Facilitating communication during a pandemic for a new hire
Traditional onboarding was to make the employee feel welcome and included, to give them a physical sense of being at work. Hiring a new person during pandemic times has become more challenging.
Every process of onboarding a new employee is online during a pandemic. This has created a problem of Isolation which has increased the space for increased emotions. A person needs to do more communication to give information with an increased number of communication tools for meetings, messaging, collaborating, and being productive online in the office environment.
RESEARCH
Interviews with HR and new hires helped me better understand the process of hiring someone before and after the pandemic. I interview 3 HR/ Onboarding team members to know their new way of working during the pandemic new hires. 2 new hires were hired during the pandemic to know about their experiences.
Onboarding team member in Spartez- Poland.
HR in Telus - Cananda
HR Dynatrace - Gdansk, Poland
2 new hires were interviewed to know about their experiences.
New hire- interview and dairy study- LTI, UK
New hire - interview - UCB Brussels
Problems of companies and new hires during onboarding time. Source: Interview research
PROJECT OVERVIEW
What are Accidental meetings?
Accidental Meeting is an app in Slack that helps users connect to other people in the office to aid isolation in the workplace during pandemic times.
What makes an accidental meeting unique?
It aids accidental meetings in offices. It helps people who are feeling isolated and wants to talk to people. Making new hires feels welcomed.
Roles & responsibilities
Led the whole project from interviews to the prototyping stage.
Design Process
Analysis of essentials of the onboarding process:
To gain a better understanding of the onboarding process before the Covid pandemic, it's important to analyze the various stages that were involved. This analysis can help identify the strengths and weaknesses of the previous process and inform any necessary adjustments to improve the current process.
From the perspective of new employees, the onboarding process before and after the Covid pandemic may have had different challenges and benefits.
Before the pandemic, new employees might have appreciated the opportunity to meet their colleagues in person and get a better sense of the company culture.
Remote onboarding may also present challenges, such as feeling disconnected from the company and not having as many opportunities for informal interactions with colleagues.
After the pandemic, new employees may appreciate the flexibility and convenience of virtual onboarding, which allows them to complete the process from the comfort of their own homes.
Analysing the hiring process before and after the pandemic provided me with what new hires are missing in the current situation. A completed analysis of hardware, software, office supplies, buddy, and introduction to the company, cultures, and values are written to see what is missing for new hires.
With the pandemic, the onboarding process has undergone significant changes. Many of these stages have been adapted for remote work, and some new stages have been introduced. For example:
Virtual pre-boarding: HR professionals may now need to send digital copies of the necessary paperwork and materials.
Virtual orientation: New employees may attend online orientation sessions and meet their colleagues via video conferencing.
Virtual training: Depending on the role, new employees may undergo various types of virtual training, such as e-learning modules, online seminars, or one-on-one video calls.
Remote follow-up: HR professionals may need to check in with new employees more frequently and provide additional support as they adjust to remote work.
The main area of challenges while onboarding employees in the pandemic are:
Hardware and software supply.
Providing buddy and introduction.
Introducing culture and values.
Analyzing this data has revealed the challenges that new hires and HR professionals face when hiring during a pandemic. The most important challenge was identified as
The absence of communication between new hires and current employees.
Increased number of follow-ups and check for HR.
No personal connection.
Problems identified
Based on the analysis, I was able to identify several problems in the onboarding process. I chose to focus on the ones that are highlighted below.
Problems identified by research on the onboarding process
Problem
New employees who joined the company during the Covid pandemic are not able to have casual conversations with their colleagues. This is because there is no platform available to encourage small talk and connect new hires with others during the hiring process.
Defining problem statement
Defining problem
Challenges with personal connections and communication within your team, specifically with a new hire who is unable to effectively communicate problems to existing employees and learn from them. Building strong connections and fostering open communication among team members is crucial for a healthy and productive work environment.
How might we make the personal connection in office space for the employees working remotely?
By creating Facebook groups and keeping the feed alive
By facilitating games online
By initiating who did what over weekends in messenger
Initiating all types of small talks
Assigning employees with tip of the day, best app of the week, and the best news of the week so people pass the info and it starts the involvement
Designing
Solution
I created a Slack channel that encourages small talk between new hires and existing employees. The goal of the channel is to help new hires feel more comfortable and connected to the company culture, while also facilitating conversations and relationships between team members. The channel promotes a sense of community and belonging while working remotely.
Target group
By deciding on a target group, I was able to get a better understanding of the specific needs of the product.
Proto persona of new hire
Assumption
HR and offices are not considering informal meetings in the office as important as it is
New hires are not scheduling informal meetings with people other than their team.
Identifying and Scheduling for new hires and other people in the company take time for HR
How it works
Choosing your free time 15 minutes per day
Connects users who are free with a Zoom link
The call will automatically end after 15 minutes
Features of the app
Task flow and wireframe
The goal was to create a solution that integrated seamlessly with the tools and applications that employees were already using. Based on interviews, it was found that Slack was the most commonly used application among employees. To facilitate social interactions and personal connections, a Slack channel was created for accidental meetings.
Here is the task flow which helped in deciding the content in each screen. It is designed keeping in mind the simplicity of use.
By chance, the meeting app asks for employees' free time
Employees give their free time
By chance, the app matches the free people
By chance, apps send random conversation starter advice
Provides the meeting link
Ends the call after 15 minute
Low-fidelity wireframes helped decided the flow of an application,
Slack was the most popular application used by most of the people I interviewed, I created a Slack channel for accidental meetings.
Prototype
Here is a prototype that demonstrates how the Slack channel for accidental meetings. It can improve communication and facilitate social interactions among new and old employees during a pandemic.
Prototype of accidental meetings
