Onboarding should not be a standalone event, in fact it should start right from the time a recruiter first makes contact with a candidate. Pointing to the importance of a business led ownership in the process, Aarthi Sivaram, Head HR, Beroe Inc. points out that the biggest measure of success is to see how involved the human resources function is in a process, with the lesser its hold, the better the initiative. She also notes that the initiative at Beroe is executive sponsored and sees active participation from all levels and functions within the organization. At Beroe, the goal is therefore to treat every candidate as a future employee.

Onboarding at the organization resembles a marketplace, where candidates have access to content, mentors, buddies, SPOCs and policies. According to Anand Narayanan, Vice President and Head of Marketing, Beroe Inc, “the emphasis during the onboarding process is not on knowledge-based courses but on experiential learning”, that includes learning about the job, shadowing the best employees, learning about how to interact with clients and getting feedback on performance. While Beroe is focused on the transferring the intangible aspects of its culture and makes sure that the company’s DNA is passed on, it also emphasizes on customization. Candidates are given customized knowledge based courses on their domain. Since heavy career conversations are not something that candidates want on day one, a separate process was envisioned called career conversations. This initiative involved one on one conversation along with insights into how employees can best leverage opportunities.

In case of a lateral hire, the company does not put them through the onboarding process until they have spent two weeks on their job, this allows experienced employees to choose aspects of onboarding they require. All through the process of onboarding, the emphasis is on keeping a constant loop of information. The company also ensures that the touch points remain after a candidate has completed their training. By identifying a balance between individual career aspirations and the company’s needs, Beroe revamped its onboarding and induction process. This led to a higher employee engagement and satisfaction among employees. As an affirmation to its initiative, it is worth noting that the company has not seen a single case of non-confirmation after probation.