Reflection: Learning Launch – Onboarding guide

Challenge:

I am working for a relatively new consulting department within our company. When I joint the team, it  had a start up flair. This means the team existed for just two years and was a small group of people.  There was no visible structure of how to do things. It was more a learning by doing or a very sporadic  way to solve problems.

This being said, I had no clear instructions of organizational tasks (e.g. what access rights do I need) or  project tasks (e.g. where do I find our presentation guidelines) during my onboarding phase within this  team. The information either was given per forwarded emails piece by piece or verbally. For many topics  I had to ask for or research the information. Many times, I got stuck, had to wait or got frustrated while  searching for the right contact or answers.

Selection:

Due to this chaotic onboarding, I was seeing room for improvement in form of structure.

Besides investing a lot of my nerves, time and energy, my colleagues had experienced the same before.  My personal experience and the feedback of my colleagues was the data base for the What is phase.  Therefore, I decided to change the onboarding experience by creating a simple guide with steps, links  and contact information a new team member will need or even for colleagues to refer to later, if  needed. For example, when and how to request a corporate credit card and who to contact in case of  issues and the process behind it.

I have chosen the Learning Launch (“A small experiment that tests your new idea in the real  marketplace” Slides, Module 4) to test the created guide several times with colleagues and to adjust it  according to the feedbacks.

Creation & Application:

After I collected all the information that had to be in this onboarding guide, I had to decide about the  type of document, style and storage location. Simplicity and accessibility were my key focus. It was  important, that everybody can access the guide with just a few clicks, in a folder that makes sense and  understand the instructions right away.

The first draft was created. I had chosen a word format to be editable (for updates) and the team folder  in OneDrive to be accessible for everybody. I then asked several colleagues to access and review the  draft and to send me their feedback.

After receiving some constructive feedbacks, I incorporated the suggestions, which included e.g.  improvements for style and how links are displayed. The second, third, forth draft and so on were  created. Then a new team member joint and was given this onboarding guide. And again, I asked for  feedback of the onboarding experience. It turned out to be a very helpful guide and a very positive  experience.

Insight:

The insight I gained with the learning launch tool is, that it is more progressive to do several tests and  collaborate with a group of people before creating the “final product” all alone. What I also had to learn  is, that it is important to be able to accept constructive criticism to improve the idea. In situations of  criticism I had to remind myself that I did not start the project for my personal ego, benefit or success,  but to make the life easier for future team members. Design Thinking is therefore the perfect approach  if you want to make someone’s experience a positive one.

Approach:

In this case, the learning launch tool was a very good choice to implement the guide. I was able to  quickly and cheaply test my idea and to improve and retest it again. Due to the growing team we can  test it over and over again and thanks to the file format everybody can update the information.


Reflection : Learning Launch – Onboarding guide Challenge : I am working for a relatively new consulting department within our company . When I joint the team , it had a start up flair . This means the team existed for just two years and was a small group of people . There was no visible structure of how to do things . It was more a learning by doing or a very sporadic way to solve problems . This being said , I had no clear instructions of organizational tasks ( e.g. what access rights do I need ) or project tasks ( e.g. where do I find our presentation guidelines ) during my onboarding phase within this team . The information either was given per forwarded emails piece by piece or verbally . For many topics I had to ask for or research the information . Many times , I got stuck , had to wait or got frustrated while searching for the right contact or answers . Selection : Due to this chaotic onboarding , I was seeing room for improvement in form of structure . Besides investing a lot of my nerves , time and energy , my colleagues had experienced the same before . My personal experience and the feedback of my colleagues was the data base for the What is phase . Therefore , I decided to change the onboarding experience by creating a simple guide with steps , links and contact information a new team member will need or even for colleagues to refer to later , if needed . For example , when and how to request a corporate credit card and who to contact in case of issues and the process behind it . I have chosen the Learning Launch ( “ A small experiment that tests your new idea in the real marketplace ” Slides , Module 4 ) to test the created guide several times with colleagues and to adjust it according to the feedbacks . Creation & Application : After I collected all the information that had to be in this onboarding guide , I had to decide about the type of document , style and storage location . Simplicity and accessibility were my key focus . It was important , that everybody can access the guide with just a few clicks , in a folder that makes sense and understand the instructions right away . The first draft was created . I had chosen a word format to be editable ( for updates ) and the team folder in OneDrive to be accessible for everybody . I then asked several colleagues to access and review the draft and to send me their feedback . After receiving some constructive feedbacks , I incorporated the suggestions , which included e.g. improvements for style and how links are displayed . The second , third , forth draft and so on were created . Then a new team member joint and was given this onboarding guide . And again , I asked for feedback of the onboarding experience . It turned out to be a very helpful guide and a very positive experience . Insight : The insight I gained with the learning launch tool is , that it is more progressive to do several tests and collaborate with a group of people before creating the “ final product ” all alone . What I also had to learn is , that it is important to be able to accept constructive criticism to improve the idea . In situations of criticism I had to remind myself that I did not start the project for my personal ego , benefit or success , but to make the life easier for future team members . Design Thinking is therefore the perfect approach if you want to make someone ’s experience a positive one . Approach : In this case , the learning launch tool was a very good choice to implement the guide . I was able to quickly and cheaply test my idea and to improve and retest it again . Due to the growing team we can test it over and over again and thanks to the file format everybody can update the information .