How was your onboarding experience?

My onboarding experience was great and I thought it was very smooth. I joined the company on a short fixed term contract not knowing what my future would hold, but despite this I was made to feel welcome and like an equally important part of the team (and here I still am, on a permanent contract a year and a half later).

There are a couple of things that are standard for all of our new starters that I also experienced:

- Prior to my start date I completed some 'onboarding tasks' on our HR system, Workday, and input all my details (e.g. bank details to ensure my first payday went smoothly!)
- a laptop and accessories waiting for me at my desk on my first day
- I attended a 'First Things First' session with our Learning & Development team, which is a great introduction to the company and what it's all about
- and finally, as you would expect, lots of training and support from my team to get settled in

My onboarding experience was really positive, and meant that my first day nerves weren't quite as bad! Once I'd accepted the role, my manager got in contact with me to arrange a short phone call where we went over what I could expect on my first day, how to get into the office, and I could ask any questions! This was a really nice touch, which I hadn't experienced anywhere else before. There were a few things I needed to do ahead of starting (like sending over bank details etc) but it was nothing crazy.

My first few weeks went really well, everyone was so welcoming, I had a few 'First Things First' sessions to get to understand the business, and as someone who has never worked in Insurance before, this was really useful. Overall my onboarding experience was really positive, it helped alleviate some of those first day nerves, and I felt like it had been considered, and there was a plan in place.