New Employee Onboarding at Automation Anywhere

Proper employee onboarding can make or break the new teammate experience. That’s why at Automation Anywhere, we put a lot of planning into our new hire orientation program.

Our onboarding steps are choreographed to include a human touch from the moment a new employee accepts his or her job offer. It starts immediately with a welcome email and important steps for the new teammate to take before his or her first day of work. It also includes an agenda of what to expect on the first day.

The Automation Anywhere onboarding process is a continuum — a full circle of progress from start to finish. Because we hire both local and remote teammates, we offer two types of onboarding that cater to each kind of worker.

In-person onboarding

In the live, in-person session, new teammates are given their laptops, introduced to each other, and told about the company’s brand, benefits, and resources, among other things. Our chief human resource officer welcomes the new hires and inspires them to go be great. A tour of the facilities is also included to provide familiarity with the surroundings.

Then, after a break for lunch with each new teammate’s manager, the onboarding experience moves from business to fun. An improv professional joins the session and coordinates each of our four company values around engaging exercises.

But our onboarding doesn’t stop there. Once new employees are released to go to their desks, they’re given a color-coded balloon or flag to let fellow teammates know a newbie has joined them. New teammates are also given what we call “newbie snacks,” and existing teammates are encouraged to introduce themselves to their new co-workers and share a snack.

In addition, new hires are assigned an IT buddy. This member of the IT team personally reaches out to the new teammate to provide individualized help for all technical needs. This helps ensure success as the new employee gets started in his or her role.

Remote onboarding

Our remote teammates also get a personalized onboarding experience, but in a slightly different way. They receive their laptops in the mail prior to their first day of work. This enables them to join a videoconference for orientation. There, they see the trainer and fellow new hires and hear from the chief human resource officer as well.

It’s an informal environment where the same pertinent new employee content is covered, and questions are encouraged and answered. Remote teammates are also assigned an IT buddy to help streamline their onboarding

Both types of employees are provided with resources to help them be successful in their new jobs. And, our onboarding team follows up within a month to see how new teammates are fitting into their roles and to address any issues they might be facing.

Celebrating our colleagues

In addition to a carefully crafted employee onboarding process, we also spearhead social events to provide an atmosphere for teammates to meet each other, make connections, and stay engaged. One such event is called New Bots on the Block, a quarterly happy hour to celebrate our new hires and our growth as a company.

These events are made possible, and effective, by a focus on thinking of people first and bringing mental, social, and physical wellness to the workplace. And that includes a celebration of as many different cultures and holidays as possible. We want everyone to feel welcome and included.