For burgeoning digital start-ups and scale-ups, onboarding new team members can swiftly morph from an exciting sign of growth into a logistical nightmare. Over the course of this and the next blog entry, we’ll dissect a few onboarding scenarios that spotlight the inefficiencies lurking within.
Imagine yourself as one of the founders of a rapidly evolving business. Over the past year or two, your company has pieced together a patchwork of systems to support its growth. Now, as you onboard a new team member, the cracks in this foundation start to show.
The process kicks off on a hopeful note: you dispatch a laptop to the new starter, instructing them to navigate the initial setup—perhaps with their personal Microsoft or iCloud account as their lifeline. It feels simple enough until the cracks widen.
Upon setup completion, you fire off an email containing their Microsoft 365 password and credentials for a handful of other systems they’ll need immediately. But then, a snag—their personal OneDrive syncs first, unwittingly mingling personal files with company data. It’s an innocent mistake, yet it unveils the first layer of complexity in your makeshift onboarding process.
The subsequent days unfold like a slow game of digital tag. As the team lead identifies additional cloud systems the new hire needs, a daunting reality emerges: the admin accounts are scattered among several employees, one of whom is conveniently on holiday.
After a series of emails, messages, and perhaps a bit of luck, the new team member finally gains access to all necessary tools. Yet, they’re left juggling a cumbersome array of usernames, passwords, and, if fortune favours, multi-factor authentication setups—a testament to resilience more than efficiency.
For many small businesses, this scenario is all too familiar. Some may attempt to bandage the issue with secure password-sharing tools or services. While these solutions offer a semblance of security, they barely scratch the surface of the underlying problem: an onboarding process that’s both time-consuming and convoluted.
In our next instalment, we’ll pivot from the chaos to explore an alternative approach. Stay tuned as we unveil a streamlined onboarding method that not only enhances security but also significantly reduces the time and effort involved. Join us as we reimagine the onboarding journey, transforming it from a source of frustration into a seamless, efficient process that empowers both new hires and their teams.
