Part of an onboarding redesign project commissioned by the UTS Financial Services Unit. These final recommendations draw on feedback from HR experts at UTS and Estée Lauder Companies.

1. Onboarding Redesign
For UTS Financial Services Unit (FSU)
Author: Nusardel Oshana - UTS Bachelor of Creative Intelligence & Innovation Final Year Student (Nusardel.Oshana@student.uts.edu.au)
Commissioned by: Daniel Chew – Head of Finance Systems & Projects (Daniel.Chew@uts.edu.au)

2. Project
Scope
• Five-day research and design project
• Initial brief from UTS FSU (Financial Services Unit)
• Validation interviews with staff across FSU, IT & HR
• Combined with research on best practice & case
studies from:

3. Onboarding is the process of
wholly attaching new hires
to an organisation
— Nic Barry, Domain

4. Why?
Employee turnover is expensive – up to 200% of annual salary
People and culture are the difference between a great job & a
terrible one
Effective onboarding can:
1. Help employers and new hires find the right fit
2. Improve new hire retention rates
3. Reduce time to productivity
4. Connect new hires to colleagues, resources & the
organisation’s culture

5. Meet Sam *
* the FSU’s newest hire

6. Sam is anxious
about Day 1

7. Current Process
Day 1
Offer &
Contract
4 weeks
to go
Week 1 Month 1
• Activate staff ID
& email
• Fill out online
forms using NEO
(Oracle HR
system)
• Handover at
current role
• Receive
onboarding
packet (ideally)
• Register for VC’s
(Vice Chancellor’s)
welcome
• Start technical
training
• Reminder to finish
mandatory online
training
• Reminder to
continue UTS
induction
• Meeting with
manager
• Team introductions
• Join email groups
• Office & campus
tour / pick up ID
card
• Mandatory online
training

8. Day 1
Week 1
Month
1
Current Process - Observations
1. Influx of information on Day 1
2. Reliant on manual coordination across roles – risk of
miscommunication & inconsistent implementation
3. Engagement drop-off after Day 1
4. Difficult to access up-to-date workplace & role-
relevant information (via UTS Staff Connect Intranet)
5. Lack of feedback mechanisms to allow for iteration &
program improvement

9. Great onboarding
should...
1. Engage
2. Embed
3. Equip
Best Practice
new hires before Day 1
new hires within the organisation
new hires with tools for success

10. Engage new hires
before Day 1
1. Offer a glimpse into the
workplace & culture
2. Weekly email updates – targeted
content in lead-up to Day 1
3. Personalised welcome pack on
Day 1 – including full Week 1
schedule
Best Practice

11. Embed new hires
within the
organisation
• Buddy/mentor system –
easy access to key business &
cultural knowledge
• E.g. Canva send new hires on
three ‘random’ coffee dates in
their first week, to meet
colleagues across the company
Best Practice

12. Equip new hires with
tools for success
1. Desk, IT access/hardware ready on
Day 1
2. Accessible & up-to-date online
training materials (e.g. software
demo videos)
3. 360-degree onboarding feedback
survey – diagnose issues & iterate
for the future
Best Practice

13. Day 1 - 30
• Focus on social and
organisational integration
• Convey purpose of the role
• Troubleshoot any issues
• Coincides with UTS onboarding
(e.g. compliance training)
3.
Further
Developmen
t
1.
Pre-
Boarding
2.
Induction
and
Orientation
4+ weeks before start
• Begin from contract signing
• Behind-the-scenes setup
• Keep the new hire updated,
involved and excited!
• Building momentum towards
Day 1
Week 1 - ongoing
• Focus on role-specific technical
onboarding
• Convey function of the role
• ‘Onboarded’ staff become co-
designers of future onboarding
iterations
Process as-could-be

14. • Handover at current role
• Receive personal ‘welcome’
message from onboarding
buddy
• Weekly email updates with
targeted content
1. Pre-boarding
3-5 Days
Before Start
Offer &
Contract
4+ Weeks
Before Start
• Activate staff ID & email
• Fill out online forms using NEO
(Oracle HR system)
• Receive new hire onboarding
checklist via email
• Added to relevant email groups
• Invited to key calendar events +
first week activities (e.g.
introductions, training)
• IT access and hardware
confirmed

15. • Key introductions in and out of
team/ FSU/ other key non-FSU
people
• Register for VC’s Welcome
2. Induction & Orientation
Day
30/60/90
Day 1 Day 1 - 5
• 1:1 meeting with manager
• Meet onboarding
buddy/buddies
• Office & campus tour with
buddy
• Pick up ID card
• Complete mandatory online
training
• Tailored check-in meeting
• Reminder to complete
outstanding online training
• Onboarding experience survey

16. 3. Further Development
• Engage office tech ‘wizards’ to
design training materials (e.g.
demo videos)
Closing the
Loop
Self-paced
Training
Lifelong
Learning
• Focus on role-specific technical
onboarding
• Interactive resources on UTS
Staff Connect intranet - with
automatic reminders for
incomplete modules
Participation in:
• Buddy program for future
onboarders
• Co-design of future onboarding
iterations

18. What
next?
Project next steps:
1. Define onboarding goals and strategy
2. Validate and iterate onboarding design
3. Project Plan with a team to prioritise & implement actions
based on biggest benefits (allow for time, cost & ease of
implementation )
Food for thought:
1. What is the feasibility of automating the FSU’s onboarding
process?
2. How can FSU staff be included in a future onboarding system,
beyond mentoring? (e.g. content creation, codesign)
3. What might an ‘offboarding’ program look like?
How do we make a positive, lasting impression on outgoing
staff?

19. References & Further Reading
Atlassian Bootcamp – Our Induction Program
How Atlassian is Out-Caring Competitors With Its
Unique Candidate Experience
Canva: Beyond the dotted line: Onboarding new hires
to set them up for success
The Great Experience-Driven Onboarding Journey:
How Canva is Creating the Best Place to Work
Coaching for Leaders No. 288: Get Better at
Onboarding Employees, with Amanda Davis
Why a Two-Year Mentorship Program Is Crazy (But it
Just Might Work)
Five Touchpoints for Kickstarting the New Hire
Experience
The Cost of Losing an Employee
Domain rolls out VR training: ‘role plays won’t ever cut
it again’
Learning Uncut: 21: Improving the Onboarding
Experience - Nic Barry
Mapping Global Transformations - Virtual and
Augmented Reality