5 Ways to Create a Winning Culture from Day One

Managers are often so excited when their new team member’s start day finally arrives, that they cut out one of the most important things they could do: onboarding about the culture. They have been down a person, probably doing that job in addition to their own, so they are in a hurry to get the new person up to speed as quickly as possible.

Instead of onboarding about the company culture, managers bombard new employees with HR-related admin paperwork and hours of boring SOPs.

Nearly 88% of U.S. employees give their onboarding experience a failing grade. (source)

The same thing happens when a new customer chooses to work with the company. The company is so excited to begin the work, they dive in head first without setting the foundation for the relationship.

Those first few days are THE prime opportunity to build the bond between the new person and the company. It’s a bond that can pay off for a long time in big ways for the company, employee, and customer.

Benefits to the Company

1. Consistency and Alignment: Onboarding ensures that all new employees and customers understand and align with the company’s mission, values, and goals. This alignment is crucial for maintaining a unified direction and purpose.

2. Increased Productivity: Providing clear guidelines and expectations during onboarding reduces confusion and errors, leading to higher efficiency and productivity.

3. Enhanced Brand Reputation: A cohesive and positive onboarding experience strengthens the company’s brand by creating a consistent and favorable image.

4. Employee Retention: A well-structured onboarding process increases job satisfaction and retention by making employees feel valued and informed from the start.

5. Customer Loyalty: Effective onboarding builds strong relationships and trust, making customers feel like a part of the company community, which can lead to repeat business and referrals.

Benefits to the Employee

1. Clear Understanding of Role: Onboarding helps new employees understand their responsibilities and how their work contributes to the company’s goals.

2. Better Integration into the Team: By introducing new hires to the company culture and their colleagues, onboarding facilitates smoother integration and stronger team dynamics.

3. Increased Job Satisfaction: Feeling supported and valued from day one boosts morale and job satisfaction.

4. Access to Resources and Support: Onboarding provides employees with the necessary tools and resources to succeed in their roles.

5. Opportunities for Growth: A comprehensive onboarding process often includes training and development opportunities that set the stage for long-term career growth.

Benefits to the Customer

1. Enhanced Experience: Customers who are properly onboarded have a better understanding of how to use products or services, leading to a more positive experience.

2. Trust and Confidence: Onboarding builds trust and confidence by demonstrating the company’s commitment to customer success.

3. Personalized Support: Tailored onboarding processes cater to the specific needs of customers, enhancing satisfaction and loyalty.

4. Reduced Frustration: Clear instructions and support during onboarding reduce the likelihood of misunderstandings and frustration.

5. Long-Term Relationship: Effective onboarding fosters a strong, long-term relationship between the company and its customers, promoting loyalty and repeat business.

Onboarding is the critical process because it sets the foundation for a successful relationship between a company and its new employees and customers.

By investing in a comprehensive onboarding process, companies can enhance engagement, productivity, and loyalty, fostering a positive and cohesive organizational culture. Invest in a thorough process, and you can customize it for the needs of each division, product line, or operation.

Below are 5 strategies for onboarding employees and customers.

5 Ways to Onboard New Employees

1. Welcome Package: Provide new hires with branded materials and key information about the company that they can’t get from the website.

2. Orientation Sessions: Conduct sessions that introduce the company’s history, mission, and values. Tell a few relevant, heartfelt stories to help them connect with the company and feel proud to work there.

3. Mentorship Programs: Pair newcomers with experienced employees who can guide them through their initial days.

4. Regular Check-Ins: Schedule frequent touchpoints to address questions and concerns during the onboarding process and early months.

5. Team-Building Activities: Organize social events to help new employees build relationships and integrate into the company culture.
   

5 Ways to Onboard New Customers

1. Customer Onboarding Portal: Create an online resource with tutorials, FAQs, and key information.

2. Personalized Onboarding Plan: Develop a tailored onboarding plan that addresses the specific needs of each customer including needs related to their project and communication preferences.

3. Interactive Training Sessions: Offer live or recorded training sessions to help customers understand how to use products, tools, or resources effectively.

4. Regular Check-Ups: Schedule check-ups at reasonable intervals to assess the customer’s progress and address any issues. The key is to schedule these in advance rather than wait until there is an issue.

5. Feedback Mechanisms: Encourage customers to provide feedback on the onboarding process to continually improve it. Integrate feedback mechanisms into your project plan so they are used to giving it in a timely manner.

Use those actions consistently to engage with your new employees and customers, and they will bond better than if you leave them to view the intranet site alone for two or three days.

When a company neglects the onboarding process, it is likely to face several costly consequences that can take years to repair.

Impact of Neglecting Onboarding

1. Misalignment: Without onboarding, employees and customers may not fully understand or align with the company’s values and goals, leading to disjointed efforts and strategies. Disjointed efforts and strategies lead to more meetings, higher costs, and mistakes.

2. Decreased Productivity: Lack of clear guidelines and support can result in lower productivity, increased errors, and depleted morale.

3. Higher Turnover Rates: New employees who feel unsupported and disconnected are more likely to leave, increasing recruitment and training costs.

4. Customer Dissatisfaction: Customers who do not receive proper onboarding may feel neglected and frustrated, leading to dissatisfaction and loss of business. They may impact your reputation in the industry too.

5. Negative Impact on Team Dynamics: Lack of onboarding can hinder team cohesion and collaboration, as new employees may not understand their role within the team.

Clearly, there are many benefits to a thoughtful onboarding practice, and the consequences of skipping it are costly. Financially, disengaged employees cost companies approximately 18% of their salary, according to Gallup.

Investing in a comprehensive onboarding process is essential for the success of any company. It ensures that employees and customers are aligned, engaged, and supported, leading to a winning organizational culture that enables companies to accomplish their mission for the long-term.

New Coke: The debacle turned blessing 39 years ago

Source #2: Coke company website

Thirty-nine years ago today, one of the most famous mistakes in business occurred. New Coke was introduced April 23, 1985.

Roberto Goizueta, Coca-Cola’s CEO, announced New Coke saying this was, "one of the easiest decisions we've ever made.” (Source)

Seventy-nine days later, the original Coke returned. New Coke faded into oblivion until it was discontinued years later.

New Coke is viewed by marketing gurus as one of the biggest marketing blunders in history. But the numbers reveal a different side of the story.

The introduction of New Coke made sense. Coke was a big company in 1985, with access to all the research. You know they did taste tests, surveys, and focus groups about the product and promotion. They did not make a gigantic move like removing a 100yo beverage without considering every nuance.

The data was clear:

⚫ Coke was losing market share to Pepsi and needed to do something to gain share.

⚫ Customers clearly liked New Coke better than Pepsi and original Coke in pre-launch taste tests.

⚫ The introduction of New Coke increased Coke’s revenue…for a few days.

Then the backlash began. There were thousands of calls daily to headquarters, lawsuits, community groups, protests. The changed soda formula was talked about repeatedly on every news channel and at kitchen tables and office water coolers all over the country.

Loyal customers weren’t mad about New Coke though.

They went berserk over the removal of original Coke. With all the hours and dollars spent preparing for the launch of New Coke, the company had not expected that level of backlash.

What Coke missed was not about the product or marketing.

What Coke missed was how their customers felt about their product.

Customers felt betrayed when the original Coke was replaced. The company underestimated their relationship with their customers.

Company president Donald Keough said at the time there had simply been no way to gauge the “deep and abiding emotional attachment to original Coca-Cola felt by so many people.” (Source)

There was so much backlash about removing original Coke, that ABC’s Peter Jennings interrupted soap opera General Hospital to announce when it returned less than three months later.

Customers cheered for the return of the original Coke, now labeled as Coca-Cola Classic. Wall Street was happy too, as shares of Coke reached their highest levels in twelve years on the news of the returning beverage. (Source 3)

The biggest mistake in the history of marketing turned out to be a blessing for Coca-Cola. Their customers were bonded with the company deeper than before New Coke. In fact, the debacle turned out so well for the company, there are conspiracy theorists who believe that was the plan all along. Keough denied that was the plan though, saying they weren’t smart enough to pull that off.

On this anniversary day, think about Coke’s decision to launch New Coke, remove original Coke, and bring back the original.

⚫ What can you take away from their experience?

⚫ What does it teach about resilience and mistake management?

⚫ What is your company considering that could use a fresh look to be sure nothing is missed?

⚫ What errors have happened within your company that could use a review for lessons learned?

⚫ What is the bright side of a major change you have been through?

The bright side for Coke was the deepened bond with their customers. They haven’t taken that for granted in the 39 years since.

So, congratulations to Coke for New Coke!

May all of your mistakes turn out as well.

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(SOURCE 1: What We Can Learn From Coca-Cola’s Biggest Blunder, Time Magazine)

(SOURCE 2: New Coke: The Most Memorable Marketing Blunder Ever?, Coke Website)

(SOURCE 3: Introducing New Coke Case Study by Susan Fournier, Harvard Business Review, 2001)