Out of Wetmore Consulting Group, we’ve built a company that now focuses solely on identifying, documenting, and then building our clients processes within Process Street. So, that’s how our company came about. That’s what we do. – Adam Schweickert

This article is based on a segment from Process Street‘s Highway 2021 virtual event, where Adam gives us a detailed walkthrough of his onboarding process for new clients.

Client Onboarding 101 with Adam Schweickert of Wetmore Consulting Group was the fifth segment in Process Street’s Highway event.

You can check out our playlist of the full Highway event here, and make sure to sign up for free with Process Street!

Here’s the Client Onboarding 101 segment with Adam Schweickert in full:

• Wetmore Consulting Group’s client onboarding problem
• Supercharge your client onboarding workflows with these Process Street features
• Client onboarding process building tips

Key takeaways:

• Wetmore Consulting Group built their client onboarding workflow in order to have a better way to collect information and documents from customers throughout the onboarding process.
• Some problems they were having were: not getting complete information from staff and a clunky information collection process.
• They set out to build a process that would allow for quality assurance controls over the information, the ability to make sure they were getting complete information, and allow for a collaborative experience with their customers.

Adam: “The reason we built this workflow is because we needed a better way to collect information and documents from customers throughout the onboarding process.

One of the common problems we were having was we were not getting complete information and documents from our sales staff, and the way in which we were collecting information and documents was just a little clunky.

So, we set out to build a process that would allow us to have some quality assurance controls over the information that was being given, make sure that we are getting complete information, and also open things up to have a collaborative experience with these customers. The culmination of those things is what allowed us to cut that timeline in half. It’s had a huge impact on our business, we move much quicker, we’re getting much better information, and the client experiences have been much, much better.”

Conditional logic

Process Street feature: Conditional logic
Benefits: Shows clients only the pertinent information and data requirements that are needed from them, rather than overwhelming them with information that does not apply to them.
Stage in process: Start of process/Record initial information

Adam: “The way this process works is that the front half is all internal-facing, meaning that we’re pulling levers behind the scenes and using conditional logic to set up the back half of the process, which is going to be customer-facing, to only show them the pertinent information and data requirements that we need from them. So, it’s only what they need, nothing they don’t.”

DocuSign native Automation

Process Street feature: DocuSign native Automation
Benefits: Collects signatures in the process and automates that data to link directly into the workflow.
Stage in process: Sign electronic documents

Adam: “The DocuSign native automation has been a huge game changer for us.

We actually collect signatures in the process and then automate that data, through the Process Street automation, to link directly into this workflow. So, this new way to map fields through that native automation has been fantastic.

We’ve also built a Zap on top of DocuSign through Zapier to go out and grab the envelope download link and then add it in here, and it pre-fills by automation, so that whenever we need, we can come in, take a look at those documents, and download them again.”

Email widget

Process Street features: Email widget
Benefits: Allows for client collaboration & self-service
Stage in process: Setup self-service access

Adam: “Here we have some conditional logic built out to say, ‘are they working with an affiliate? or do we want to bring the client in to self-service and provide these documents and information themselves?’

Then, if we choose ‘Yes’, an email field pops up. This is the email that is going to dynamically assign someone to the following tasks. So, once we type in the customer’s email, they’re gonna get an email themselves in their inbox that says, ‘Hey, you’ve been assigned these tasks’ and they’re gonna say, ‘What’s Process Street?’

So, to really add to the customer experience, we spin up this email to them that goes in addition to that Process Street invitation that says, ‘Hey, here’s what’s happening; here’s what you can expect; and here’s really what you need to do.’ We thought that really was a nice touch and allows us to get our arms around them to guide them through this process as well.”

Comments

Process Street feature: Comments
Benefit: Allows staff to collaborate with clients, if needed, on their process.
Stage in process: Throughout the process

Adam: “As [the client is] going through the process, the salesperson can also see how far they are. They can keep an eye on things and step in if needed to collaborate, either through the comment box or what have you, to make sure that things go smoothly and cut out that back and forth as well.

Approvals

Process Street feature: Approvals
Benefit: Allows for better quality control
Stage in process: Multiple stages throughout the process

Adam: “Here’s where our quality control comes in; we add approval steps for everything.

If everything looks good, we’ll approve, and then we move on to sending our approval notifications. This is another notification that goes to the customer, always keeping them in the loop, and adding to the experience.”

Google Drive integration

Process Street features: Google Drive integration
Benefits: Allows, with one click, to create a folder in Google Drive with a summary form of all the collected information.
Stage in process: Create info form & folder in Google Drive

Adam: “By clicking on this one task, it creates a folder in Google Drive and also a summary form of all the information we collected. It allows us,, with one button, one click, to create a summary form of all that information.

This has been a true game changer for us as well, and really just puts all the information in one place, making things nice and simple.

Also, in that step, when you check that button, it also creates a folder in Google Drive for the new client. So, that’s been fantastic.”

Native Automations

Process Street features: Native Automations
Benefits: Takes all the recorded information and flows it into the next workflow from just completing this step.
Stage in process: Handoff to implementation team

Adam: “Our final step is to hand off to our implementation team.

So, by checking this button, we’re utilizing Process Street’s native Automations to take all this information and flow it into the next workflow from just completing this step here.

It’s also been a game changer for us and really has sped things up quite immensely for us.”

How to start out on the right foot with new clients

Key takeaways:

• Firstly, align with customers on expectations.
• Meet with process expert(s) on Zoom & watch them work through the process.
• Make sure to record Zoom meetings in order to be able to rewatch as you’re building the process.

Adam: “The first thing we wanna do when we meet with a new customer is align on expectations, and understand if we can really add value. Because if you come to me and your needs truly are asking us to build out an entirely new CRM for you and your company, that’s probably not what we’re going to be a great fit for.

But when we look at processes, we always want to work with the internal expert first and say to the client, ‘Give us the person that knows the very most about this process. We’re going to sit with them and watch them work through this process.’ Some people come to us with a process in their head. Some people have something on paper, but we ultimately want to see that expert take us through, because there’s a lot that goes into it that we want to discover.

We start with that on a recorded Zoom session, and then we break that Zoom session down into a process document. We really want to get to the core, cut out the fat of the process, and say what’s really necessary here and what’s not.

And once we get to the core of that process, we then go to Process Street. Now we can take a great process that’s been optimized, and build it into a great software that’ll allow you guys to grow and scale.”

The best way to approach email automation

Key takeaways:

• Automated emails may not always be the best choice.
• Make sure the context makes sense when setting up an automated email. Otherwise, it’s best to write them manually.
• Adam recommends using the email widget within the software.

Adam: “When we built this out, we didn’t want to get too heavy with the automation piece, because when you go that far with automation, you’ve got emails flying that maybe you don’t realize are flying, or might not be the right context for the situation.

So, that’s why we really like to keep the email as the email widget within the software because conversations can ebb and flow. If you send a customer an automated email that says, ‘Hey, it’s great to meet you today,’ but you’ve talked five times in the past, the context doesn’t translate. So, we just like a little bit more control on that front.”

Best practices for robust conditional logic design

Key takeaways:

• Spend your initial steps locking down foolproof conditional logic in order to avoid having to edit in the future.
• Pro-tip: In the fields you want to trigger, I’ll sometimes put an if-statement, so that it’s part of the field itself, so when you’re building your conditional logic, you can search that if-statement and it will come up.
• Pro-tip: Use a plain text field and hide it by default, and then as you’re going in and building out that step, go in and make some notes for yourself, so you have context to look back on in the future.

Adam: “When it comes to how often we update and I think this alludes back to how much time we spend in our first initial steps with the client to really get to that core of the process before we go into Process Street. So, right now we really don’t change our logic hardly ever at all in this process; it’s pretty much set in stone.

But when we do have to go in, we have to get a little surgical with the conditional logic behind the scenes. What we’ve found is that in the fields you want to trigger, I’ll sometimes put an if-statement, so that it’s part of the field itself. So when you’re going through building your conditional logic, you can search that if-statement, and it will pull you straight in, so you can quickly identify on that front.

Another way we found to add some context behind the scenes is to use a plain text field and hide it by default. Then, as you’re going in and building out that step, go in and make some notes for yourself. I think that will help you kind of reorient yourself, if you ever do need to get super intense with some conditional logic surgery.”

How to know when to automate

Key takeaways:

• Make sure you have a process that has been tested and vetted by your team before setting up automations.
• Start basic when it comes to automations.
• Once familiar with the basics, move on to more complex automations.

Adam: “When you approach your automations, you should approach your automations, not first, but secondly. So, first and foremost, make sure you have a process that has been tested and vetted by your team a few times.

Then when it comes to approaching automation, my best advice is to start basic. When I say basic, I mean use the native Automations that Process Street is giving you now, without having to leave the program.

I’d say get familiar with those basic automations, and then move to some of the more complex ones that might involve Zapier, for example, which is a great resource, and go from there once you can wrap your brain around some of the opportunities and possibilities that automations can bring you.”

Supporting customers through change management

Key takeaways:

• Adam built a process in Process Street that trains employees on how to get acclimated with Process Street.
• The process allows them to track and hold people accountable.
• They identify a champion in the company that is going to be the Process Street lead.

Adam: “One of the biggest steps in our process is testing and then implementation, because it’s a big shift and it might be a new piece of technology for somebody that hasn’t been involved in the build-out process up to this point.

So, what we do is we’ve built a process in Process Street that trains employees on how to get acclimated with Process Street.

It walks you through, for example, ‘This is your reporting dashboard’, and then, ‘Be sure to look out for this, this, this, etc.’ It includes a bunch of pro-tips that we’ve found implementing with these customers to say, ‘Let’s walk through the program together. These are the important things we want you to know about this implementation. Then, when we go live with the actual process we built for you, this is how it will look, see, and feel.’

What we love about that is that it allows us to hit the exact points we want to hit especially for training. Then also, it allows us to track and hold people accountable. Another great feature of Process Street, to see who completed their training, and who did not.

Along with that, we identify a champion that is going to be the Process Street lead at the company. So, that person is going to be very well-versed to act as that first line of support.”

What did you think of Adam Schweickert’s Client Onboarding 101 segment? Let us know in the comments below!

The post Client Onboarding 101 with Adam Schweickert of Wetmore Consulting Group first appeared on Process Street | Checklist, Workflow and SOP Software.

Careers can typically take many unexpected turns in the tech industry. We’ve seen this time and time again at Process Street. One person who embodies this concept of career growth and transformation is Ellie Mahoney. 

Being the link between customer needs and product development, Ellie’s role as Product Manager is a testament to Process Street’s commitment to empower top talent to evolve and thrive. 

Her career transition in Process Street has made her a vibrant and dynamic force to be reckoned with. Ellie’s entire career path has travelled through many different industries, and she’s taken on more challenging roles than I have fingers – which is exactly how she likes it. 

We’re taking a look at how Ellie’s diverse career path and skillset trickles into the work she does here at Process Street. 

• Introducing our Product Manager: Ellie Mahoney
• Ellie’s professional life before Process Street
• From CS to Product Manager: Ellie’s career growth in Process Street
• Working at Process Street through Ellie’s eyes 

Introducing our Product Manager: Ellie Mahoney

Q: What do you do in your spare time? 

At the moment, I’m mostly doing land maintenance on my property. It’s about 2,000 square metres of land so there’s trees to cut and wells to clear. I’ve only got two wells but it’s all a bit of a mess. 

Q: How do you start your morning?

I now have a very regular routine. The first thing I do is put the coffee on. I then go let the geese and chickens out of their pen so they can run around on the field. After that, I have my coffee and play Wordle, which I do religiously every day. I’ll then either read the news on the sofa or behind my exercise bike. 

Q: Any interesting facts about yourself that people at Process Street might not know? 

Brenda actually called this out the other day but I have a Bachelor of Science degree in archaeology, which encompasses my biggest passion of nature and animals. I started archaeology with a particular interest in anthropology. Facial reconstructions of dead people from their skulls and things like that really interested me. 

It’s been a long time since I was at uni, but I still read loads and loads of stuff about ancient history, archaeology. I also like to go and visit lots of ancient sites, whether that’s cave art, prehistoric stuff, or Neanderthal sites. 

Q: What are your favorite experiences or culture insights from living in the UK, the French Alps, and central Portugal?

I don’t know why but the first thing that springs to mind is cheese. I’m so food focused. But I love the fact that each place has its own kind of food history and sort of collection of cheeses that are unique to different regions of different countries. 

Ellie’s professional life before Process Street

Q: Could you give us a high level overview on your professional background prior to Process Street?

It’s a really mixed bag. Straight out of uni, I went to work at a newspaper. At the time, I was just an admin assistant. But it gave me an overview of news and magazines. After that, I went into working in food sales and national account management for six years.

From there, I worked as an editor and writer for six years. And then I’ve worked in recruitment for engineers and in property management. I had my own business for a while repairing clothes and backpacks and stuff for people when I was living in France. I don’t believe I’ve worked in the same industry twice. 

“Ellie is a cornerstone of the EPD team and a delight to work with. Not only has she swiftly stepped into the role of Product Manager, she continually seeks out new approaches to learning and contributing, while frequently mentoring others. We’re incredibly fortunate to have her on our team.”

– Michael DeSouza, Director of Product Management

Q: Important moments, catalysts, turning points in your career?

I always remember the strong women that I’ve worked for. When I was working as a national account manager, I had this director called Elaine Walker. She was really inspirational to me. 

She was determined, knew her stuff, and was one of the most fantastic bosses I ever worked for. And I just remember some of the advice that she gave me at the time. One that I have kept with me throughout my career is to not come to me with a problem but with a solution. 

Q: What drew you to the field of archaeology, and do you have any exciting archaeological discoveries or projects you worked on that you’d like to share? Do you think your studies in archaeology have influenced the way you work in tech?

The first dig I ever took part in was on Lindisfarne Island in the North East of the UK. It’s the first place the vikings landed in 793 AD. That experience will always stay with me, not because we found lots of exciting things (we didn’t!) but I learnt a lot. I also worked on a dig in Leicestershire where we discovered a bronze age cremation, roman road and neolithic settlement all in one site, that was pretty amazing. 

There are so many different things involved in archaeology like problem solving. You’ve got to figure out why something was in the ground and who made it or what kind of things might have led to that structure being there. 

That kind of problem solving part of archaeology comes in handy in my role now.  For example, if ever there’s a bug or someone raises a question, I’ll dig to find the whys and the wherefores until there’s an answer and solution. 

“Ellie is such an amazing human being and a valuable part of the product team! Her ability to navigate the ins and outs of Process Street is truly remarkable. She’s got this incredible knack for learning and understanding what works and what doesn’t.”

– Indiana Caba, Staff Product Designer

Q: Do you have any resources that have been instrumental in your growth and development?

The “Shape Up” methodology by Basecamp has been really useful because that’s what we use in the EPD team. That’s the principle of a 6-week engineering cycle and a 2-week cooldown, which is instrumental in how we work. 

There’s also a product-focused book that Michael recommended to me called The Lean Product Playbook by Dan Olsen. It helped me formulate ideas in the right way about product management. 

“Ellie has had the most interesting, impressive, and dynamic journey here at Process Street. I originally hired her years ago to do support, but we quickly discovered her innate ability for writing, and so she became our chief support writer. Her contributions massively improved our documentation. 

From there, she moved further into writing, joining our Customer Education Team, and leading the development of processes alongside continuing to produce excellent content. Finally, she discovered an interest in Product, which led her to transition over to the Product Team as a Product Manager, where she continues to impress with her product knowledge and ability to quickly understand customer needs and translate them into real solutions. 

“She is a joy to work with, and a role model for anyone looking to grow themselves professionally.”

– Blake Bailey, Director of Customer Success

From CS to Product Manager: Ellie’s career growth in Process Street

Q: Can you tell us about your journey at Process Street and how you transitioned from a customer support role to becoming a Product Manager?

I was working in CS and mainly doing demos. At the time, the help centre was occasionally being updated. I’d said I’d worked as a writer and editor for many years and asked if I could pick up the help centre content. That work began filling most of my day and I began organizing the content and standardizing it. 

It then spread to me doing the release posts on new Process Street features, which led to me working more closely with the Product team. Most of my work then became more product-related than customer success even though I was still working in the CS team.

After this, I was asked to join the Product team, but besides the work I had been doing, I didn’t have a clue about product management. So I spent the weekend after I was offered the new role researching what a product manager is and how to make the transition from CS to Product. I did loads and loads of research in the first few months too. The whole team made the transition really easy for me. I felt really supported by Michael and the team to learn the ropes and get comfortable in my new role. 

“Ellie boasts a deep knowledge of the product and a talent for effective product writing. She’s a great communicator and has been a consistent pleasure to work with over the years. What’s more, she keeps geese and chickens – a dying art.”

– Oliver Peterson, Head of Content

Q: Product Management is often seen as a male-dominated field. What advice do you have for other women aspiring to pursue a career in this area?

So I wouldn’t even know that product management is a male-dominated field. Because, for me in Process Street, we only had a female product manager at the time I joined the company. I thought women could do this job straight out of the gate since there was already a woman in that role who I’d learnt from. I’ve never worked in product management in another industry so I didn’t have a clue if it was male-dominated or not. 

But that said, I can understand if it is because what industry isn’t male-dominated? For other women aspiring to pursue a career in this area, I’d say get to know the thing that you’re working on very well. 

Put yourself in the shoes of the user. Question everything that you see and learn all the ins and outs of it. Basically, know your stuff! If you know your stuff, you’ll become trusted. And people will respect that knowledge. And that knowledge will open doors for you. 

“We’re really lucky to have Ellie on our product team. Her deep understanding of our product and customers is a huge asset, and she’s also a blast to work with. What more could we ask for?”

– Tony Vila, Senior Product Designer

Q: Could you share a memorable project or achievement in your current role as a Product Manager that you are particularly proud of?

I haven’t led many things by myself because we’re only a small team, but some highlights for me are probably working on Microsoft Power Automate. That was instigated by David who was a previous product manager. But having that kind of door open on to the Microsoft platform is a brilliant achievement because we’re visible to people through Microsoft. Who doesn’t want to be visible on Microsoft’s website? 

Process AI has also been game changing. Michael had the lead and the vision on that one. But it was great to be part of it. And great to see how far ahead of competitors we are with things like workflow creation and generation. I’m super proud of the whole team on that one. Everything we do is brilliant because of the way we collaborate as a team and the pace that we deliver updates and new features to our customers while maintaining quality. I’m also very proud of that. The EPD team rocks!

“Ellie is a staple around here. She made the transition from Customer Support Specialist to Product Manager flawlessly, always giving 110%. Not to mention she’s a joy to talk to and has the best stories! She always has a project going outside of work (remodelling, caring for all the animals) and loves learning. She embodies our values so well, and we are so lucky to have her!”

– Ashley Chain, Director of People & Operations

Working at Process Street through Ellie’s eyes 

Q: How did Process Street support you in your career transition and growth within the company?

By having a positive, collaborative, supportive kind of environment. I was working really closely with Tarik and Jason, and they wholeheartedly supported my move into the Product team.

Michael has also been very patient with my move into the Product team. He has a great style of teaching too which is great.

Q: What do you like most about working at Process Street? 

The people! There’s never a problem. Everyone is super helpful and supportive of one another. It’s a great collaboration and makes it a great place to work at. 

Q: What does it take to be successful at a company like Process Street?

Having the knowledge of the product and being transparent in how you work is a must-have. Also being a collaborator is invaluable because so much of how we work involves many different moving parts, not just one person. There are always going to be pivots and changes in this industry so being flexible is essential. 

Q: Balancing work and personal life can be challenging. Can you share any strategies or tips that have helped you manage your career progression while pursuing your interests outside of work?

I was pushing myself way too hard and travelling all over the UK when I was working in national account management, and I burnt out in a big way. Having been through that and experiencing that mental shutdown, my work-life balance is something I prioritize now. 

When it’s my working time, I work. When it’s my free time, I treat it in a very sacred way. Managing my calendar helps me prioritize my mental health because I can let people know when I’m available and when I’m not.

Working in product management also comes with a different set of challenges. Even though we’ll do a project and get to release it, there are still quite a few things around the edges that never get finished. I find that having a project outside of work that can have a straight beginning and end counterbalances this pain of something never being 100% finished. 

“It’s amazing how Ellie is everywhere! She has been an inspiring mentor to me. What I love most about her is how she knows exactly where to point and what to say. I’ve learnt so much from her and look forward to learning more!”

– Monica Thakwani, Customer Education Associate

More from our Employee Spotlight series

• Employee Spotlight: Anne Perry (Director, Solutions Consulting)
• Employee Spotlight: Gustavo Amaral (Customer Success Manager)
• Employee Spotlight: Ashley Chain (Director of People & Operations)
• Employee Spotlight: Cameron McKay (Co-Founder & CTO)

The post Employee Spotlight: Ellie Mahoney (Product Manager) first appeared on Process Street | Checklist, Workflow and SOP Software.

Ever wondered if your new hire’s first ‘hello’ could be from a chatbot? Or if that glowing quarterly review could someday be delivered by an AI?

Tune in to our latest episode of Process Street’s Employee Onboarding Podcast, where Erin and Max Sher pull back the curtain on the future of employee onboarding, training, and those all-important ‘wow’ moments.

Discover why some traditions are worth keeping and where technology could step in to elevate the experience!

This episode covers:

• Sher Agency structure & dynamics (as a globally distributed web design team)
• How Max scaled up from a solo entrepreneur to a global team
• How to improve digital onboarding efficiency
• Important lessons Max learned about digital onboarding
• How culture plays into good onboarding (especially remote)
• The quest for the employee “wow” moment
• Thoughts on the future of employee onboarding (including the role of AI)

You can listen on Apple, Spotify, Google, Podchaser, Podcast Addict, Deezer, & all your favorite podcast platforms!

Introducing Max Sher: Digital Nomad & Web Design Agency CEO

Erin Rice: Welcome to the Employee Onboarding Podcast, where we’re unpacking great onboarding ideas and best practices from the world’s top HR practitioners and thought leaders.

At Process Street, that starts with our mission to make recurring work fun, fast, and faultless for teams everywhere. My name is Erin Rice, and I’m the People & Operations Coordinator here at Process Street.

Today, I’m joined by Max Sher. Max is the founder and CEO of the Sher Agency. He started his agency as a freshman in college.

At first, he provided any imaginable marketing services to every imaginable customer set until he realized the value of specialization about three years into the process. At that point, his business became completely unsustainable. So he started over from mostly scratch.

Since then, he’s been dedicated solely to creating awesome websites that move the needle in his clients’ businesses.

When he’s not making websites with his team, he is a design and business TikToker, a digital nomad hopping from city to city with his girlfriend and an amateur guitar player. Thank you so much for joining us today, Max!

Max Sher: Thanks, Erin. Happy to be here.

Breaking the Ice: Digital Nomad Lifestyle and Essential Items 

Erin: So before we dive in, I really like this idea of digital nomadism, if you will. I’m very curious about your answer to our sort of icebreaker question. Is there one item or one thing that you just simply can’t get rid of?

Max: Like a physical item?

Erin: Like a physical item. I would imagine being a digital nomad, you don’t have a lot of stuff.

Max: My biggest, most inefficient thing that I bring with me everywhere is music equipment, like guitars and amplifiers are definitely the thing that I am questioning whether or not I really need to be bringing with me to every location. But the answer has 10 out of 10 times been yes, unfortunately.

The Emotional Connection to Music and Hobbies 

Erin: Yeah. And I guess that goes with your new love of playing guitar.

Max: Yeah, it’s not that new. I’ve been playing since I was a kid.

Erin: Oh, okay. So you just call yourself an amateur because you’re not that good yet.

Max: And maybe never will be. It’s just a hobby, really – a good way to kill time and relieve stress.

Let’s Talk About Employee Onboarding 

Erin: Yeah, that’s great. Time for what we really came here for – employee onboarding! 

So Max, why don’t you tell me a little bit about the dynamic of your company, how many people you have, how you’re distributed, that kind of thing.

Inside the Sher Agency: Team Structure and Distribution 

Max: Yeah, so we’re a globally distributed company. I think there’s currently something in the neighborhood of 25 people involved. So not a huge company, but definitely bigger than I’ve ever managed before. Um, we’re a hundred percent remote. No two of us have ever met in person. 

Um, I think we’re on every continent except for Antarctica. I think that’s probably the gist of the distribution of the team. Almost everybody is involved in the creation or management of websites in some way. 

We’ve got a little bit of support on the marketing side as well. Management of the team, we’ve got a couple of people who do that, but really that’s the bread and butter of the company is the fulfillment side.

The Entrepreneurial Journey: From Coffee Shop to CEO 

Erin: Okay, great. And tell me a little bit about how you ended up starting your own business.

The Complexity of Launching a Business at 18 

Max: So I was 18 years old and I was at a coffee shop, hookah lounge kind of hybrid thing. And the owner knew me, I had been there quite a bit when I was a high school student and I was just about to leave for college. 

I grew up in Las Vegas, so this all takes place in Vegas. And he comes up to me and he’s like, hey, you’re a computer guy, right? He sees me on a computer doing homework all the time. I’m like, yeah, I’m a computer guy. 

He says, “I’m starting a grocery store and I need a website built for that grocery store that does delivery and all this. Can you do that?” In my head, I’d never touched a website before. I didn’t know anything about it, but I thought, you know, there’s got to be templates. There’s got to be some way to do it. I’m sure I can help this guy. It can’t be that hard. So I said, sure, screw it. I’ll take a stab at it. 

One thing led to the next and I decided that in order to write a contract, I had to be a company. Little did I know as an 18-year-old, I could have just done this freelance. 

I started just doing other things for other businesses. And I had some design knowledge from high school because I had kind of an emphasis on that in high school. And throughout that time, I learned how to cold call, how to cold DM, all these things that I was trying to do to build my business. And I kind of got good at acquiring clients and that kind of grew into an agency.

Transitioning from Solo to Team-Based Operations 

Erin: And so then you get to this point where you’re ready to now hire legitimate employees.

Max: Yes, legitimate is the emphasis on this. People who know what they’re doing.

Erin: Right. Exactly. And then they’re probably qualified to do the job.

Max: Yeah, yeah. And no shade on that developer that I hired way back then. I don’t remember her name, unfortunately, but it’s not your fault. You knew more than I did.

Learning Curves in Employee Onboarding 

Erin: So tell me a little bit about what that experience was like going from an owner of a self-employed business to hiring employees. How did you tackle that?

Max: I was winging it for sure. Common thread here in all of my stories, I was winging it and I figured, you know, I’ve got these specific tasks that are taking more time than I think that they’re worth for me. So I’m gonna hire someone to do them for me. But what was really challenging at the start was I didn’t really know, there was no standardization in my business. 

One client would come to us for social media management, one would come to us for web design, one would come to us for logo design. So I kinda needed to just hire some jack of all trades. 

Thankfully, I just got super lucky and I hired this really smart guy. His name was Andrew. And he, we ended up just kind of becoming this two person team that was really just cranking out all this stuff and we were learning together and all that, but the hiring process was more or less, I think I posted a job on LinkedIn. We didn’t interview. I’m like, sure, let’s do it. That was pretty much how it went.

Erin: Sounds like you’re kind of going with your gut guy.

Max: Less so now, but yeah, when I was 18, you bet.

Shifting from Ad-Hoc Work to Process-Oriented Structure 

Erin: Awesome. And so what sort of led you to the point of going from like one-off projects, one-off kind of employee onboarding to turning it into a process and making more like of a recurrent situation?

Max: So that didn’t happen until several years later when I read this great book called Built to Sell. And that really taught me the root of all my problems was, which was the lack of standardization and a lack of processes. And I couldn’t write processes because I was doing a different thing for every person. 

And once I got to the point where I kind of restarted my business, as you said in the intro, about three years in, and really built it from scratch around one service. 

From there I got to the point where I had five team members, six team members, and we were constantly bringing on freelancers to assist with individual projects, then I was like, okay, we’re teaching the same set of lessons over and over again, as we go in like a role specific context, like whenever we bring in a new freelancer to help us. 

And I’m not talking about my core team at this point, just, just freelancers and contractors.

Streamlining Onboarding with Checklists 

We’re spending an inordinate amount of time teaching people how to find our Google Drive, how to find our Slack. So it was really a selfish thing at the start. 

It was like “I am spending too much time on this. I’m going to write it in a checklist.” And this is before I knew about great tools like Process Street. But I think I did it in like a spreadsheet or a Google Doc with the check boxes. And it was just like, “Hey, before you start work tomorrow, go through this”. 

And that was, that was kind of the gist. We had one for developers and we had one for everybody else.

Balancing Efficiency and Company Culture 

Erin: And what did you feel like that was missing? Do you feel like there was a disconnect between your mission as a company and that individual employee coming on?

Max: I don’t think I was sophisticated enough at that time to put, not that I’m very sophisticated now, but I definitely wasn’t when I was 20 years old to be able to say, you know, I feel like we’re not mission-oriented, we’re not teaching the values that we espouse as a company. I think at that point, we were hanging on by the seam of our pants. We were really just trying to get by and meet those deadlines.

We’re giving you exactly what we can and as efficiently as possible. And if you need more than that, it’s gonna be one-on-one communication.

The Importance of an In-Depth Onboarding Experience

Erin: Yeah. So what would you say a great employee onboarding experience looks like?

Max: You know, I would never go so far as to claim that I’m an expert on that subject. But what I would tell you is what works for me, what’s worked for my business and what people who are onboarded have been really impressed by is to really over deliver on the onboarding experience. 

For us, we now use Process Street for this. Our onboarding checklist is I think like 17 or 18 tasks. Just you have to read this and confirm, like read this and confirm and like set up your account and it’s almost an overload, but it’s not because it also gives them a place to go get the information later.

Fostering Cultural Alignment from Day One

And that’s really what I think the purpose of the exercise is. it’s not, I expect you to retain all of this information immediately. It’s okay. I now know that I can come back and find out how to find the files that I need in Google Drive or how to view my pay stubs and things like that. 

What’s really been beneficial to us going forward and what I noticed is a measurable difference in how we start by having people watch some recordings of all hands meetings. 

Like, Hey, here’s the all hands meeting where we discuss, you know, company shout-outs based on our core values.

Expectations and Boundaries in a Remote Work Environment

Another thing that I’d say we do a good job of teaching quickly is. Kind of our standards for remote work. What that means and like what kind of time tracking are you paid based on and what’s more for like client billable. 

So it’s like things to the effect of, hey, we expect x, y, and z hours from you per day, and you need to track them here. 

And it’s things like that, if you’re not used to a remote environment, it kind of helps get you acclimated quite quickly to how that works.

Empowering Employees Through Defined Boundaries

And then the third thing is it kind of gives them permission to set boundaries in their work. So like I mentioned at the beginning here, we have people all over the world sending messages to each other. And the time zones don’t always line up, in Nigeria sending messages to someone in Los Angeles, that they’re going to be getting messages in the middle of the night. So one of the things that I have them do is I have them click a box that says, hey, I confirm that I understand that I am not required to respond to messages that come in the middle of the night. I have working hours and I understand that I have authority to enforce and set those boundaries. And I think that’s been a source of positive culture for our company.

The Role of Automation and Settings in Work-Life Balance

Erin: Oh, I bet. Because it’s so annoying when those Slack messages come in while you’re trying to like get your kids settled or during dinner and you’re like, how important is this?

Max: Yeah, yeah, I think I haven’t seen it, but someone told me that someone went into that process and added something that says like, here’s how you set your notifications to snooze during your off hours so they don’t bug you. It’s, it’s helpful.

Erin: Yeah, you can also integrate your Google calendar with your working hours into your Slack so it does it for you automatically, which is really so fancy. I love good automation.

Specifics of Role-Based Onboarding

Max: Me too, that’s cool. 

Erin: So tell me a little bit about how you approach new hires and their onboarding process in order to get them up to speed and contributing quickly.

Max: Yeah, so there’s that big checklist that I just talked about that we go through. Then people have a role specific checklist that they go through. So this is for positions that we’re hiring regularly, like new designers, new developers, new account managers, things that scale with our fulfillment.

Addressing Employee Anxiety Through Defined Success Metrics

Um, for those types of people, we have a role specific process street that they go through and it’s like, okay, here are, um, here’s what success looks like in your job. 

We give them like a literal rubric, for what A level, B level and C level performance looks like. Here’s what you, where you go to get your daily tasks. Here’s all the stuff, really what we’re trying to do here is reduce anxiety and in my opinion, one of my beliefs as a business owner is that anxiety primarily comes from ambiguity. 

And if you can limit ambiguity in someone’s role and how they’re going to be evaluated and how they can succeed. You’re off to a good start. 

Even if you’re overwhelming them a little bit with information. The common feedback we get is that we do overwhelm people a little bit. They’re not stressed out in the sense that they don’t know what to do – I don’t get that feedback super often. 

Another thing that is absolutely critical is direct one-on-one communication with somebody. So oftentimes when we’re onboarding someone, I’ll message someone who’s either in a role very similar to theirs in another department or in the same role. and have them message them and kind of be their onboarding buddy. Not, we don’t have a formal system for this, but it’s, it’s something we, we just tend to do. 

If we hire a new developer, we’ll get the next most recent developer, the one who’s been there for six months, maybe and say, Hey, go have a conversation with this person, make sure they feel welcome, ask them about their day. 

Like, you know, check in on them and make sure that they’re finding what they need. I’ll typically ask someone. I try to ask the friendlier, more agreeable people to go make. to make that introduction and make people feel welcome.

Hierarchical Structures and Their Role in Onboarding

Erin: Yeah, that’s great. Buddies are awesome. And I imagine at the size of your company, are you managing all the employees and doing one on ones with them? Or do you have a hierarchy in place now?

Max: We have a hierarchy in place. I have an operations director who really oversees all team and fulfillment of the company.

Erin: Okay, cool. And so I would imagine having, well, I know having an onboarding buddy that’s not your direct manager is often very helpful because we can say all day that questions aren’t stupid, but we believe they are anyway.

Max: Yeah, exactly. I think it also helps to alleviate some of that anxiety to have a person to ask.

Mission Statements and Guiding Principles

Erin: Yeah, that’s great. So tell me, we talked a little bit about guiding principles and missions earlier. Tell me, do you have a set sort of mission that you share with the team and how do you help them sort of buy into that?

Max: I wouldn’t say we have a mission statement type of thing. What we do have is guiding principles that we use to guide our behavior in the way that we work with clients. 

We’ve just basically got these six pillars that are, we kind of try to do shout outs for people based on their adherence to them or being good examples of them. 

And that’s really how we enforce the kind of behaviors that we wanna see in the company. In terms of a mission, nah, I don’t have anything. I got nothing, but that’s sorry.

Strategies for New Employee Onboarding

Erin: Yeah, no, that’s okay. What advice would you give somebody on their first day to sort of help them absorb all the information, not get overwhelmed, ignore the ambiguity, that kind of thing?

Max: More so than memorizing exactly what everything says, just to kind of remember where you found everything and maybe bookmark the documents and just kind of come back to it over time. It’s something that you’ll be exposed to once and then you’ll remember where you saw it and you’ll come back and you’ll get it again. 

You know, I always tell people that the best onboarding is to start the job really like you learn the most by doing and we try and give you all this information up front but I really don’t believe that there’s any cure for learning other than doing that. I don’t think there’s a solution to learning other than doing.

Onboarding Timelines and Process Structuring

Erin: How long would you say it takes a new person to fully ramp up and complete their onboarding?

Max: We don’t let them start actual work until usually about the third day. Usually the first two days are, you know, for day one, you’re going through kind of company specific processes and all that stuff. 

Day two, you’re doing role specific processes, things that are more about, about your job, specifically meeting with your manager, meeting with colleagues, things like that. 

And then day three, you’re actually implementing it and you start under a supervised capacity, actually contributing.

Erin: Okay, so you mentioned you all use Process Street workflows for your onboarding. How do you have it organized? Is it organized by day one? Is it just to get through this over the first two days?

Max: Yeah, it’s really only two Process Street workflows that they’ll go through. One is the general, two is the role specific and it’s organized into tasks based on just the topic is really all that it is.

Future of Employee Onboarding

Erin: Okay, cool, that’s awesome. So looking to the future, I’m sure your intention is to grow your company.

Max: Yes.

Erin: Do you see the processes that you have in place as scalable that you would be able to then hire, you know, 10 web developers at once?

Max: Yeah, I do. I think they’re pretty scalable. We don’t really change them super often. It’s only when we adopt a new software or something like that. It could be a little overwhelming on the lead developer to manage 10 onboarding processes and give the support and one-on-one care that is needed to succeed there. 

But from a process standpoint, I do think we’re there. I think we would just need a little bit more.

Role of Technology in Onboarding

Erin: Yeah, okay. And so then I have to ask, what do you see as the future of employee onboarding?

Max: That’s a tough question to answer. My gut tells me to go with the probably cliche answer of you’re probably going to have like an AI chatbot that helps you understand what your role is and kind of grades kind of does a quiz and grading quiz type of interaction. 

So I can imagine. training a customer service rep like, hey, what would you say if a client says this and kind of doing role play scenarios with an AI bot? I could see things like that for training purposes, for onboarding. 

I don’t know if anybody would really feel great about having an AI coach come in and tell them they’re doing a great job. I think you kind of still need a person. 

For now, at least maybe our beliefs on this will change over time. That’s really the only future projection I see, is just an implementation of AI, because that just seems to be implemented in everything today.

Human Element Versus AI in Company Onboarding

Erin: Yeah, absolutely. And now I think you can like to do AI videos where they take like a replica of your face and they make you talk and we talk a little bit about that and is that the future of like training and it’s like, well, I sure hope not. I still want to have a real conversation with every person that joins our company, you know.

Max: Right. And I’m also not sure that that’s better than the current situation, right? 

Like, our processes are full of Loom videos for me and other people on the team. I don’t know that an AI, if I typed the script, rather than saying it would really save me that much time. 

Maybe if I needed to reshoot something, it would save me a few minutes to edit the script, but I don’t know. My loom videos are usually like 10 minutes or fewer, so I can just re-record it.

The Quest for the Employee “Wow” Moment

Erin: Yeah, that’s cool. Awesome, so I don’t wanna take up too much of your time, but last question, what do you feel, and this doesn’t necessarily have to be related to your company, but what do you feel is something that companies can do to create that “wow” moment to help employees get buy-in early?

Max: I think the “wow” that employees are looking for when they join a company is not so much, wow, I’m impressed. I think that’s what you want from your customers maybe. 

But I think from employees, my mentality has always been this, wow, I really understand what I need to be doing here. I thought I was joining this small company. 

I thought I’d be winging it more than I actually have to. There’s a system in place and I can follow it. And that’s the degree to which I try to impress new hires. I’d like them to. just really feel secure and understanding exactly what they want, what they need to do and what success looks like for them.

Erin: Great, that’s awesome. Well, thank you so much, Max. I really appreciate you joining us today. This has been so great. I wrote lots of notes of things that I wanna share with my team. So yeah, I hope you have a great rest of the day.

Max: Thanks, Erin.

More Employee Onboarding Podcast Episodes

Don’t forget to check out (& follow) Process Street’s Employee Onboarding Podcast on your favorite podcast platforms like Apple, Spotify, Google, Podchaser, Podcast Addict, Deezer, & all your favorite podcast platforms!

Let us know what you thought about this episode in the comments below – and feel free to offer suggestions for future topics and guests, too.

The post Podcast: Onboarding Best Practices from a Digital Nomad CEO first appeared on Process Street | Checklist, Workflow and SOP Software.

In this Spotlight Series blog, we learn all about Brenda Chan, currently working at Customer Support Level 2 as part of the Customer Success team.

Brenda has been at Process Street for over two years and is the epitome of a process pro! Her love for processes is evident in everything she does, and she enjoys testing and improving processes daily.

Brenda is not only a foodie with a passion for TV and film but has been learning Spanish for nearly a year.

We’re fortunate to have her as part of our team, where her expertise and enthusiasm continue to shine, making our customer support experience top-notch.

Keep reading to learn more about Brenda!

About Brenda Chan, Customer Support at Process Street

Name three words that describe you. 

Oof! This is tough… Initiative. Problem-solver. Detailed.

What do you do in your spare time?

Watching series or movies. 

Listening to music. 

Playing computer games. 

Doomscrolling on Instagram. 

Googling stuff that randomly pops up in my head. 

Gardening (or at least I try not to kill my plants!).

And cooking for my family! I learnt to make a tasty spiced risotto with sea bass and clam during our company trip in Porto, Portugal. I made it for my family and they really enjoyed it!

Chef Victor briefing us during the cooking class – Tony, Ellie and I were obviously distracted with something else!

How do you start your morning?

I start my morning with Duolingo! I am currently learning Spanish and only 100+ days away from my 365-day streak.  

I work a little before having my breakfast a couple of hours later. 

What is an interesting/fun fact that most people don’t know about you?

I studied Food Science & Technology! 

About Brenda’s professional experience

Give us a high level on your professional background prior to Process Street.

After graduation, I got into Product Development & QA. It was for a local manufacturing company. I got to mix a bunch of spices and herbs together, eat snacks, and drink soup almost every day! Yum!

I then transferred to a different role in QA, QC, and Production. This is where my process-life kind of started. I managed the company’s quality management systems, managed process documents, lead audits, and more.

I then decided this wasn’t the industry path I wanted to be on. I took a leap of faith, which was the best decision ever!

I got a job in customer service at a property management app company. Then, I was a customer success executive at a POS system company. I transitioned to a team lead for various sub-teams before my last role as a training specialist.

I am grateful that I gained all these skills, knowledge, and experience. Without them, I wouldn’t be where I am today – working at Process Street!

Important moments, catalysts, turning points in your career?

I got into a routine, and I felt like my career was stagnant at that time. I wanted a change and to improve my skills. 

I decided to look at roles that were more customer-facing but not necessarily sales positions. 

That’s how I started in customer service. Then, with time, I progressed to customer success. 

In my past work experience, I always had an interest in processes and problem-solving. So I’m very happy that I came across Process Street!

Brenda’s role at Process Street

How long have you been at Process Street?

I started in July 2021, it’s been over 2 years now!

What is your role at Process Street? What does a typical day look like? 

My work is kind of a hybrid between a Customer Support Level 2 and a Customer Success Manager. 

I give most of my love to customers in the APAC region.

I am located on the opposite side of the world compared to most of my teammates. So, communicating asynchronously is important. 

I start my day reading Slack messages and updating myself on anything I need to know.

I am part of a customer’s lifecycle from start to end, so my day can include various activities. 

Depending on the schedule, I have demos, consultations, onboarding, support, or review calls. 

I answer questions and customer inquiries and troubleshoot or resolve customer issues. I also build processes, automate, test, and break things to see how they can be improved.

What’s your secret to achieving success in your role? 

• Be curious and proactive. Don’t wait for people to tell you what to do.
• If you can’t find the answer you’re looking for, don’t be afraid to ask. 
• Challenge yourself. You won’t know what your limits are until you try.

What are you working on that you are most excited about?

At the moment, I’m building a custom report using Process Street’s webhook and API integration. This is an alternative solution for customers who do not use our BI Data Source but still want a live custom report. It’s difficult, but I’m getting there!

What do you think are the best skills that you bring to your job?

I’d say my detailed and problem-solving skills. Sometimes, I see things that others might have missed, and I have to find a solution to a problem.

On being part of the Process Street team

I travelled to the UK in 2022 where I was able both work and enjoy some amazing views. Here on the Isle of Skye.

What do you like most about working at Process Street? 

Being part of a team with smart and driven individuals!

Everyone is always contributing and supportive. 

Many of us at Process Street love processes and love being part of a team that designs something aimed to help others manage their processes well. 

How would you describe our culture to candidates or other people who inquire?

• Transparent
• Driven
• Innovative

What does it take to be successful at a company like Process Street?

Everything I’ve mentioned above!

Be initiative and proactive. Be curious. Be a problem-solver. Don’t be afraid to ask or learn. Challenge and continuously improve yourself. Be driven.

You will see others progressing well in their teams and even taking up new roles in the company! 

Other random Qs

What career advice would you give to your younger self when you were starting out in your career?

Haha! Instead of career advice, I wished I could give my younger self a bit of study advice, which is to go into tech or business.

Otherwise, I wouldn’t change anything in my career. I always believe everything happens for a reason. I wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for everything that has happened. 

If you won the lottery, what would you do with the money? 

Hmmm… It depends on how much I’d get after tax was deducted.  

I would save most of it or pay off my mortgage. Then, I would love to have the ability to travel and work remotely as long as I can.

I was fortunate enough to experience a two-week travel and work around the UK back in December 2022. Would love to do more of this in the future!

What’s the last book you read? 

Does a cookbook count? I was looking for recipes that I could meal prep for my week’s lunch.

What’s your favorite binge-worthy show? 

Oooooo! I have too many! Brooklyn 99, Friends, Big Bang Theory, Modern Family, and The Good Place, to name a few! I am currently watching Schitt’s Creek and Game of Thrones.

What do you do to relax?   

If it wasn’t obvious enough, I watch TV series and movies, usually comedies because I like a good chuckle. 

I also enjoy listening to a weird range of music. Some of my favorite go-to’s set to repeat are:

• Shape of You by Ed Sheeran

• Baby by Clean Bandit

• Counting Stars by OneRepublic

• Con Calma by Daddy Yankee & Katy Perry

• Uno by Little Big

• I’m an Albatraoz by AronChupa

• Painkiller by T-ara & The See Ya & 5Dolls & Speed

• Melted by Akdong Musician

More from our Employee Spotlight series

• Employee Spotlight: Anne Perry (Director, Solutions Consulting)
• Employee Spotlight: Cameron McKay (Co-Founder & CTO)
• Employee Spotlight: Gustavo Amaral (Customer Success Manager)
• Employee Spotlight: Ashley Chain (Director of People & Operations)

The post Employee Spotlight: Brenda Chan (Customer Support Level 2) first appeared on Process Street | Checklist, Workflow and SOP Software.

In a world where employees are increasingly treated as mere cogs in a machine, new approaches to onboarding can provide a much-needed breath of fresh air, and help to unlock the potential to transform the way companies view and treat their workforce.

In this episode of Process Street’s Employee Onboarding Podcast, we’ve got a riveting conversation between Erica Gordon Roberts and our host Erin Rice, who discuss a unique onboarding strategy that doesn’t just tick the boxes but also establishes a deep-rooted emotional connection with new hires.

We’ll delve into:

• The Importance of Buddy Programs
  • How different companies implement it
  • The unique approach to pairing ‘opposite’ employees
• The Role of Intentional Pairing
  • Criteria for pairing, including different offices, roles, and personality traits
  • The objective of fostering diverse perspectives and inclusivity
• The “Wow Factor” in Onboarding
  • Personalizing the onboarding experience through gifts
  • The process of gathering personal information to tailor the experience
• Impact on Employee Retention
  • The link between personalized onboarding and longer tenure
  • How even those who leave become brand ambassadors
• Company Culture and Onboarding
  • The influence of these practices on overall corporate culture
  • Real-life examples of the types of gifts given
• Emotional Connection and Employee Loyalty
  • How small gestures can create a long-lasting emotional bond
  • Examples of the kinds of emotional connections made
• Positive Experiences Upon Leaving a Company
  • The concept of turning even departing employees into brand ambassadors
  • Celebrating employees’ new opportunities

Join us as we explore the psychological underpinnings of this approach and its profound impact on employee retention and company culture. Discover why it’s the small, thoughtful gestures that can make the biggest difference, turning what could have been a forgettable start into an inspiring journey that employees will treasure for years to come.

You can listen on Apple, Spotify, Google, Podchaser, Podcast Addict, Deezer, & all your favorite podcast platforms!

Introducing Erica Gordon Roberts

Erin Rice:
Welcome to Process Street’s Employee Onboarding Podcast, where we are unpacking great onboarding ideas and best practices from the world’s top HR practitioners and thought leaders. At Process Street, that starts with our mission to make recurring work fun, fast, and faultless for teams everywhere. My name is Erin Rice, and I’m the people and operations coordinator here at Process Street.

Today, I’m joined by Erica Gordon Roberts. Erica is the director of Human Resources for LookListen, an Atlanta-based digital marketing agency that cures pain points with a solution-first mindset and plan of action. She is also the founder and principal consultant of TIE Solutions Group, a leadership firm that provides individual and organizational people strategy and support to elevate the employee experience.

This includes customized training, HR strategic planning and consulting, and career coaching for emerging and C-suite leaders. Erica has spent 15 years in the people space improving the employee experience so they can become ambassadors before day one. Erica is an author, speaker, and coach, dedicated to listening, learning, and connecting policies and progress that align with an organization’s values and culture. 

When she’s not wearing the People Leader hat, she is cultivating relationships in her local schools and community organizations, mentoring future leaders, and creating experiences to expose them to career opportunities.

Icebreaker Discussion

Erin:
So before we dive in, I like to ask a silly icebreaker. And so this round, I’m asking: tacos or pizza? You can’t say both!

Erica:
That’s hard. So since I can’t say both, I’m going to have to go with tacos because I can probably make every variety and even give the flavor of a little bit of pizza in a taco.

Erin:
Oh yeah, in my house we like to make “pizzadillas” where you put pizza toppings inside a quesadilla. Have you ever tried that before?

Erica:
Okay, I haven’t; I have to add it to my repertoire. We’ve got a whole taco station and we’ll line up the whole counter with all the assortments of flavors. And I think there’s probably more taco sauce and lettuce on the floor when we finish, but it makes for a good meal.

Discussing Employee Onboarding Experiences

Erin:
Yeah, it sounds awesome. We love tacos at our house too. Awesome! Well, now what we really came here for: employee onboarding. So you have had lots of experience, it sounds like in the HR field. I would love to hear a little bit about your personal onboarding with your current company.

Erica:
Oh, goodness. So it’s interesting because my current company, I actually joined right at the tail end of dealing with some of the COVID protocol. So I actually came in as folks were just re-entering the workspace and we had a scare the day before my first day because we’re going to meet in person. And my hiring manager said, I think myself or one of my kids may have COVID. So I really apologize because I know we’re scheduled to meet face to face, but I think we’re going to have to take on a virtual aspect. And so we reshifted the onboarding piece.

Unique Onboarding Challenge: Being the HR Leader

The irony of it is because I was their first official HR leader, I’m onboarding both from the perspective of a new hire and auditing the process simultaneously. So it made for a very interesting journey. Once we got beyond that first day and no COVID and we’re able to connect, I was able to meet with some of the staff and because we’re housed in both Atlanta and Denver, I even had a chance from an onboarding perspective to spend some time with both teams as a new hire, learning the team in the process, but also as the HR leader, understanding what’s important in the onboarding process.

Scaling HR in a Growing Company

Erin:
So when you say you were the first HR leader, does that mean that there wasn’t anyone in HR before you?

Erica:
So ironically enough, there are a couple of things in play. There probably was about a year and a half gap where there was no one even in the HR title process. Before then, there was like an HR person who was an office manager who kind of did a little bit of a dual role. The financial officer at the time was actually wearing double hats. 

So she’s handling some of the HR pieces as well as the financial pieces. Which was great because you knew from an auditory standpoint and from a compliance standpoint, there were not going to be any challenges. So they had a lot of the administrative things in play because she is so detailed, but what she wasn’t necessarily able to get was really focus on the people, but bringing me in was to help make sure that things they were doing would help from where we were. But to also support scaling because we’re a small company and looking to scale and get larger. So they wanted to make sure the administrative things that were in play were in compliance, not only from a legal standpoint, but to make sure that the experience for the employees was right and on time. And so, because I came from a larger company, I was able to provide some of that insight as well.

Understanding Employee Needs: A Holistic Onboarding Experience

Erin:
Yeah, so coming on board in that kind of capacity, how did you start contributing?

Erica:
So from day one, I scheduled one-on-one meetings with every single employee in the company. So it was, “Hey, I’m Erica, and I’m here to help. Tell me a little bit about what you do, what has worked well in your journey as an employee, and what are some of your pain points?” 

I also took the time to read through all of the documentation, whether it was old videos from town hall meetings, the digital employee handbook, or even some of the briefs for the clients to understand what the culture of the company was. 

And then the fun part was taking the time to look at the previous survey results and understanding the successes, the challenges, the pain points, and where, as an HR leader, I could help support improving the overarching employee experience.

Dual Perspectives: Being Both New Hire and HR Leader

Erin:
Wow, so it sounds like you were already an HR leader while you were a new hire, while you were onboarding.

Erica:
Yes, the irony of it is I would have a one-on-one check-in with my supervisor at the time and she would go, “Okay, so give me your perspective as a new hire. Tell me how everything’s going.” 

And we’d have that conversation. Then we’d flip the script and I’d have to put on my HR hat. I’d say, “So these are the things I’ve observed that we could work better on. These are the things we’re doing well.” And so, to be able to wear both hats simultaneously was a challenge, but I think it gave me a greater appreciation because oftentimes when you don’t experience the journey and you’re making changes to policies and practices, you miss the gap. And there’s a disconnect because you haven’t experienced it. 

So to experience it firsthand allowed me the opportunity to recognize where we could really make things better, but also where we could celebrate the things we had done well.

Balancing Big Ideas and Current Culture

Erin:
And I bet going from such a large company you mentioned before we started this that your previous company had 20,000 employees to a smaller company with just 20, I bet you had so many ideas to share.

Erica:
Oh, tons. And I had to take a step back because while I know there are a lot of great ideas to share, you also have to recognize your current culture. So I vowed to spend the first six months understanding current culture. The challenge was understanding current culture in the midst of a recession. 

So in the midst of preparing to scale and grow and understand culture, we were also shifting our culture due to layoffs and just transitions across the market. But also taking the time to say, what are some best practices that I’ve seen? 

That we’ve discussed here at the company we want to improve upon, and how do I make those mirrors and match for the quantity of employees we have without it becoming overwhelming.

Customizing Onboarding for Individual Learning Styles

Erin:
Right? So if you had a new hire join today, what are the tips that you would share with them to make their onboarding experience the most positive that they can?

Erica:
The first tip I would definitely share is, “Tell me how you best learn, and allow us to modify the onboarding to fit your needs.” If you’re a visual learner, we’ll spend more time with the visual aspect. If you like to touch, taste, feel, we’re gonna get your hands dirty. So really, to understand what’s your best method of learning so that we can customize our training to support that.

Gathering Information for Onboarding

Erin:
That’s awesome. And do they share that verbally? Do they share that in an email? How do you gather that information?

Erica:
So a couple of ways, I actually do the pre-screening for all of our new hires. And so I’ve already connected with them that one time and I gauge it from some of the general questions I asked then, but even in the week before we start, I send a welcoming email and ask the question: “Hey, you’re a week away from joining us. Excited to see you. Here are the things you need to do to prepare.”

Usually, based on how they respond, I get an energy and feeling for where I need to move forward. But the day they walk in the building, I ask, “What’s your preferred method of learning?” We actually do some additional training and testing based on this. We use this information to help further develop the onboarding process.

Personal Evolution and DISC Profiles

Erin:
That’s so interesting. I haven’t heard about DISC in a really long time. I used it back in my education career. It’s interesting how it has changed as I’ve evolved as an individual. It’s great that you all do that.

Collaborative Communication

Erica:
What’s really cool about the onboarding process for us is that we share everyone’s DISC profiles. As a new hire, you can go onto our web and see everybody’s profile. This lets you understand how to communicate with individuals and what their preferred needs are. 

When we do collaborative work, we actually use some of the DISC profiles to help support partnering not with like-minded people, but with people who have different thought processes. This helps foster more creativity in the workspace, which is obviously critical in a creative space.

Importance of Diverse Viewpoints in Marketing

Erin:
I was thinking about that in relation to digital marketing. Is that correct?

Erica:
Yes, we’re in the marketing sector.

Erin:
That would require lots of different types of viewpoints and cultural perspectives to really get to all the different target audiences you’re trying to reach.

Leveraging Diversity for Client Support

Erica:
Absolutely, and because most of the folks who join us are not traditional agency folks, you already have a diverse group of thoughts at the table. Balancing these two aspects makes a difference. Leveraging those differences has made us stronger and better able to support our client base.

Individual-Centric Onboarding

Erin:
It sounds like you really take the individual into account when onboarding new people. How do you balance individuality and the need for consistent information?

Erica:
That’s probably the hardest part of the journey. Check-ins play a huge role. We have a foundational structure built into a task builder. This outlines mandatory and necessary tasks for onboarding someone, whether it’s understanding health benefits, our project management system, or even basic things like where the restroom is located. We have a checklist for these items. 

After covering these basics, the conversation turns to what the individual employee needs to be successful, which we determine from their previous experience, interviews, and the initial days of onboarding. This informs what subsequent days of onboarding look like.

Onboarding Timelines and Retention

Erin:
That’s so interesting. Would you say onboarding lasts about six months, or does it start sooner than their first day?

Erica:
I define the first phase as “pre-boarding,” starting from the time you post a job. How you communicate during this phase sets the tone for an employee’s long-term relationship with the company. 

Real onboarding lasts about 120 days, during which time expectations vary. Training wheels don’t really come off until the 121st day, but even then, there’s still learning to do.

Continuous Learning and Adaptation

Erin:
Absolutely. What about those who maybe leave and come back, or maybe get promoted? Is there another round of onboarding?

Erica:
Yes, there is. We discuss expectations for new roles, especially managerial ones. We customize training based on an individual’s self-identified weaknesses. 

If someone has been with the company before and returns in a new capacity, we treat them as a new arrival. We adjust the onboarding process according to their needs and level of experience.

Final Thoughts on Effective Leadership

Erin:
That’s great. I love the idea of onboarding being beyond just learning about the company. It’s about adapting to a new role, even if you’ve been there for three years.

Erica:
Absolutely. I mean, to have a reflection of what the company was versus what it is now is great. But you’ve grown and learned as an individual. If I come in expecting you to be the same person, then I’m doing you a disservice. I want to make sure we’re clear on both aspects—what’s successful and where we need to change.

Culture Fit vs Culture Add

Erin:
Absolutely, and in HR we talk a lot about a culture fit versus a culture add. Ultimately, we want more culture-adds because we want people to continue with that evolution of growth to help our company evolve.

The Impact of Technology on Roles

Erin:
Speaking of evolution, technology is changing very quickly. There’s a lot of talk around AI and the way that it will enhance or not enhance our different roles. I’d love to hear your thoughts on how things are changing.

Erica:
So it’s ironic because AI also causes some scare, if you will, for the industry as a whole. You’re talking about creatives who are now hearing words about AI taking over certain roles and responsibilities. I think anything and everything in moderation is great.

Human Element in Technology

Erica:
I firmly believe that you can use AI. It can give you foundationally the basics, and then you build from it. The challenge becomes if you don’t teach people how to do it right. Rather than running from it, say, hey, it’s here. 

How do we leverage it? How do we use it? How do we become better at it? The diversity of technology, whether it’s VR or AI, allows us a space to connect with some employees who thrive in that space.

Onboarding and AI

Erin:
Yeah, definitely. And is there anything that you all are doing that uses AI in the onboarding process?

Erica:
Not at this time. Most of our onboarding is based upon things that we’ve set in play. But nothing necessarily in the AI space at this time.

Future Potential of AI in HR

Erin:
Interesting. I’m very curious to see how HR leaders and people leaders figure out ways to leverage this in new different ways.

Erica:
I think depending on where your space is, you’ll struggle with it. My biggest fear and worry for HR leaders globally is making sure the information is used as a tool, not as the sole resource.

Hybrid Work Environments

Erin:
Yeah, that’s awesome. So we mentioned earlier that you are in a hybrid environment. I’d love to hear a little more about how that is determined in terms of how much is in person when you’re onboarding.

Erica:
So the irony of the hybrid environment we’re in now is the employees helped determine this one. We operated in a hybrid capacity, meaning we have the tools and resources so that if you’re operating remotely, you have what you need. 

But we also make sure that if I am at home and I’m working, and you’re in the office and you’re working, neither one of you feels excluded.

Feedback Loop and Continuous Improvement

Erica:
Well, and I’ll tell you, at the end of the day, whenever we change a process or change a policy, the first thing I say is based upon your feedback from the last survey. Here’s what we’re doing. Don’t just give feedback lightly and don’t not give it because you think no one’s listening.

Human Resources to People Leaders

Erin:
To create these small shifts, you get those people who are in the middle of the world. And from my perspective, that is the biggest shift from human resources to people leaders.

Erica:
Absolutely.

Erin:
It really is, you know, that idea of leading the people, not doing the work for them, just leading them there.

Creating “Wow” Moments for New Hires

Erica:
So I can’t take credit for this one, but I will say it’s one we’re doing in our current culture. We actually pair opposites for our buddy programs. So you have to be in different offices, different roles and responsibilities, and on opposite spectrums of the DISC profile.

The Power of Buddy Programs in Employee Onboarding

Erica:
So I can’t take credit for this one, but I will say it’s one we’re doing in our current culture. I’ve always talked about the importance of buddy programs and every company I’ve been with, it’s had a different impact and influence. 

We actually pair opposites for our buddy programs. So you have to be in different offices, different roles and responsibilities, and on opposite spectrums of the DISC profile. So we’re very intentional and make sure you’re totally different so that you can see the best in people who are not like you.

The ‘Wow’ Factor

The pairing is not what’s the interesting piece. The interesting part is, I send some communication to the new employee and I say, “Hey, I’ve paired you with a buddy to help you get used to the culture of the company. Here’s your connection. They’ll be scheduling some time to meet with you.”

The wow factor is while that person is scheduling time to meet with them, they’re also digging for information. What’s their favorite food? What’s their favorite color? What do they like to do when they’re not at work? Do they have kids? Do they have pets? Do they have a favorite sports team?

So they’re having this just casual conversation, but they’re actually digging in to find out what’s the one thing that really makes their heart smile. And so they take that information, they send me three gift ideas. And based on those three gift ideas, we send a gift to the employee’s home, compliments of their buddy.

Unforgettable Experiences

And when I tell you that gifts have been everything from crochet purses to shot glasses to a Monopoly set for someone’s alma mater, and each and every time the person is just like overjoyed and it’s a gift from their buddy.

And when I circle back and talk to someone a year from now, they’re like, “You know what, the most important thing that stood out to me during my onboarding was my time with my buddy.” And it’s something so small and so simple, but it lends you to understand that someone’s taking the time just to listen.

Creating Company Ambassadors

And that’s how you create ambassadors because they recognize you actually listen. You took a water hose and plugged it to my face and said, “Here’s all the things about this company,” and were overwhelmed with all this information. 

But in the midst of all that, you remember that I like college football with my kids and you bought me a small football for me to go in the front yard and play football with my kids. 

That’s how you create ambassadors. You connect and you understand what is important to them and you remember. 

And you remember it six months from now, a year from now, when football season comes, you send a Slack message like, “Here’s hoping your team loses because we are rival teams.”

Retaining and Reconnecting Employees

Erin:
That’s amazing, and I can only imagine how that has impacted retention at your company.

Erica:
Absolutely, absolutely. And the agency space is one that typically has frequent turnover. I am fortunate enough with the team that I’m with now, we’ve got folks that have been here a long time. And then we have folks that turn, but the folks that turn, they usually turn because they’ve got bigger and better things that we can celebrate with them.

And somehow we always manage to reconnect, whether it’s through clients or through work together, but that’s how you create ambassadors. So even when they move on, we celebrate those successes and there’s always an opportunity to reconnect.

Creating a Positive Employee Experience

Erin:
Isn’t it amazing to be able to leave a company and have a positive experience in that kind of space?

Erica:
Absolutely.

Erin:
That’s amazing. Well, thank you so much, Erica. This has been lovely. I have so many nuggets that I have written down that I plan to take back to my team as well. And I’m sure those listening would feel the same. So, yeah, thank you again.

Erica:
Thanks, and I appreciate the time. It’s been fun.

Listen to The Employee Onboarding Podcast on your favorite podcast platforms!

Don’t forget to check out (& follow) Process Street’s Employee Onboarding Podcast on your favorite podcast platforms like Apple, Spotify, Google, Podchaser, Podcast Addict, Deezer, & all your favorite podcast platforms!

Let us know what you thought about this episode in the comments below – and feel free to offer suggestions for future topics and guests, too.

The post Podcast: The ‘Wow’ Factor: Rethinking Employee Onboarding & Retention first appeared on Process Street | Checklist, Workflow and SOP Software.

The widespread adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in marketing has reached a pivotal moment. Nowadays, it’s rare to come across any company, regardless of its size, that doesn’t leverage cutting-edge AI marketing tools to better their brand or business’s marketing efforts.

Whether you’re a blogger, an e-commerce entrepreneur, an affiliate marketer, or part of a global corporation, including AI-powered marketing tools into your business strategy is an absolute game-changer. 

By harnessing the power of AI, you can orchestrate and execute highly impactful marketing campaigns that propel you towards achieving your goals with unmatched speed and efficiency. 

But we know marketing is a vast space with many different mediums. That’s why we’ve found a tool for every aspect of marketing, from content creation to comprehensive marketing process management. Check it out:

• Process AI: Best for building and running marketing processes
• AI Carousels: Best for creating social media content
• Optimove: Best for processing marketing campaign data
• GrowthBar: Best for SEO optimization
• Opus Clip: Best for short-form video creation 
• ElevenLabs: Best for text-to-speech audio creation 
• AI Buster: Best for writing assistance
• GetGenie: Best for content marketing
• Graphite: Best for marketing strategy creation
• Capsule AI Studio: Best for video content creation  
• Maximizing your marketing efforts: Working smarter, not harder

Process AI: Best for building and running marketing processes

Process Street’s Process AI can be utilized as a powerful marketing tool to streamline and optimize various marketing processes. Here are some ways Process Street’s Process AI can be used for marketing:

Lead generation and qualification

Process AI can assist in automating lead generation and qualification processes. By integrating with CRM systems or marketing automation platforms, Process AI can:

• Automatically analyze incoming leads
• Qualify these leads based on predefined criteria
• Assign them to the appropriate sales or marketing teams for further follow-up

Campaign planning and execution

Marketing teams spend tons of time planning and executing their campaigns. Including Process AI in this process can help streamline the campaign planning and execution stages. 

This AI marketing tool can automate the creation of campaign workflows, providing step-by-step instructions for each task, setting deadlines, and assigning responsibilities. All this is constructed through a single prompt. 

When the workflow has been set up with Process AI, you can run the process to ensure that campaign activities are properly executed, and there’s a paper trail of everything that’s been done for added accountability and transparency. 

Content creation and publishing

Process AI proves invaluable in various content creation and publishing scenarios, enhancing productivity and output quality. Here are a few examples of how Process AI can be useful:

Blogging

Process AI can automate the workflow for blog post creation and publishing. It can assist in keyword research, outline building, and the necessary approvals from picking a title to publishing the blog. This streamlines the entire process, ensuring consistent quality and saving time for content creators.

Social media management

With Process AI, social media tasks become effortless. It can automate the scheduling and publishing of posts across platforms, track engagement metrics, and suggest optimal posting times. 

By simplifying these tasks, Process AI allows marketing teams to focus on crafting engaging content and fostering meaningful interactions with their audience.

Email marketing

Process AI can streamline the process of creating and sending marketing emails. It can help generate personalized email templates, optimize subject lines and call-to-action phrases, and automate email sequencing. This not only saves time but also ensures a cohesive and effective email marketing strategy.

Content review and editing

Process AI plays a significant role in the review and editing process. The AI-powered process management platform automated constructed a workflow with tasks around:

• Checking grammar, spelling, and readability
• Ensuring that content meets high-quality standards
• Fact-checking statistics and information 

Tasks are also included to ensure and feedback from editors is easily visible, making the editing process more efficient and effective.

Content localization

When expanding into international markets, Process AI aids in content localization. It can help with translation, cultural adaptation, and ensuring consistency across different language versions of the content. This streamlines the localization process and helps maintain brand voice and messaging integrity.

AI Carousels: Best for creating social media content 

AI Carousels can be an excellent marketing tool for social media creation, offering a visually engaging and interactive way to share content with your audience. 

Here’s how AI Carousels can be used as a marketing tool for social media:

Storytelling and information sharing

AI Carousels allow you to tell a story or share information in a dynamic and captivating manner. You can use each carousel slide to convey a different message or highlight various aspects of your product, service, or brand. 

Product showcases and demos

AI Carousels are ideal for showcasing your products or services. The tool can create visually appealing slides that highlight different product variations, demonstrate usage scenarios, or showcase customer testimonials. By using AI-generated visuals or graphics, you can create attention-grabbing carousels that stand out from the competition.

Interactive quizzes and polls

Utilize AI Carousels to effectively boost engagement by incorporating interactive polls or quizzes that resonate with your audience’s interests. Engaging your audience through thought-provoking questions, multiple-choice options, and direct interaction within the carousel fosters a deeper connection. 

This strategy not only increases engagement but also offers valuable insights and feedback from your audience, empowering you to make data-driven decisions. 

Before and after comparisons

If your product or service involves transformations or improvements, AI Carousels can effectively showcase before and after scenarios. This can be particularly useful in industries such as fitness, home improvement, or beauty. 

By presenting visually compelling comparisons, you can demonstrate the effectiveness of your offerings and generate interest and desire among your target audience.

User-generated content

AI Carousels offer a valuable opportunity to harness the power of user-generated content (UGC) and create meaningful connections with your audience. By encouraging individuals to share their photos, videos, or testimonials, you can curate these submissions into captivating carousels. 

This strategic approach not only amplifies authenticity but also nurtures a vibrant sense of community and active engagement with your brand. By showcasing UGC through AI Carousels, you not only empower your audience but also foster a sense of ownership and pride among contributors. 

Mini tutorials or tips

Use AI Carousels to provide quick and actionable tutorials or tips related to your industry or niche. Each slide can feature a bite-sized tip, accompanied by visuals or graphics that enhance understanding and retention. This positions your brand as an authority and provides value to your audience.

Seasonal promotions and campaigns

AI Carousels can be employed to promote seasonal offers, discounts, or limited-time campaigns. By creating visually appealing slides with persuasive copy and compelling visuals, you can generate excitement and urgency among your audience, encouraging them to take advantage of your promotions.

Optimove: Best for processing marketing campaign data

Optimove is a powerful marketing tool that specializes in customer relationship management (CRM) and customer retention. It offers advanced AI-powered data analytics and segmentation capabilities, enabling businesses to personalize their marketing efforts and maximize customer lifetime value. 

Here’s how Optimove can be used as an AI marketing tool:

Customer segmentation

Optimove helps businesses segment their customer base effectively. It utilizes advanced algorithms and machine learning to analyze customer behavior, preferences, and purchase history. 

This allows you to create targeted customer segments based on various attributes such as: 

• Demographics
• Purchase frequency
• Browsing behavior
• Engagement level

With well-defined segments, you can tailor your marketing campaigns to specific customer groups, improving relevancy and response rates.

Personalized campaigns

With Optimove, you can create highly personalized marketing campaigns across multiple channels, including:

• Email
• Mobile push notifications
• SMS

Leveraging customer data and segmentation, you can deliver tailored messages, recommendations, and offers that resonate with individual customers. Personalization boosts engagement, customer satisfaction, and conversion rates, leading to increased revenue and loyalty, which is exactly what you want to achieve. 

A/B testing and optimization

Optimove facilitates A/B testing and optimization of your marketing campaigns. You can experiment with different content, messaging, offers, and delivery times to identify the most effective strategies. Through data-driven insights and analytics, you can refine your campaigns and continuously improve their performance, maximizing conversions and revenue.

ROI analysis and reporting

The AI-powered tool is designed with comprehensive reporting and analysis tools to evaluate the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns. It enables you to:

• Track key performance indicators (KPIs)
• Measure ROI
• Assess the impact of different marketing initiatives

With actionable insights, you can make data-driven decisions, allocate resources efficiently, and optimize your marketing strategies.

GrowthBar: Best for SEO optimization

GrowthBar is a marketing tool designed to help businesses optimize their online marketing efforts and improve their search engine visibility. It provides valuable SEO (Search Engine Optimization) insights and data directly within your browser, allowing you to make informed decisions and take actionable steps to grow your online presence. 

Here’s how GrowthBar can be used as a marketing tool:

Keyword research

You’re provided with an all-inclusive set of tools for conducting keyword research. Within the GrowthBar platform, you have the ability to: 

• Delve into keyword volumes
• Assess competition levels
• Discover related keyword suggestions

This enables you to pinpoint valuable keywords that are in sync with your business and cater to your target audience. By seamlessly integrating keyword research into your content strategy, you can optimize your website and craft content that not only attracts organic traffic but also captures relevant search queries.

Competitor analysis

GrowthBar enables you to analyze your competitors’ websites and online presence. You can gain insights into their: 

• Top-ranking keywords
• Backlink profiles
• Traffic estimates

This information allows you to understand your competitors’ strategies and identify areas of opportunity. You can then refine your own SEO and marketing tactics to outperform your competitors and capture a larger share of the market.

On-page SEO optimization

This AI marketing tool offers on-page SEO recommendations for your website’s pages. It analyzes factors such as meta tags, headers, content length, keyword usage, and internal linking. By following these recommendations, you can: 

• Optimize your web pages for search engines
• Improve your organic rankings
• Increase the visibility of your website in search results

Backlink analysis

Insights into backlinks are easily available through GrowthBar, which is a crucial factor for search engine rankings. You can view your own backlink profile as well as your competitors’ backlinks. This helps you identify authoritative websites and potential link-building opportunities. By acquiring high-quality backlinks, you can enhance your website’s: 

• Authority
• Credibility
• Search engine rankings

Content strategy

GrowthBar assists in developing an effective content strategy. By analyzing search volumes, competition levels, and related topics, you can identify content gaps and opportunities in your industry. This enables you to create valuable, relevant, and SEO-friendly content that resonates with your target audience and attracts organic traffic.

Local SEO

If you have a local business, GrowthBar provides specific features for local SEO optimization. It helps you identify local keywords, track local rankings, and analyze local competitors. This allows you to optimize your website and online presence to target customers in specific geographic locations, improving your visibility in local search results.

SERP analysis

GrowthBar provides a detailed analysis of search engine results pages (SERPs) for specific keywords. You can view: 

• Organic search results
• Paid advertisements
• Featured snippets
• Related searches

This information helps you understand the SERP landscape and adjust your SEO and content strategies accordingly to increase your chances of ranking higher and capturing more clicks.

Opus Clip: Best for short-form video creation 

Opus Clip is an AL-powered video editing and screen recording tool that can be utilized as a marketing tool to create engaging visual content for various marketing purposes. 

Here’s how Opus Clip can be used in marketing:

Video content creation

With Opus Clip’s intuitive interface and editing features, you can craft compelling video content that captures the attention of your audience and communicates your marketing messages effectively. The tool allows you to create professional-looking videos to promote your products, services, or brand. You can edit and enhance your videos by adding text overlays, annotations, transitions, and effects. 

Screen recording and product demonstrations

Opus Clip’s screen recording feature enables you to capture your computer screen, making it ideal for creating product demonstrations, tutorials, or software walkthroughs. You can record your screen while showcasing the features and benefits of your product or providing step-by-step instructions. This helps potential customers better understand your offerings and increases their engagement with your brand.

Social media marketing

This AI marketing tool supports video optimization for various social media platforms. You can easily resize and customize your videos to meet the specific requirements of platforms like: 

• Instagram
• Facebook
• Twitter
• LinkedIn 

This allows you to create tailored video content for different social media channels, improving your reach and engagement with your target audience.

Video ads and promotions

You can easily create eye-catching video ads and promotional content with Opus Clip. With this AI tool, you can leverage its editing features to add call-to-action (CTA) overlays, branded elements, and captivating visuals. By creating compelling video ads, you: 

• Capture the interest of potential customers
• Increase click-through rates
• Drive conversions

Video testimonials and customer stories

Opus Clip helps you create impactful video testimonials and customer stories. You can interview satisfied customers or partners and edit the footage to create persuasive video content that highlights the benefits and success stories related to your products or services. Video testimonials add credibility to your brand and can influence the purchasing decisions of potential customers.

Video email marketing

You’re empowered to streamline the video production for your email campaigns with Opus Clip. This AI marketing tool lets you create personalized video content, which can significantly improve: 

• Open rates
• Click-through rates
• Overall engagement with your audience

You can record short video messages, product updates, or special offers and embed them in your email communications. 

ElevenLabs: Best for text-to-speech audio creation 

ElevenLabs’ Prime Voice AI can be used as a marketing tool to enhance various aspects of content creation and audience engagement. 

Here’s how it can be utilized:

Enhanced storytelling 

Prime Voice AI offers realistic Text-to-Speech (TTS) and Voice Cloning capabilities. This allows marketers to create compelling audio content for storytelling purposes. Whether it’s for podcasts, video game development, short stories, or branded content, the lifelike voices generated by Prime Voice AI can enhance the immersive experience and captivate the audience.

Language expansion

Expanding into new markets and languages is a significant opportunity for marketers. With Prime Voice AI, you can generate top-quality spoken audio in multiple languages, allowing you to reach and engage diverse audiences globally. This can help increase: 

• Brand awareness
• Accessibility
• Audience growth

Speech synthesis for marketing content

Prime Voice AI’s Speech Synthesis tool allows marketers to convert written marketing content, such as blog posts, social media updates, and promotional materials, into professional audio quickly. This enables you to offer audio versions of your content, catering to users who prefer listening over reading. It enhances accessibility and provides an additional touchpoint to connect with your audience.

Brand voice customization

With VoiceLab, marketers can design entirely new synthetic voices or clone their own voices. This allows for customization and consistency in brand voice across various audio content. Having a unique and recognizable brand voice can strengthen brand identity and improve brand recall among your audience.

AI Buster: Best for writing assistance 

AI Buster is an advanced AI-powered writing assistant for content creation. 

Here’s how it can be used in your marketing team: 

Content generation

AI Buster enables marketers to generate a wide range of content types such as blog posts, product reviews, case studies, and more. Marketers can easily leverage the AI-powered writing assistant to quickly create high-quality content tailored to their target audience. This content can then be used to:

• Attract organic traffic
• Engage website visitors
• Drive conversions

Auto-blogging

AI Buster simplifies the content creation, scheduling, and publishing workflow. Marketers can automate their blogging activities by using the tool to generate blog posts and then schedule them for publishing. This ensures:

• A consistent publishing schedule
• Keeps the website fresh with new content
• Enhances overall website performance

Content optimization

You can use AI Buster for content optimization. Marketers can input existing content into the tool and receive suggestions for improvements, such as enhancing readability, improving SEO, or making the content more compelling. This optimization feature helps marketers refine their content for better performance and audience engagement.

GetGenie: Best for content creation 

GetGenie leverages AI algorithms and machine learning to automate various content and SEO tasks, such as keyword research, content optimization, competitor analysis, and performance tracking. 

Here’s how it can be used: 

Automated keyword research

The AI algorithms offered by GetGenie can analyze search trends, user behavior, and competitor data to provide automated keyword research. Marketers can quickly identify relevant keywords and phrases to optimize their content for better search engine visibility and attract targeted organic traffic.

Content optimization

GetGenie offers content optimization recommendations based on AI-driven analysis. It can suggest improvements to headings, meta tags, content structure, and keyword usage to help marketers create SEO-friendly content that ranks well in search engine results pages (SERPs).

Competitor analysis

With GetGenie’s competitor analysis feature, marketers can gain valuable insights into their competitors’ SEO strategies. The tool can identify competitor keywords, backlink profiles, and content gaps, enabling marketers to refine their own strategies and stay ahead in the competitive landscape.

Performance tracking

This AI marketing tool provides real-time SEO analysis and performance tracking. Marketers can monitor:

• Keyword rankings
• Organic traffic metrics
• Backlink profiles

These metrics help marketers assess the effectiveness of their SEO efforts. The tool offers actionable insights and recommendations for improving website visibility and increasing organic traffic based on these metrics.

Graphite Note: Best for marketing strategy creation

Graphite Note is an analytics tool that uses AI to interpret data and turns it into strategic marketing strategies. 

Here’s how Graphite Note can be used as an AI marketing tool:

Data visualization

Graphite Note enables marketers to create visually compelling charts, graphs, and dashboards to represent marketing data. You can import data from various sources, such as: 

• CRM systems
• Web analytics tools
• Social media platforms
• Advertising platforms

By visualizing your data, you can quickly identify patterns, trends, and correlations, allowing for a better understanding and interpretation of marketing performance.

Performance tracking

With Graphite Note, you can track and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) related to your marketing efforts. By creating customized dashboards, you can view real-time metrics such as: 

• Website traffic
• Conversion rates
• Email campaign performance
• Social media engagement
• Advertising ROI

This helps you measure the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns and optimize them for better results.

Campaign analysis

Graphite Note allows you to analyze the performance of your marketing campaigns in detail. You can track metrics like impressions, clicks, conversions, and revenue across different channels and campaigns. 

By visualizing this data, you can identify which campaigns are driving the most value and allocate your marketing budget accordingly. It also helps you identify underperforming campaigns and take corrective actions.

Customer segmentation

You’re provided with easy customer segmentation and analysis. By combining demographic, behavioral, and transactional data, you create meaningful customer segments. 

From here, you can understand the characteristics and behaviors of different customer groups. This enables you to: 

• Personalize your marketing efforts
• Tailor messages (and offers to specific segments) 
• Improve overall customer targeting

Marketing funnel analysis

Graphite Note helps you analyze and optimize your marketing funnel. You can track the customer journey from awareness to conversion and identify any bottlenecks or areas for improvement. 

By visualizing the conversion rates at each stage of the funnel, you can pinpoint areas where customers drop off or get stuck. This allows you to optimize your marketing strategies and tactics to improve conversion rates and drive more sales.

Capsule AI Studio: Best for video content creation  

Capsule AI Studio, an AI-assisted video editor and uses AI to automatically add professional-looking video elements like motion graphics, B-roll, and captions. 

Here’s how it can be utilized as an AI marketing tool: 

Quick and professional video editing

Capsule AI Studio leverages AI technology to automatically add professional-looking video elements like: 

• Motion graphics
• B-roll footage
• Captions

This allows marketers to create visually engaging videos without the need for advanced video editing skills or relying heavily on professional editors. The tool streamlines the video editing process, saving time and effort.

On-brand and customizable videos

With Capsule AI Studio, marketers can ensure that their videos are on-brand and align with their visual identity. The tool allows for customization, enabling users to incorporate their own: 

• Branding elements
• Logos
• Colors
• Fonts

This ensures consistency across marketing videos, enhancing brand recognition and maintaining a cohesive visual presence.

Maximizing your marketing efforts: Working smarter, not harder

In today’s marketing landscape, AI has become a game-changer. It’s hard to find any company, big or small, that isn’t using cutting-edge AI tools to supercharge their marketing.

No matter if you’re a blogger, an online seller, or part of a huge corporation, adding AI-powered marketing tools to your playbook is a total game-changer. These tools let you run killer marketing campaigns that help you reach your goals crazy fast.

The future of marketing? It’s all about AI – making things efficient, effective, and seriously exciting. And if you’re not jumping on the bandwagon, your marketing results will fall behind. 

Do you have any other use cases for marketing tools that you’d like to see powered by AI? Let us know in the comments.

The post 10 Powerful AI Marketing Tools to Grow Your Business in 2023 first appeared on Process Street | Checklist, Workflow and SOP Software.

Want to take your onboarding to the next level? You’re in for a treat with our latest podcast featuring Erin and Wristy, who dive into some game-changing approaches to humanizing the workplace and leveling up your team culture.

If you’re an HR pro, team leader, or just a culture-curious individual, this one’s for you.

Here’s what we’ll unpack:

• “Culture Add” vs. “Culture Fit”: What’s the Real Deal?
• The Power of a Team Charter: Saying Goodbye to Lengthy Presentations
• Q&A Rounds: A Safe Space to Ask Anything
• Buddy System & Mentorship: Two Sides of the Same Coin?
• Creating “Wow” Moments in Onboarding
• Ownership & Accountability: Why Your Employees Will Stick Around

So, if you’re ready to get some actionable insights straight from the experts, read on!

You can listen on Apple, Spotify, Google, Podchaser, Podcast Addict, Deezer, & all your favorite podcast platforms!

Onboarding Strategist and HR Innovator, Wristy

Erin:

Today, I’m joined by Wristy. She is currently an independent contractor partnering with startups and long-standing companies in both the corporate and social sectors on people experience and labor compliance.

Wristy is recognized for bringing structure out of uncertainty with a demonstrated ability to create and integrate programs, processes, and frameworks that enable individuals and teams to effortlessly produce the best work they are capable of while providing flexibility.

She is a lifelong learner and a social volunteer in the field of education. Thanks for joining us today!

Wristy:
Thank you so much, Erin. It’s a pleasure to join and be a part of the podcast.

Icebreaker: Wristy’s #1 Bucket-List Destination

Erin:
That’s something we have in common, education. I actually had a 15-year education career before joining Process Street.

Wristy:
I used to be a teacher earlier, full-time, and now I volunteer as a teacher with government labor schools free of cost. So it’s a complete volunteering activity on all my weekends.

Erin:
That’s amazing. Living this remote, flexible life, I also volunteer in my daughter’s first-grade class on Thursday mornings.

Wristy:
That’s great.

Erin:
We are so excited to have you today. I know you’ve been traveling quite a bit recently. I’d love to hear what your number one bucket list travel destination is.

Wristy:
Hi everyone, my number one bucket list destination would be Kashmir. I have been to Kanyakumari this time, and that’s one end of India. Now, I want to travel to the other end of India, that’s Kashmir. Although I’ve been to Leh, Ladakh, I did not get the opportunity, because of a lot of political reasons, to visit the entire Kashmir.

Wristy’s Employee Onboarding Expertise

Erin:
That’s incredible! So now what we really came here for, employee onboarding. I’d love to hear a little bit about your background and how you became an expert in employee onboarding.

Wristy:
So I have expertise in HR. And when I say HR, it’s not only processes or transactions. It’s about process re-engineering. We’re integrating processes and tools with a people perspective. My first step, when I did my Lean Six Sigma, I’m a green belt in that.

My first project was onboarding re-engineering for five clients of mine while I was in a management consulting firm. And then I implemented the project in different ways: on-site, hybrid, as well as remote globally. And I realized that this is one of the first areas because at that time, I did not manage hiring. So for me, onboarding was the first area where I was interacting with the new hires and found that I am the face, or my team is the face, of the company.

People are learning about the culture; they are trying to see companies, processes, culture, people, how to navigate within the company through me and my team’s eyes because, again, we are the first contact for them. And then, I would say it has been a non-stop journey.

I have created, I would say, more than 25 onboarding programs, some nationally and some globally, particularly in the US, Canada, London, Porto, and Lisbon.

Story-time: Good, Bad, & Ugly Onboarding Experiences

Erin:
That’s amazing. That’s very global! So thinking back on your own onboarding experiences for companies that you worked with previously, tell us the good, the bad, the ugly.

From Paperwork to Swag: The Evolving Landscape of Company Onboarding

Wristy:
I’ll start with the good. So, at that time when I was actually working, everything was on-site. So reaching the office on the first day, everything was set up. A lot of paperwork, forms, HR, compliance, finance, admin, and IT.

Getting the system on day one, and the IT person did all the settings for attendance and emails. Everything was created on the first day. And then, attending an induction session every day of two or three departments about what they do and what their team size is and how much they’re contributing. That’s how my induction program started, which after a few times went from individual induction to collective inductions.

That is, all the people who had joined in that quarter were filling out the forms, but the meetings with the leaders, with the team members, and others, cross-functional teams, used to happen on a quarterly basis in an off-site. All the new hires, along with the leaders, were taken outside, and it was the same process again.

The main difference was we started getting swag. I remember receiving four t-shirts: white, black, yellow, and some shade of green that I had never seen. It was less than a parrot but more than a sea-green.

I received two hats with company logos. I had a lot of stationery with me. I still have it here next to my desk. Pen, paper, sticky notes, a lot of stuff, a bottle and balls. I received balls, basketballs, with company logos on them.

Erin:
Interesting!

Wristy:
So there are a lot of swags and what the company at that time did was, every session you attend while you are coming in you’re getting stationary; while you are coming out, you’re getting swag to make the onboarding interesting. And it was at that time around three days onboarding them, and we were given, we were even sent to R&D centers to see actually what the company is doing.

As an HR, I remember going to the distributor of the company along with the sales and distribution team wherein the company said that you need to know, as an HR, what your people are doing.

And I believe that was the first sense for me to understand that HR is just more than papers and processes and policies. It’s more about knowing the people, putting in extra effort, going an extra mile.

Onboarding Adventures and Employee Branding Insights

And from there, the journey about more than an HR journey, I would say a people journey, started. Going forward, while I came to management consulting, that was my own venture, my first one, ventured into management consulting; they were retail sectors. And their onboardings were completely out of the way.

Their onboardings even included at higher levels, sending them to their mother companies in the US. On a quarterly basis, all the new hires used to be sent for a month to the mother company to know the actual process, to meet the leaders, sit with them and learn from them, come back and then have brown bag sessions here.

So whatever they have learned, they are going to have brown bag sessions one by one in the next three months when another lot has gone, to tell the people in India as to how the company has progressed, what’s the new thing that they have seen as a culture, and what more in India we need to grow on.

While we sent there, there were new hires. And while they came back after onboarding, they were the company’s brand ambassadors.

Erin:
Wow, that sounds incredible.

Wristy:
That was my second learning. That employees are the first brand ambassadors. How much you post on social media, how much you give increments, but when it comes from an employee’s mouth, how happy they are, and that sense of belongingness that’s created, that’s what employee branding actually is. And that starts from onboarding. Because if they’re happy, and if they’re happy in the start, and it continues, it continues. I remember having in the same company kick-offs.

Every year there was a kick-off, and all the leaders used to come down, and they used to dress up like Indians to an extent, kurta pajamas. I remember one of my CTOs, wearing a dhoti and a kurta with a pagdi, just to be a part of the team and show that you know, even if we are culturally different, we are flexible enough.

I remember the COO of the company celebrating his son’s birthday, calling his wife and two sons from the US to India, and celebrating his son’s birthday with the company, the team members, saying that I work with this, I have two families, and I’m going to come at least one day, my two families are going to come together and that’s my son’s birthday. It was my third learning in the journey that most of the time we spend in our office.

They are people. They are not just productive machines that we are paying salaries to, and we need to get work. But there is a people perspective and as an HR, I need to maintain that.

From Groundwork to Global: The Ever-Evolving HR Landscape in a Remote World

The next step in my journey was the social sector. In the social sector, I used to work on the grounds. Grounds wherein, apart from HR, I started doing finance, I started doing IT, I started doing a lot of communication stuff, behavioral communication with people who work actually on the ground. And that gave me a new perspective that there is another side of life. And it’s not only taking care of people but being a part of them, and they are two different things.

So, and lastly, the journey was everything evolves. We came into COVID overnight, everything went remote. Although the company I was working in during the COVID times when COVID hit, the company was already remote globally. They only wanted productivity. They didn’t care about the attendance, who’s coming, what they are wearing, from where they are working. They didn’t care.

So as soon as we turned remote globally and everything, new tools had to be implemented overnight. The learning that happened with me in my journey was, it’s not the tool implementation I need to concentrate on. It’s about the user experience I need to concentrate on, which is not one-time, which is lifelong.

As an example, I still get calls from my previous director on the tool that he uses, and I am no longer using. That, Wristy, how do I see my equity in this? And I tell him it’s been three years now, I’ve left you. You are on your own. So it’s relationship building as an HR. That’s my journey, and probably that’s why when I have been laid off, people are still connected, and as a consultant, I’m still getting work. It’s less, but I’m still getting it because of this relationship building.

So yeah, that’s how my journey started and this is where I am.

The Role of People Leaders

Erin:
That sounds incredible. I love your connection to that evolution of human resources to people-focused culture. Now we’re called people leaders because that’s exactly what we are. We’re here to support the people of the business. My kids tell me that I’m a people helper. That’s my job. That’s what they tell people.

Wristy:
But that’s actually correct, we are helping everyone to grow along with ourselves.

Engagement Programs: Adapting to Remote Settings

Erin:
Exactly. Yeah, I tell them I’m like, “You’re not wrong.” So, you mentioned the pandemic and this shift. Tell me how you saw technology play a part in this evolution from in-office roles to fully remote roles.

Wristy:
So the transition was we were meeting every day. We knew what the other person was doing, not only through words but also through facial expressions in person and by body language. Which, while we shifted to remote, became less; the interactions decreased. People actually started missing from the meetings. And during the meetings as well, because there were so many meetings that used to happen. When they used to happen in person, people used to enjoy each other’s company.

But when they happened on the screen, it led to high screen time, impacting mental health. So people started closing their cameras. So we were unable to see each other. That bond, that connection, was being lost. So new kinds of engagement programs had to be brought in. We could not meet in person, but we could still have lunches. So Uber Eats came in. They said, “This is an Uber Eats coupon. You are in the US; you are in London; you are in India. So we’ll have three batches: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And these are the meeting times. Order for yourself and for your family and let’s be there on the call. Let’s have virtual food. Let’s have virtual coffees.”

Tools for Onboarding Communication: Zendesk

Wristy:
Another kind of engagement that was created was, for the first time, a German company celebrated Diwali globally. We celebrated Diwali, a very big Indian festival, three times in a day. Anyone who could join in any of these three times could. And there were people who, having already joined either the first or second session, enjoyed it so much that they wanted to join the third session as well, which was very late at night, because it was in the US time zone. Another change was that traveling was restricted. So while earlier we were meeting distributors and clients in person, which also gave them confidence in us, during this pandemic, that started waning. We weren’t meeting. The conversations became less frequent; they happened more over email or through messages on WhatsApp or regular text messages. To restore that confidence, we brought in tools like Zendesk. Through Zendesk, we gave access to vendors as well.

“This is our tool, but let’s connect on Zendesk. We understand that emails are too formal; we understand we can’t meet you in person. So Zendesk is similar to Slack.”

For informal communications, we started using it with vendors. We found that people were more comfortable with Zendesk than emails, and they started using it more like phone calls. That’s where the tools helped us move from an on-site situation where people had started losing trust because of COVID, to finally getting back on track and creating more trust.

I remember having three vendors together in a month coming to us. Our partners also would like to be a part. So do you have this? Because it is only you who’s trying to connect with us. In our engagement activities, one of them was Diwali celebrations; we called our vendors also to be a part of it because you have also contributed.

Remote Hiring Tools: From Lever to Ashby

Then came hiring. Because now was the time I was involved in hiring also. Earlier there were in-person interviews; a person had to come six times to the office and people were available or they were already in meetings.

So we upgraded Lever. We were using Lever. We first upgraded Lever and then we converted from Lever to Ashby. And the interview process became smoother for us because now people don’t have to come. They are okay for late evenings or early mornings interviews also. Of course, the other part was that they were looking out for a job. COVID created a lot of job hits. But now they were more comfortable.

We gave them the opportunity to not open their cameras during some of the calls because it’s very early morning or late evenings. So it’s okay. Don’t turn on your cameras. We are okay with the background sound also. You are having lunch and at that time you want to speak to us. We are fine as long as you are comfortable.

And we made sure that during the interview, if the candidate is having lunch, whoever the interviewer was, we said, sit there with a coffee or a snack or something, even if you’re not eating, just to make them comfortable.

So the tool helped in making the process flexible and also new ways of making the candidate comfortable had to be thought about, like one of them as simple as that.

Performance Appraisals: Lattice for Peer Recognition

So, performance appraisals, now there were tools. I think performance appraisals have been a great hit. Earlier we could evaluate if something is going on; when we became remote, it was more of now we do not know what’s happening. How much we interact on calls, we do not know. That’s still a hit. People are trying to work around with it.

But many companies are there. One of the tools that I found fascinating was Lattice. Lattice was not only a performance tool, but you could give feedback. You could give kudos to other people in private, in public, to the manager. You could ask for feedback, which started helping people in their appraisals. So that tool helped us in knowing people more. If there are five projects running, as a leader, I would not know exactly who is doing what. So through Lattice, we started peer recognition. Write what, why, and connect it to a company value.

So there, the tool literally helped people think through their communication skills, what exactly the company values are, and then recognition. Now, everyone could give recognition to anyone, at any time. I can give recognition to anyone right now. Someone in the US can give me recognition because now there is transparency in what I am doing.

Transparency via Confluence + Notion

And then I think Confluence and Notion have been the biggest things. No more paperwork. Everything is there, available online whenever, whatever you want to see. You can create your projects there. You can come up with ideas there. And again, there is an open platform; it’s transparency, which I think is one of the first steps to creating a people culture, transparency as to what’s happening in the company.

Erin:
That’s amazing. I couldn’t agree more. Transparency provides exactly that, transparency. But also, as an individual contributor, I’m more likely to want to contribute on day one if that transparency is there, which is hugely important.

Wristy:
True. And then through transparency, in case I want to contribute to something else. For example, I want you to contribute to a tool implementation. I know what projects are going on because it’s there on Confluence or Notion. I can just come up and say that I want to volunteer. So that also gives me an opportunity to learn and grow in another field.

“Culture Add” vs. “Culture Fit”: What’s the Real Deal?

Erin:
Yeah, one of the things that was super overwhelming for me when I joined my current company, Process Street, was I had trust on day one. Having come from education where all trust is earned, it was a little bit overwhelming to have that the first day. And they’re asking my opinions about things and I’m like, why am I so important? And it’s like, I went through the hiring process. They already vetted me. They knew what they were getting on day one, so it was very much like just jump right in and you either trust the process or you don’t, right? And I’ve been able to really rely on that now.

Speaking of processes, I understand that you love processes. I’d love to hear the advice that you give to companies on employee onboarding and implementing processes.

Wristy:
Advice on onboarding that I give to companies is onboarding starts before day one. It starts as soon as the offer is accepted. The onboarding starts then, not on the day the person joins. Onboarding is not paperwork. Onboarding is about making the new hire a culture add, making the new hire trust what the company is, and trust in the culture, the people, trust that the company is going to benefit the person in the long run. Trust in the value system and imbibe that value system or integrate that value system into their own.

Relate that value system to themselves. So many companies start a buddy system from day one. I say instead of a hiring manager and HR connecting with the new hire, why not have a buddy from the day the offer is accepted? Let the buddy system start from there. That’s what’s going to create a people perspective and trust transparency.

And I would say, you know, a communication channel for the person. And that buddy should be a peer who may not solve the questions or solve the problems but is there with the person, telling them that the company is there.

And of course, I don’t know everything and it’s okay for the company, for anyone not to know everything. The company is open. I’ll get back to you. So that peer buddy or work, it more reflects as an open platform, whatever the person wants to share. And I’ve actually seen with that, the retention rates have gone higher.

We had a lot of attrition, and I’m saying it’s attrition because they have accepted the offer, they had done the paperwork, and on the day of joining, they have not joined. After doing this peer buddy system, the dropout rates went very low. Low means like if I was hiring five people and only one was joining.

Now out of those five, three were joining us. And when two were not joining, they had told the buddy or come back to HR that you know the peer has said that you are very open. I have got another offer and I’ll prefer to go there because it’s very high. And we were like, we are okay. We are happy that you became transparent. So bringing in that perspective that onboarding doesn’t start from day one, it starts previously.

And it’s not a culture fit, it’s a culture add that we have to have. Culture is already there. Why have a culture fit if we need to evolve? We need to have a culture add. And again, that starts before onboarding. After onboarding, it’s mostly culture fit. Whether it’s one month, whether it’s three months, there is where the culture add comes in.

The Power of a Team Charter: Saying Goodbye to Lengthy Presentations

Another thing in onboarding that I tell everyone is the person is not here to hear from you as to what your team does. We have a Confluence page, write a team charter. People would prefer to read that from there. Have a video of 15 minutes posted there. That doesn’t talk about systems or processes. That talks about you as an individual and how you connect with the company. Because that’s how the person will be able to refer to you and the company. Processes and protocols are already laid down. That’s not required. The person can read the team charter, can see the organization chart. But how does a leader connect to the organization is what matters to the new hire.

And then let’s have a Q&A round. Whatever questions they have. They can directly come to you, ask them. We are having a Q&A round. Anyone who wants to ask any question and those sessions will not be recorded. The Q&A sessions will not be recorded. Anyone can ask anything. There may be the stupidest question as to how to do this coding, how Python is different from ReactJS. I am open for everything. Be open, no one is going to judge you. That kind of culture. That doesn’t happen with the periodic inductions. That happens with open discussions. And we did not label it as Q&A. We labeled it as Coffee with CEO, Drinks with the CTO, Ask Me Anything sessions. Like for with HR, it was Ask Me Anything. And that anything people had come up with, the new hires in particular had come up with, what personal insurance should we take? Or why don’t you tell us about yourself? We have heard about you or, you know, people talk about what changes you have done.

These kinds of sessions were brought in instead of normally running a PPT, telling what the team does and how the company has progressed. Talking about DEI as to what actually the company perspective is. And when we talk about DEI, it’s not about gender. Diversity of skills, diversity of backgrounds, diversity of education, diversity of hobbies, diversity of songs that I really like.

So every quarter we used to have as a part of onboarding whoever new hires have come in. They had to fill a survey form about their hobbies, the way they prefer the feedback to be there, what’s their favorite music, favorite kind of food, favorite sport, and it’s okay to leave the answers blank. And then that survey report used to come out. That, you see, is the increase in diversity we have had. And people are very excited that, okay, onboarding, that’s the reason we were being asked about this.

Another thing in onboarding I would say I introduced was the buddy system that was introduced during the onboarding, it extended. Company says three months, you can extend that buddy system making it a part of your mentorship also. So mentorship and onboarding were linked now.

Putting the Human Back into the Company

Erin:
That’s amazing. I’m hearing so many amazing points about putting the human back into the company and remembering that these are individual humans that are adding to your company as opposed to sustaining.

Wristy:
A company needs to evolve. Companies can sustain, but they need to evolve if they want to grow.

Creating Wow Moments for New Team Members

Erin:
And that’s the benefit of having new faces and new ideas and new blood and all the newness. I couldn’t agree more. I love that. Well, I have taken so much of your time. I do want to ask one question to be my final question. How do you create a wow moment for these brand new people joining your team?

Wristy:
There are, I would say, three main wow moments that are there. One is the kind of ice-breaking sessions that we have. Every call starts with an ice-breaking session, and that ice-breaking session has to be done by the new hires. It’s driven by them. So in one call, it may be different. In the other call, it may be different. So it’s no planning done. It’s completely open. It’s transparent. And up to them, whatever, however they want to have the ice-breaking session because it’s them who is facilitating them and leading that ice-breaking session in the calls.

Second is like, you know, the paperwork, the documentation is very minimal. Nothing has to be written. Everything is on a Google form or on a tool and that is split across the days. It’s not that every day you have to do, or a single day you have to fill in. It’s spread across the days. And there are people who are there to help from day one.

Lastly, I would say it’s about the kind of inputs they are allowed to give. As you rightly said, from the first day your opinions were asked. So from the first day instead of telling them what’s expected out of them, asking them and understanding from them what do they expect from the company and that too not only at the time of the offer every time when they are joining during the onboarding. And then whenever there is an interaction, whether it’s a career interaction, whether there is any growth interaction, company’s expectations are set. So let us first, you let us know what do you expect from us. And then we can build our expectations around it. So making them the leaders of the company irrespective of the role they are.

Ownership and Why Employees Stay

Erin:
And that creates ownership. And why would an employee leave if they have ownership?

Wristy:
Ownership along with accountability.

Erin:
100%. I love that. This has been incredible. I already have so many ideas that I’m going to take back to my team of things that I think that we need to implement, you know, tomorrow. One of them being this idea of like, we do onboarding buddies at our company as well. And it’s been a great culture add to our employee development.

But really starting that relationship before the first day, I think is such a great idea. I want to start that tomorrow. But so many great ideas. I appreciate you so much.

Thank you for taking the time out of your day to share these little nuggets!

Wristy:
Thank you so much and it has been a pleasure speaking to you. So thank you so much for giving this opportunity.

Outro

You’ve been listening to the Employee Onboarding podcast, bringing you insights and best practices from employee onboarding experts, helping you to create an amazing onboarding experience.

Please like and subscribe to keep updated on new episodes. And if you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review on your listening platform of choice.

You can listen on Apple, Spotify, Google, Podchaser, Podcast Addict, Deezer, & all your favorite podcast platforms!

The post Digital Employee Engagement Unplugged (How to Build Remote Culture & Trust) first appeared on Process Street | Checklist, Workflow and SOP Software.

Leverage is an operations consulting firm that helps teams optimize their processes by introducing them to top workflow management tools. One of these tools is Process Street, which Leverage uses for its own daily recurring tasks.

The company’s CEO and founder, Nick Sonnenberg, even features Process Street in his book Come Up for Air: How Teams Can Leverage Systems and Tools to Stop Drowning in Work. He also made an entire YouTube video talking about Process Street’s benefits.

But why is Nick such a strong advocate of Process Street? What has the software done to help him and his team at Leverage? In this article, we will answer these questions by looking at:

• The challenge
• The solution 
• The result 

The challenge

Leverage’s authority and knowledge in operational consulting come from past experience. The company didn’t start out as a consultancy; that came later through circumstance. At the beginning, they were a freelancer marketplace. They had 150 freelancers doing a variety of work for clientele. 

One day, out of nowhere, the co-founder left, and that sent Leverage into a tailspin. The thing that saved the company from failure was Nick’s solutions for improving the way he and all his freelancers worked. He developed what’s called CPR Business Efficiency Framework, and that saved them all from the wasted hours they were spending on inefficiencies. 

In the context of the framework, CPR stands for:

• Communication
• Planning 
• Resources

Optimization is all about making sure the CPR of a business is running as efficiently as possible, and each of the pain points need to be addressed. 

The system was so successful that his clients began to ask for help improving their processes as well. Nick realized that his framework could be applied to just about every industry, and, over time, operational consulting became the company’s primary offering. 

But like any company, Leverage needed to overhaul their own processes before they could tell others how to do the same. Nick noticed several inefficiencies Leverage was struggling with, including:

• Consistency: some processes were done by memory, which resulted in many little steps being forgotten. This caused many missed deadlines and ended up creating more work for the freelancers who had to go back and fix mistakes.
• Knowledge retention: Leverage had a common issue where a new employee would start and create a brilliant new process that solved a lot of problems. But then that employee would leave and take that knowledge with them, forcing the employee who took their place to start from scratch.

Both of these major pain points were solved when Nick came across Process Street.

The solution

When Nick came across Process Street, he immediately saw its potential to solve the two major problems Leverage had been facing. 

With Process Street, Leverage was able to document all of their processes into step-by-step checklists. It was really a two-birds-one-stone solution. By putting all of their processes into the checklists, they were also retaining knowledge much better than before, and far fewer things fell through the cracks.

Process Street had the additional benefit of automation and integration. Leverage loves automating processes, and with every new checklist they built, they looked for new ways to automate the steps and integrate with third-party apps.

Over time, Process Street became part of a lot of the work done at Leverage and it has remained steadfast in its ability to keep Leverage organized and efficient.

The result

The use of Process Street has done a lot for the day-to-day processes at Leverage.

Firstly, having such well-organized checklists means that their employees save tons of time by simply not having to remember all the steps in a process. Or having to go back if they accidentally miss one. 

That organization made their delivery way more consistent in terms of deadlines and overall outcomes. 

Process Street has made such a big difference in the way Leverage works that Nick created a whole YouTube video walking through the benefits and features. Not only that, but he included it in his book Come Up for Air. 

Nick is a major advocate for making businesses as efficient as possible without causing employees to burn out. It’s not always easy, but he found an excellent solution with Process Street and it’s a product he stands by.

The post Process Street Helped Leverage Retain Knowledge & Increase Efficiency first appeared on Process Street | Checklist, Workflow and SOP Software.

In this podcast episode, we interview Justine Van den Mooter from Qwilr about designing an effective onboarding experience.

We discuss creating a comprehensive onboarding process for all new hires, regardless of their role or location, fostering manager involvement, and providing a supportive environment for new employees.

Justine shares her experience in revamping Qwilr’s onboarding process and highlights the importance of proactive communication, personalized tasks, and maintaining excitement throughout the onboarding period. We also touch upon the challenges of onboarding in a globally distributed company.

Overall, the episode emphasizes the significance of a well-designed onboarding process in creating a positive employee experience.

You can listen on Apple, Spotify, Google, Podchaser, Podcast Addict, Deezer, & all your favorite podcast platforms!

Justine Van den Mooter, Talent & People Experience at Qwilr

Erin Rice:

Welcome to Process Street’s Employee Onboarding podcast where we unpack great onboarding ideas and best practices from the world’s top HR practitioners and thought leaders at Process Street. 

Our mission starts with making recurring work fun, fast, and faultless for teams everywhere. My name is Erin Rice, and I’m the People & Operations Coordinator here at Process Street.

Today, I’m joined by Justine Van den Mooter. Justine is originally from Brussels in the Netherlands but currently lives in Sydney, Australia. 

Justine is passionate about startups, specifically those with fewer than 100 employees, as well as mental health in the workplace. 

Justine works in Talent and People Experience at Qwilr, where she has been for over the last two years, on a small but mighty people team of two. So mighty that she designed the entire onboarding process at Qwilr, which I can’t wait to hear more about. 

Thank you so much for being here, Justine, especially at this hour!

Justine Van den Mooter:

Hello, good morning!

Breaking the Ice: Hot or Cold Pizza?

Erin:

I’m ending my day while you’re already in tomorrow. It’s pretty wild how technology allows us to be connected with people all around the globe!

So before we dive in, I like to ask a super controversial question just to break the ice. Today, I’m pulling one from a recent All-Hands we had at Process Street. Is pizza better, hot or cold?

Justine:

So I thought about this question over the last couple of days, because I really cannot make a decision. I think both are really, really great. I love hot pizza. But I also love cold pizza the next day, and there’s just something about it that I just really enjoy. But you can’t really fault the melty cheese either. So I’m like, either or I’m happy with both. So I’ll go both!

Erin:

Okay, so maybe it’s fair to say hot pizza for dinner, cold pizza for breakfast. Is that fair? 

Justine:

100%. 

Erin:

Awesome. I think a lot of people in my company could agree with you, and probably all over the world to be honest. Awesome. Well, let’s dive into what we really came here for – employee onboarding!

Understanding Justine’s role at Qwilr

I’d love it if you could tell us a little bit more about your role at Qwilr.

Justine:

Yeah, sure. Having been at Qwilr for just over two years now, I feel like my role has evolved over time, as any good role would. While my role title officially would be Talent and Experience Partner, like anyone in charge, there are so many things that encompass that. 

There are so many different things that I do and am responsible for as well. Because we’re only a team of two, when my colleague is more recruiter-focused, and I’m more on the HR side of things, there’s a lot involved within my role. 

I work very closely with people managers, run all the employee initiatives, and am passionate about employee experience and how to create a workplace that is great for people to show up and do their best work.

So all the people operations, onboard design, the onboarding process, as we’re here to talk about today, mitigate the performance management, run all the company meetings or all-hands meetings, try to keep and work on the tension a lot as well. I think that’s something that’s really important. 

We are quite proud to say we have a very low turnover rate within the company. And that’s something that I’m also proud of, and something that I want to upkeep as well. 

And then others like boring HR stuff, like having confidential conversations, mitigating performance improvement plans, and just making sure that people are happy within Qwilr.

Erin:

So basically everything. 

Justine:

Yes.

Erin:

You’re in good company. 

The Globally Distributed Nature of Qwilr

So it looks like Qwilr is globally distributed. Is that correct? You guys are also 100% remote.

Justine:

Yes and no. We do have headquarters here in Sydney, Australia, but we are spread globally. The majority of our salespeople, for example, are located within the US, and they all work 100% remotely. 

While we do have an office here in Sydney, Australia, we work in a hybrid setting. Today I’m working from home; tomorrow, I might go into the office; it doesn’t matter. The office is there to be used, but there are no strict office days or anything like that. 

Within Australia, we are also spread within different parts of Australia. People like to travel to the office; sometimes we provide budgets for that too. So people that live in Brisbane or Melbourne can come and visit the Sydney office. 

On a regular week, I would say the more popular office days might be Tuesdays and Thursdays. But from the 40ish people that live in the Sydney area, I would say maybe the average on an office day would be 15. So it is primarily a remote company.

Erin:

Okay, really cool. So you designed your employees’ current onboarding. I’m so curious to hear what your onboarding was like, before that process was designed. 

Justine:

It was actually really interesting because I was very nervous to show up on my first day. This was my first real job in Australia as well. 

To be honest, the onboarding at the time was very basic; there were only 35 people in the company. There was no HRIS. There were no strict onboarding processes. 

I joined as support to our Head of People at the time. I got some very basic documents, such as the vision and the mission of the company, and what we do. 

That was it. I remember my manager at the time told me to prepare a list of questions for the first day. I went above and beyond, then I came with a list of 55 questions or something ridiculous like that because I wanted to know so many different things. 

I think that was a really interesting way of getting started. But in terms of strict onboarding processes, there was not much at the time.

Erin:

So how did you even tackle that? Like, how did you get to a point where you could bring yourself up to speed, but then also start contributing?

Justine:

I think something that’s really important to me today, as well, is proactively reaching out to other people in the company. 

I do understand that there needs to be some kind of personal aspect to it as well. You have to have that personality to be comfortable to do that, which is not suitable for everyone, which is not very inclusive at all, really. 

But something that I did was proactively reaching out to people, managers, understanding their teams, understanding what they do, which helped me gain a picture of who is who within the company, and what their pain points were. 

So yeah, I did work very closely together with our Head of People. A lot of the things I learned, I learned through her. She’d been with the company for three years at the time. So she had some very basic projects assigned to me at the start. 

But I think reaching out to people and learning about their teams and learning where their pain points are, and also what’s going really well for them, really helped me shape that full image of the company.

Revamping the Onboarding Process at Qwilr

Erin:

That’s great. And so now, two years later, you’ve been there, you’ve onboarded yourself, you’ve seen probably other employees join the company. How has it evolved over time?

Justine:

So it definitely has evolved. And again, I think I’m pretty proud of the way that I’ve taken the onboarding process from basically the blank canvas that it was to something that’s actually a really good process, or it’s basic skill. 

But it’s still a good process where I get feedback from new employees saying things like, “Oh, this is great. I didn’t know this startup would have such a good onboarding process, and everything was figured out.” And everyone was so helpful, which I think is a great start. Definitely, over the last two years, we’ve basically doubled in headcount. So I have onboarded a lot of people.

And I like to think about the onboarding process as an iterative process as well. So every time I onboard someone new, I try to see if there are elements that we can improve, or other elements that need changing or tweaking at that time, or at that point in time. 

So over the last two years, we have adopted an HRIS, which, you know, we use the onboarding model of, it’s not great. It gives us task reminders, which is nice.

It’s not very personalized, I must admit, but it’s a lot better than where it used to be. And things change so quickly within our company, and in our space, that at the start, I quite literally find myself updating things every couple of days, being like, oh, yeah, oh, wait, this needs to change, or I need to add this or need to add that to the list of things that need to be done. 

But now that we have those tasks listed out, and they give us reminders like one or two weeks before, hey, here’s a reminder that you know, you have a new starter coming, remember to pocket swagbucks and send it to them, right, it makes it a lot more structured than what we had before. And I’ve seen what they used before, which was a notion checklist. So yeah, it definitely has evolved.

Erin:

So where did you start? That seems like such a big undertaking!

Justine:

Yeah. It definitely was. And once again, I think one of the things that I learned the most from was talking to other people within the company. 

I talked to all of the managers, tried to understand what they need from me as the HR person, for their people to be onboarded properly. 

But then I also spoke to all of the new starters that had joined the company within the last six months. And literally, interviewed them about their onboarding experience. 

And based on that, I started compiling a list of all the things that actually needed to be done as well with the finance teams, and founders, and all the different parts that are involved within creating this all-around onboarding experience. And then yes, to list out all the tasks. 

Something that I think is really important with onboarding is it doesn’t start on their first day, it actually starts way before that. It starts after they’ve signed their offer because you want to keep up that excitement throughout the notice periods.

Here in Australia, we have a four-week notice period. So it is actually quite long, if someone were to quit their job on the day that they get an offer, we have four weeks to fill, to keep up that excitement. So the way I’ve actually scheduled it is I have tasks every couple of days. And I involve different people from within the company as well. 

So it’s not all just me that reaches out to the new starter, but they get reached out by their buddy, or their manager reaches out, or they get some tasks to input themselves, or they get a document to read or something. 

And very small, like drips throughout those four weeks. So it’s not overwhelming for them. They don’t have to do it if they don’t want to, they can wait until their first day. It’s not that time-consuming or time-pressured. 

But I do get feedback that it is actually really nice that they get those things before their first day as well.

Erin:

Yeah, I can imagine going through the hiring process, getting a job offer, and then crickets for a month would be really awkward.

Justine:

Yeah, 100%. And one of the things I am so passionate about is creating that experience for people. And I want them to be excited, I want them to feel part of the company from the moment they sign their offer. That’s why I think it’s so important to involve more people than just me or just a recruiter that they’ve worked with, but other people in the company as well.

Erin:

So I would imagine these tasks assignments are automated, and you don’t manually go in and assign tasks?

Justine:

Correct. Within our HRIS, we are able to assign the manager to the person, and then a certain number of tasks will be assigned to the manager. 

I manually send them reminders sometimes because I feel they get so many emails from our HR system that they might get overlooked. 

Sometimes I copy, paste, whatever the task says, and put it into Slack to them, saying, “Hey, remember to do this today.” But it is not a very automated process; we obviously use our own tool as well, which is cooler (it’s a document automation tool). 

We want to change the way people do documents. The majority of our documents within our onboarding process are Qwilr documents, which gives them a nice introduction to our product.

Erin:

That’s great dogfooding, using your own product internally. 

Onboarding in a Globally Distributed Company

Can you tell me how you manage onboarding in a globally distributed company? 

I would imagine it’s probably even trickier when you have some people coming into the office and some not. I would love to hear more about how you manage these different types of onboarding.

Justine:

I believe there shouldn’t be a difference between in-person onboarding and remote onboarding. I try to treat everyone equally within the company, regardless of whether they’re based in Australia, Asia, the US, or Europe. 

We have always been a globally distributed company with a remote-first culture. My process is set up to cater for that as well. 

I don’t expect anyone to come in on their first day into the office; it’s not a requirement. Everything is set up to cater for both situations. 

There is very little difference other than if they do come into the office on their first day, I’ll take them out for coffee, or their manager will. That’s not something we can do if they’re remote, at least not in person. We can do it virtually (but it’s not the same).

But other than that, our onboarding processes are quite self-paced, with regular check-in times with their managers or with me, and I think that’s a great way of doing it.

Erin:

Absolutely. What about in terms of different roles? If you’re hiring at the executive level, versus a key contributor or individual contributor, does it vary at all based on their role?

Justine:

From a company-wide perspective, onboarding is the same for everyone. I want to keep it that way. It’s very important that regardless of what level or experience you have, you’re joining the company, everyone gets the same onboarding experience. 

However, our managers are very heavily involved in the role-specific onboarding for their team members, just because they have the best insight into what needs to be done there. We are a startup, quite small, so it’s rare that we hire five of the same people. 

Every onboarding experience needs to be tailored to the person that is joining within the role they’re joining. Managers create the 30/60/90 plans and are responsible for introducing them to the team and onboarding them in that way.

The Importance of Manager Buy-In and Retention Strategies

Erin:

So managers have their department that’s their main priority. How did you get them to buy in to provide that additional support to your HR department to make onboarding successful?

Justine:

I think it all starts from building a great relationship between HR and the people managers within the company. I’m working daily to build that relationship, to get them to trust me, and to come to me for help and advice. 

That’s the start of them understanding the value of different things that the HR department does, as well as their role within those different functions. We’re blessed to have managers within the company that care about their people. We try to hire on people management skills, because that’s something we think is important. That’s why manager buy-in within the onboarding process is so important. 

I’ve noticed some managers that expect new team members to hit the ground running. I’ve had to retract that and say, it doesn’t matter that they’ve been a head of security for 20 years; they still don’t know how our company works. 

They don’t know how our different teams work, regardless of how many years they’ve been within their role-specific business. That’s why I think manager involvement within that role-specific or department-specific onboarding is so important.

Erin:

And I would imagine, once you have their buy-in, that probably contributes to your high retention?

Justine:

Yes, I would say. Supporting the managers is important, but it goes both ways. 

The initiatives that I set up to increase employee experience or retention need to be bought in by the managers, and then they need to push that out to their teams. 

It goes both ways. That relationship is really important to have and maintain.

How to Successfully Onboard New Remote Hires: The Missing Pieces

Erin:

Reflecting over everything that you’ve learned over these last two years, and probably from other positions that you’ve been in, what would you say are the great pieces that make onboarding successful?

Justine:

I think getting people to feel part of something greater from the start is incredibly important. 

You don’t want them to feel lost or left out. That’s the last thing you want to do. 

So I think that onboarding experience, starting from the day the offer is signed, involving as many people as possible, and getting them to see all the different parts of the company is key.

Erin:

What would you say is something that most onboarding processes are missing?

Justine:

I think this might be one of the things that we struggle with as well. It’s the “who is who” and “what do they do?” We’re at this funny size of a company right now, just over 70 employees. 

There are few enough people to know everyone, but also too many people to talk to everyone. 

So how do we find a way that new starters can understand the structure of the company and who is who and what do they do?

Erin:

And is that the next phase of your onboarding process?

Justine:

Yes. It’s something I’m currently working on. 

I’m in the drafting phases, tossing up a couple of ideas on whether to get everyone to make a Loom video and attach it to the company directory where people can watch the different things, or get the managers to describe their departments and then create an overview of who is in that department. 

I want to make it quite personal but also not take away too much time from people involved in creating these.

Erin:

I think that’s the age-old trouble in HR: how do I get the most ROI with very little I?

Justine:

Yes.

The Future of Onboarding: AI and Evolving Trends

Erin:

Looking at the future, technology is moving at a really fast pace.

Our world is evolving very quickly. What do you foresee as the next thing that we see in onboarding?

Justine:

It’s got to be AI, right? It’s gotta be. 

I don’t know that I understand AI to a level; I understand that it will take our jobs one day, but in practice, I’m not too sure. But I’m excited about what it has to bring, and maybe it’ll make things easier for us as well.

Erin:

Yes, we know the ethics around AI is a very tricky topic. But I think if used the right way, it can make us work smarter, not harder.

Justine:

Hopefully, yes, definitely. Yeah.

Erin:

Awesome. Reflecting over all of your experience with onboarding, how would you say onboarding has changed over time?

Justine:

I think it has become generational. If you think about our parents joining companies, they were just thrown into the deep end. You just join a company and do whatever. 

That has really changed. The People Experience part of companies has changed as well, where you join a company now, and you want to be welcomed warmly, and you want to understand how things work quicker to then be the best version of yourself. 

So I think that’s definitely something that has changed over time and will iteratively keep changing in the future.

Erin:

I couldn’t agree more that the generations are wanting to make bigger and larger contributions because now we know that it’s possible. 

We get a worldview and understand what’s happening in other parts of the world. 

Whereas, 15 years ago, we didn’t always know that. I think that’s such a good point.

Creating a ‘Wow’ Moment for New Hires

Okay, last question. I’ll let you get back to the start of your day. What is one thing that companies can do to create a wow moment for their new hires?

Justine:

Make them feel part of the team from day zero, from the day that offer is signed, even throughout the hiring process. Make them feel like they are a part of something bigger. I think that is so important. 

Don’t differentiate between long-term employees and newbies within the company; involve them in everything you’re doing, and throw them into the deep end, but do allow them downtime and regular check-ins with the various stakeholders and parties within the company. 

I think that is the most important thing.

Erin:

I love that you’re not differentiating between those that are brand new and those that have been around for a while. 

When I started at Process Street, I was brought into these focus groups in week two, and they were asking me for feedback on the product. 

I thought, “I don’t know what I don’t know.” But they said, “Your opinion matters so much because you’re brand new to it. You are the person that we’re selling to.” 

I remember thinking, “I’m a fish out of water, but wow, they really care about my opinion.” And I had barely been onboarded.

Justine:

That is so important. I love that they’ve done that for you, and it’s something that we’re trying to do in our company as well.

Erin:

That’s amazing.

Closing Remarks

Well, Justine, thank you so much for spending this time with me and sharing all of your insights on onboarding. 

Maybe circle back when you figure out the automation and the “who’s who and what they do” so you can share it with our listeners. 

I’m sure that other people are wondering about those same things!

Justine:

Well, thank you very much, Erin. Have a great day!

Outro:

You’ve been listening to the Employee Onboarding podcast, bringing you insights and best practices from employee onboarding experts, helping you to create an amazing onboarding experience.

Please like and subscribe to keep updated on new episodes. And if you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review on your listening platform of choice.

You can listen on Apple, Spotify, Google, Podchaser, Podcast Addict, Deezer, & all your favorite podcast platforms!

The post Podcast #12: Secrets of Globally Distributed Onboarding (Justine Van den Mooter) first appeared on Process Street | Checklist, Workflow and SOP Software.

When it comes to exemplifying our core value of continuous improvement, our Customer Success Manager Gustavo Amaral is at the forefront. That’s why we are thrilled to feature him as the star of our new Employee Spotlight blog post!

Gustavo’s commitment to personal and professional development at Process Street and beyond exhibits a strong desire to learn, explore the world around him, and excel in his role. Being highly skilled both in workflow creation and customer service makes Gustavo the perfect asset to our company.

This edition of Employee Spotlight will shine the light on the family man, the motorcycle enthusiast, and the caring professional who sees our customer’s satisfaction as his top priority.

• Introducing Gustavo Amaral, Customer Success Manager
• Gustavo’s professional experiences prior to Process Street
• Personal growth and continuous improvement
• Gustavo’s take on working for Process Street
• Bonus questions!

Introducing Gustavo Amaral, Customer Success Manager

Q: Name three words that describe you. 

Oh, wow, this is hard! I’d say adventurous, tenacious and curious.

Q: What do you do in your spare time?

Motorcycles, I love motorcycles! 

I always look for an excuse to go for a ride, even if it’s just for a cup of coffee that’s 100 km away. 

And if I’m not riding, I spend quality time with family and friends.

Q: How do you start your morning?

Since we all work in different time zones at Process Street, and because of my work schedule, I start working around 11 am EST.

This gives me plenty of time to go to the gym and run errands during the morning. 

But not before breakfast, of course! And a cup of coffee (no sugar) is a must.

Q: What is an interesting/fun fact that most people don’t know about you?

I have never seen snow! But I’ve added it to my bucket list.

Gustavo’s professional experiences prior to Process Street

Q: Give us a high level of your professional background prior to Process Street.

I began my career as a full-time volunteer for a non-profit organization, where I worked as a help desk specialist for over three years. 

And then, I came across the idea of remote working and landed a position as a customer representative. This was perfect because I was able to work for a company in Miami while still living in Brazil. 

After that, I transitioned to a role in SaaS located in Las Vegas (also remote) and spent a few years there.

Q: Important moments, catalysts, turning points in your career?

Even though I already had a diploma in computer programming, I wanted to take my studies further. 

After three years of voluntary work, I started pursuing a bachelor’s degree in software engineering. This allowed me to get my next job. 

Thanks to the skills I acquired (dealing with customers, running meetings, etc.), I found my passion for helping people and developing and implementing tailored tech solutions to address their needs.

Personal growth and continuous improvement

Q: How long have you been at Process Street?

I’ve been working at Process Street for exactly 3 years and 9 months.

Q: And you moved departments, is that right?

Yep!

Q: What was your motivation to move from Sales to Customer Success?

I was initially in CS and worked briefly as a CSM. 

Then, I was offered the opportunity to work as a Relationship Manager (sales), a role focused on expanding current customers. 

It was a good opportunity to improve my critical thinking skills to help customers find more value in their Process Street deployment while expanding revenue.

Q: So, what is your current role at Process Street? What does a typical day look like? 

As a Customer Success Manager, my main objective is to make sure our customers are getting the most out of Process Street. 

So, for example, I conduct meetings with customers to hear how things are going and to look for ways to help them improve their processes. 

I listen to each customer carefully to understand their issues, and then I identify any process gaps Process Street can fill. 

I also design workflows and automations involving API and other automation tools (Zapier, Integromat, Power Automate, etc.). 

Apart from all that, my job involves onboarding new customers, providing training, and ensuring they have a great time using Process Street!

And if a customer isn’t satisfied, I reach out to them to see if I can offer help and support. 

Lastly, I manage and automate how we communicate with customers. For example, I create in-app messages and phone calls, apply and review changes to subscriptions, billing, and how we track the company’s revenue (ARR, MRR).

Q: What do you like about being in the Customer Success department?

I enjoy the opportunity to combine soft skills with my technical knowledge. 

I like to engage with customers from around the globe, meet new people and learn as much as possible about their companies and processes. This is very enriching on a personal level.

Q: What’s your secret to achieving success in your role? 

Being proactive is key!

Don’t wait for others to ask you to do something; look for ways to help before it is actually requested or needed. 

If you don’t understand something, focus on the task at hand and learn as much as you can until it starts to make sense. And don’t be afraid to ask for help if you need it!

Q: What are you working on that you are most excited about?

I’ve recently started working with many new customers. I’m very excited to meet them all and learn as much as I can from each one of them. 

Q: What do you think are the best skills that you bring to your job?

A combination of soft and hard skills. 

Product and technical knowledge are important, but knowing how to communicate effectively, being empathetic, and having good attention to detail are key.

Gustavo’s take on working for Process Street

Q: What do you like most about working at Process Street? 

The people! 

Everyone is absolutely awesome and so supportive. I can honestly say that I’ve made many good friends at Process Street. 

Directors are super friendly and ready to lend a hand. We always have good laughs during our meetings, which makes our work environment really healthy and enjoyable.

Q: How would you describe our culture to candidates or other people who inquire?

I think the culture at Process Street could be described at: 

• Efficient
• Innovative
• Collaborative

Here at Process Street, we really value transparency, open communication, and deep respect for each other! I couldn’t ask for a better work environment.

Q: What does it take to be successful at a company like Process Street?

Be open-minded and accepting of feedback. 

There is always room for improvement, and by accepting suggestions and constructive criticism, you allow for continuous improvement and personal success.

Bonus questions!

Q: What career advice would you give to your younger self when you were starting out in your career?

I would say, develop the habit of reading often and studying while you’re young. I also wish I could have gone to college earlier.

Q: If you won the lottery, what would you do with the money? (It can’t be buying another motorcycle!)

I would immediately go to the nearest motorcycle dealership… Ah, ok, never mind.

But on a serious note, I would probably do the following:

1. Go somewhere there is snow, so me and my family can finally experience it!
2. Buy some fancy properties (a new apartment, probably)
3. Invest (also in Process Street)

Q: What’s the last book you read? 

The Da Vinci Code (I’m currently in the process of reading all of Dan Brown’s books).

Q: What’s your favorite binge-worthy show?

How I Met Your Mother. The best show ever!

Q: You’re a busy person. What do you usually do to relax?   

I go for a motorcycle ride !

But a nice glass of wine and a good book is also amazing!

And I’ve recently taken up running. It helps a lot with my physical and mental health.

The post Employee Spotlight: Gustavo Amaral, Customer Success Manager first appeared on Process Street | Checklist, Workflow and SOP Software.