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Virtual welcome experience for new staff debuts

Onboarding our new hires is key to helping articulate the Stanford culture, connecting new hires to what is important to us, setting new hires up for success by building connections, and giving new hires information they need to quickly accelerate in their role. After gathering input from recent new hires and conducting external best practices research, the onboarding experience for newly hired staff has evolved from an all-day orientation event to a series of live virtual sessions spread out over the first month of employment.

The Welcome Center experience includes these four live virtual sessions held as Zoom meetings:

  • Welcome to Stanford: A 90-minute orientation held each Monday morning that shares a high-level overview of our culture, values, history, and organization; reviews the many services and amenities available, and ensures new hires understand the key action steps they must take to successfully onboard. The session is interactive, with polls and breakout discussions to allow new hires an opportunity to meet each other.
  • Benefits Overview: A 60-minute session held each Tuesday morning to review all health and life benefits programs so new hires can make enrollment selections in their first 31 days.
  • Stanford Contributory Retirement Plan (SCRP) Overview: A 60-minute session held on the third Wednesday of each month to share all retirement plan options available.
  • Onboarding Q&A: A 60-minute optional session held once a week for new hires to ask any outstanding questions they may have.

In addition to the live virtual sessions, new hires are able to get individual support at any time through University Human Resources. For any new hires unable to participate in the live virtual sessions, recorded presentations are available for viewing.  We have initiated a pilot program to send welcome kits to each new hire’s home prior to their start date. We are also planning further enhancements in 2021, such as quarterly events for new hires to connect with each other to share information, get additional questions answered, and build relationships.

Feedback will be gathered periodically from participants to ensure we are creating an onboarding experience that is engaging and meets the needs of our new hires. Details about the virtual Welcome Center sessions are available on the Welcome Center website.