company culture.)
Learning 6 Have a buddy system in place in preboarding
That’s new. Jan Arnoud explained that at Rabobank he is testing a buddy system for the phase before the first working day. So you get a colleague appointed to you for questions before you start. Nice touch for finding your way around and asking some questions in advance. And of course this make the experience very personal as well.
Learning 7 Tell the honest story
Be honest at any given time in any given situation. Tell the whole story externally and internally. Everybody knows that things can go wrong and they often do. Be open about that and try to learn as quickly and as much as possible.
Learning 8 How to make a virtual onboarding session interactive and energetic
Have people create a personal profile and create groups of like minds: team night owls, team campers, team runners.
Script your session. And improvise around that.
Take it easy. Start with a coffee break also in your virtual meeting. Create a good atmosphere to start with.
Make your meeting really interactive. Use break-out rooms, polls, chat, online whiteboards, audio, video, everything!
Use your virtual meeting as an advantage. You can connect with people from all over the world instantly.
Virtual onboarding. People really seek more interaction!
Go on a “Treasure hunt”. What are the strengths of your new hire? What can he/she bring for the organization?
Make your new hires understand how they can contribute!
Have lunch together. You can do this online as well.
Speed dating sessions.
Meet your buddy.
Have the new joiners record a welcome video and share that with all in the organization.
Learning 9 Make it personal
Yes, this was yesterday’s topic, but it turns out that these are closely related. For HelloFresh making it personal means, beside a lot of other things:
Celebrate success together. Have compliment cards ready for people that achieved something grand.
Be involved in peoples life events. Positive or negative. Send out a card when someone is ill etc.
Learning 10 Communication is culture’s oxygen
Communicate a lot and periodically. Send out update bulletins and come together regularly to celebrate success, share fuck-ups and learn from each other.
Learning 11 Find your culture driver
For HelloFresh it is food, for Rabobank it is helping out in the community… What is it for your organization. That one thing to express and transfer your culture to your people.
Learning 12 Cherish your culture ambassadors
Like the office manager at HelloFresh!
Learning 13 For 92% of organizations (in our poll) diversity and inclusion should be part of onboarding
However over half of the people in the poll also indicated that they do not have that covered yet. So there is some work to do on this topic.
Learning 14 Think about diversity and inclusion in terms of implicit and explicit
Maybe your organization (or just your onboarding program) takes diversity and inclusion into account, but you don’t make an explicit point of that. You do not explicitly mention that. Is that enough in today’s society and for your organization, your people? I don’t know the answer, but perhaps a good starting point for a conversation with your people. Good luck with that!
And that’s it for today!
Tomorrow the final day of Onboard Week. See you there.
Greetz,
Frank