On-boarding – the best first impression, lasting experience, and eventual value

I got off the train station at Stirling, Scotland late afternoon. The drizzle, the wind and the overall scene looked, gloomy and grey. Summed up our rather strenuous day, which started from London earlier that day. Underground strike, a walk over a mile with 3 heavy suitcases full of stuff to last me a year, during my study at University of Stirling.

The rest of the evening went uneventful, with us (my room mate and I) getting out accommodation and welcome brief from the admission coordinator, who also gave us the charter for the next day. A clear list of things to do, with another student assigned as a Buddy – who was already at the university for over 2 years –  with other details about the MBA program.

Next day was smooth with the buddy helping out with details about the surroundings, the facilities available, how-to’s etc. Everything over the next seven to ten days went without any mishaps or anxiety. For someone who left for studies at a foreign country for the first time, it was a memorable year where I graduated without any trouble.

I took the offer, but was a bit nervous about the prospect of working from home. Well, I had never done this during the last 9 odd years I worked. I was provided enough brief and contact of a colleague who welcomed me to the company – all remotely and much before the current situation. He provided me  the know-hows, the details, the nuances about how Skillsoft functioned, the next steps, and what to expect. My company laptop got shipped from the US and reached me on the day I was to start. All the information to start and the necessary instructions were informed over the email and over a call with my manager.

A detailed checklist, with clearly drafted action plan, activities, time and date was shared. The plan had activities for 8-12 weeks of training, which was designed based on a model called eight phases of workplace learning. I successfully completed the training in the stipulated time, started meeting my customers almost immediately after the completion of the training. I moved out late 2018, working for seven years with Skillsoft. 

The above scenarios depict the on-boarding experience I have had as a student and a new hire. Both experiences helped me become a better customer and a referenceable one at that. As a provider, it is in the best interest of any organisation to offer an exceptional customer onboarding experience.

An engaging, well thought out onboarding experience can have long lasting impact. Something every paying customer deserves from any organisation. There is no denying the importance of well-designed onboarding programs.

Are there different ways to on board? Should all customers be onboarded? How to onboard long tail? – Part II.

There is an excellent two-part article (Part 1, Part 2), written by Emilia D’Anzica, on Customer Success Leadership Network, where Emilia talks about types of learning to be provided, and different ways to on board..