{"id":4103,"date":"2022-09-28T09:30:26","date_gmt":"2022-09-28T16:30:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/insidetrack\/blog\/?p=4103"},"modified":"2023-07-27T12:46:53","modified_gmt":"2023-07-27T19:46:53","slug":"sweetening-the-first-day-for-new-microsoft-hires","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/insidetrack\/blog\/sweetening-the-first-day-for-new-microsoft-hires\/","title":{"rendered":"Sweetening the first day for new Microsoft hires"},"content":{"rendered":"
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<\/div>\n

This content has been archived, and while it was correct at time of publication, it may no longer be accurate or reflect the current situation at Microsoft.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\"MicrosoftProductivity is the name of the game at Microsoft.<\/p>\n

Not surprisingly, Microsoft strives for efficiency in everything it does, including the approach for an employee\u2019s first day.<\/p>\n

Called New Employee Onboarding (NEO), the Microsoft onboarding experience is primed for disruption, says Robert Koester, a senior IT service operations manager in Microsoft Digital.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re looking at how much friction there is between showing up for NEO and actually being productive,\u201d Koester says. \u201cWe\u2019ve been doing a lot of work to transform this experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

When new employees show up for their first day, there are several\u2014OK, more than several\u2014services and items they need to sign up for to get started.<\/p>\n

It was too much.<\/p>\n

\u201cI noticed that people had to constantly look away, switching from one tool or application to the next,\u201d Koester says. \u201cNavigating through multiple tools and interfaces was counterintuitive, and having to click about everywhere was only adding to the confusion and aggravation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Making it worse, new employees were often asked to provide the same information multiple times.<\/p>\n

Seizing the opportunity to enhance the new hire experience, Koester led the development of StepBar, a homegrown app that brings all the applications an employee needs to prepare for their first day into one place. \u201cThe idea is that procurement could have a laptop waiting, and with StepBar, a new hire could access all of the different tasks they need to accomplish through one simple interface,\u201d Koester says.<\/p>\n

With StepBar, signing up for passwords, PINs, emails, and Microsoft Teams is more easily managed. \u201cThis allows new employees to collaborate with their colleagues straight away,\u201d he says. \u201cThis is something they want to do as quickly as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

First day<\/strong> flavor<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s a typical Monday morning in Building 92 at the Microsoft main campus in Redmond, Washington. The scents of handcrafted lattes and pastries sweeten the air, as does an air of excited nervousness. Guides ease this week\u2019s new hires through a series of welcoming stations, including an inspiring keynote, laptop setup, and employee registration via StepBar. A Microsoft Teams channel is created for each set of new hires, a kind of gathering place where they can get their questions answered and talk with each other.<\/p>\n

Like a lifeguard on the beachside, Koester keeps an eye on those gathered for the day’s session and the Teams channel. For the most part, the NEO village doesn\u2019t need him and is self-sufficient. To him, this points to the success of the new Team\u2019s channel.<\/p>\n

The work of the Microsoft Digital team and the way it has transformed the onboarding process hasn\u2019t gone unnoticed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat Robert and I are trying to do is keep the negative emotions down and keep the experience as positive as possible\u2014and really obsess over and celebrate the new hires,\u201d says Alexis Apostol, a learning and development consultant in Microsoft Global Learning and Development. She manages the company\u2019s onboarding experience from a learning perspective. \u201cThe hope is to make new hires feel they can do their best work here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Along with wanting to make new employees feel safe and supported in their new workspace, a key goal of onboarding is to show new hires what Microsoft is all about.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe really are an amazing launchpad for employees to\u2014as we say\u2014empower every person, and every organization on the planet to achieve more,\u201d she says. \u201cWe want to show new employees we really live our mission.\u201d<\/p>\n

Empowering new hires has more tangibly measurable effects too, Apostol says. Data shows that an employee\u2019s onboarding experience can directly affect whether they choose to leave right away or stay long-term. Employees that stay for the long haul are beneficial to the company, while those quick to depart can leave gaps on their teams and are typically associated with costing the company money.<\/p>\n

Apostol says Microsoft has been striving to make joining the company easier and more intuitive. \u201cSometimes being new is hard, but at Microsoft new hires can be assured that we\u2019re working tirelessly to transform their onboarding experience,\u201d Apostol says. \u201cWe\u2019re streamlining the onboarding experience and we\u2019re also trying to make it fun and exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more information on working at Microsoft, visit the Microsoft careers site<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This content has been archived, and while it was correct at time of publication, it may no longer be accurate or reflect the current situation at Microsoft. Productivity is the name of the game at Microsoft. Not surprisingly, Microsoft strives for efficiency in everything it does, including the approach for an employee\u2019s first day. Called […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":146,"featured_media":11909,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"_hide_featured_on_single":false,"_show_featured_caption_on_single":true,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"coauthors":[674],"class_list":["post-4103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","m-blog-post"],"yoast_head":"\nSweetening the first day for new Microsoft hires - Inside Track Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Seizing the opportunity to enhance the new hire experience at Microsoft, CSEO led the development of StepBar, a homegrown app that brings all the applications an employee needs to prepare for their first day into one place.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/insidetrack\/blog\/sweetening-the-first-day-for-new-microsoft-hires\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sweetening the first day for new Microsoft hires - 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