Onboarding in the time of corona

The first day in a new job is always something very special. Usually a friendly, personal greeting helps to overcome initial uncertainties. But how do you onboard new colleagues when social distancing is required and it is impossible to be physically present?

Despite the corona crisis, April 1 was the day when many new colleagues at Drees & Sommer were greeted with: ‘A very warm welcome!’ There were 30 newcomers at our office in Frankfurt am Main alone. Yet while normally the largest conference room is just about big enough for the introductory event, this time the chairs remained empty. Instead, the newcomers sat eagerly at their laptops in their own home and were guided through the onboarding program, virtually and personally at the same time.

Nina Sauer from the Frankfurt office made the preparations for the event together with her team: ‘Up until two days beforehand, preparations were running at full speed’, she reports. ‘We set up computers and cell phones and packed them up, wrote log-in instructions, printed welcome letters, packed folders and sent everything just in time by courier to the new Dreso staff members at home.’

The effort has paid off. After initial technical difficulties, the online onboarding event went smoothly and the newcomers received a lot of important information about starting work – and about the company and relevant systems. And, of course, they got to know key contacts.

Growing anticipation of face-to-face meetings

‘Based on the praise and thanks from our new colleagues, we succeeded very well in conveying our Dreso spirit digitally, too. It is of course pleasanter to speak to cheerful faces than into a camera – all the speakers agreed on that. Now we are just looking forward all the more to meeting our new team members physically in the near future,’ summed up Nina Sauer, who also guided the participants through the event.

In addition to events such as those held at the Frankfurt location, new colleagues at Drees & Sommer have access to a digital onboarding companion – not just since corona. This provides them with inspiration for dealing with expectations, building up an individual network and support for useful discussions. They can already start with the first learning units in the company's own Academy. In addition, a mentor is available to all newcomers as a personal contact person. We wish all new colleagues a pleasant and successful start in the world of Drees & Sommer.