Retaining new employees: This can be achieved with appreciation and communication right from the start.
Gabriel Neumayr completed his own onboarding a little over a year ago. Not that it didn’t work back then, but: “I’m someone who likes to simplify and improve processes,” he says. Neumayr is in his second year of training as an application developer at Salzburg AG.
Take on board with app and buddy
In order to make it easier for new employees to join the company, he has now programmed an app prototype with a colleague. Neumayr scrolls across his mobile phone screen: with one click he finds out everything he needs to know for the first day at work, with another click he gets to the lunch menu in the company canteen; one more swipe and he can access basic information regarding his department.
When it comes to onboarding, taking new employees on board, modern companies leave nothing to chance. The risk of new colleagues resigning immediately following a few weeks is too high, says Maria Ziller, Head of Human Resources at Salzburg AG. “If there is no one there to accompany you in the early days, you have to familiarize yourself with it and cannot fulfill your tasks, then there is a great danger that a person will leave the company once more quickly,” says Ziller, explaining the mistakes to be avoided .
At Salzburg AG, the onboarding process starts right following the job interview: “Our new employees can come by to get a taste of things in advance. In addition, before they start work, they will be sent a guide that will set them up for the first day: This is how they find out where to park or where to eat, or find information on corporate design.”
The majority of managers in the company also assign new colleagues a buddy, which makes it easier for them to get started.
Onboarding process needs to be sharpened
The organizational tasks that the company performs in advance are also diverse: formalities have to be settled, the workplace and equipment have to be prepared, and an induction plan has to be drawn up. For Ziller, onboarding is a process that needs to be sharpened once more and once more.
“People want to know what they can contribute to the big picture.”
Raimund Lainer, Head of Personnel Development (Spar)
“Fortunately, the times when employees arrive, look for a desk and are then left alone are over,” says Raimund Lainer in the same vein. Lainer heads Spar’s HR development department. “People need security at work. They want to know what their tasks are, what they can contribute to the big picture,” he says. “Our newcomers are introduced to the corporate culture and workflow and given a detailed job description.” One tool for this is the in-house learning platform, which new colleagues can use to get to know the company. After one month, the new employees are asked for feedback on the onboarding process. Another part of the corporate culture is the Welcome Day, which takes place five times a year and where employees can make contacts beyond the boundaries of their own department. After all, the savings group also includes Hervis and the IT unit ICS.
At Salzburg AG, too, there are days when new employees can immerse themselves in the company and get to know power plants and transport companies. The “Mystery Coffee” format is new: Experienced employees give their new colleagues an insight into their field of activity for three to four minutes, then – like in speed dating – they switch. “This is how you make a lot of contacts in a short amount of time,” says HR manager Ziller, explaining the concept.
App prototype created at Hackathon
How did Gabriel Neumayr experience his own onboarding? “It was very barrier-free. The colleagues from the upper years introduced me to my tasks,” says the 18-year-old, who, even outside of school, liked to do handicrafts with friends in makerspaces and take part in programming competitions. “School was too theoretical for me. So an apprenticeship in this area was obvious. I like that there is no routine in programming, that you are constantly faced with new challenges. That can be frustrating, but it also gives you a lot when you have a problem resolved,” says Neumayr. With the onboarding app, he and a colleague won first place in the Professionals category at the Salzburg Economic Chamber’s apprenticeship hackathon. They had one day to get the prototype up and running. The winners of the nationwide competition will be chosen on November 8th and 9th. The Salzburg AG team has good chances.
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Apprenticeship day at Salzburg AG:
on November 11, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and
on November 12, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., in the training workshop, Vogelweiderstraße 65, 5020 Salzburg.
