After delivering six podcasts over the last two years, the PPD team in HR have released a seventh podcast entitled ‘Welcome Onboard.’
As part of the Leaders and Managers Network series, this episode –presented by Learning and Development Consultant Reshmin Haq- aims to give a variety of advice, on how a manager should welcome and onboard a new starter employee.
Within the episode, two guests are featured- Hayley Osborne, also a Learning and Development Consultant- working alongside Reshmin Haq and Alexandra Collett- a HR Communications Co-Ordinator.
Listen to the trailer here:-
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Alexandra recently started the University back in October 2023 and gives her account on what it was like to join the University as a new starter and what she found challenging.
When discussing with Reshmin about her experience, Alexandra offers some advice to people who have just started at the University, she said:
“I think as a new starter, it can be very unnerving, I would first of all say get stuck in to joining some of the great initiatives we have within the HR Division.
“One of these in particular is the HR Transformation Program, becoming a HRTP Advocate as part of Change at Cambridge, which I found really useful for me, I got to meet new colleagues and they also have lots of meetings and I really thoroughly enjoyed that actually in meeting new people.”
With a previous career in Journalism, Alexandra creates videos, podcasts, news stories and more for the HR Division.
She also mentioned that she really enjoyed attending the ‘Welcome To New Staff event’ organised by the PPD team in HR.
Hayley Osbourne who helps runs these events said: “Welcome to new staff is an excellent opportunity for starters to develop a Network of Colleagues in a similar position to themselves.
“As a new starter it can be very daunting and often in your department, you might be the only new starter.”
Hayley has been at Cambridge University for a number of years and was the team manager of the Student Registry team and has recently joined the PPD Team as a Learning and Developing Consultant.
Within the podcast, Hayley explains the process of Onboarding a new starter, she said: “The Onboarding process starts right at the end of recruitment.
“Once an offer is made, it’s important to still keep in touch with your new starter, for some people the notice period can be quite long and sometimes quite lonely.
“So it’s important to schedule in a number of check ins with the new starter and beyond that it’s always best to start a plan of how they will start with you."
Click here to listen to the full podcast:-
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When asked if there a secret formula to the onboarding process Hayley said: “I don’t think there’s a fixed answer to this, I think it’s really important to consider the individual and their needs and I’m not sure where you would consider the line to be for a ‘successful’ onboarding process and just providing good line management, so that’s tricky for me to kind of pin point.”
Reshmin Haq, a Learning and Development Consultant in the PPD Department who presented the podcast said: “A lot of effort goes into getting the best person for the role, however, to ensure they are able do the role and stay, the onboarding process is crucial. This is right from day 1 of a new starter’s journey. I am hoping this podcast will be a great resource for managers to reflect on how they onboard their new starters.”