How Bramwith deliver a great onboarding process
The first days you spend in a new role significantly shape your experience at the company. This is the time when you forge alliances, make friendships, and discover how the business works and what is expected of you.
This is also the time when you might feel like you’ll never be able to navigate the new digital filing system or remember everyone’s names. At Bramwith we know these early days can be nerve-wracking. That’s why we have put lots of thought and energy into making our onboarding process as smooth and enjoyable as possible. From organising 1:1 training that is tailored to the individual to offering group sessions with a personal trainer over Zoom, find out how Bramwith delivers a great onboarding process to all our procurement and supply chain candidates.
What is an onboarding process?
The onboarding process refers to all the activities involved in introducing a new employee to the company and their role. At Bramwith, the onboarding process includes:
- A comprehensive introduction to the company and our people from the line manager or supervisor. This includes company culture and values as well as our commitment to diversity and inclusion.
- Introduction to colleagues. This includes the person’s immediate team as well as every Bramwith employee.
- Briefings from an HR representative on health and safety, company policies and other personnel-related information.
- An individually tailored training program with plenty of 1:1 support. Alongside clarifying responsibilities, targets and goals, this is an opportunity to discuss ways of working and how the employee’s role fits in with the wider business structure and objectives. It will also be the time we explain how the employee’s performance will be assessed and how incentives and additional benefits work.
Onboarding is a two-way street
There’s a lot to cover during the first few weeks and, as we mentioned earlier, there is a danger of the new employee getting a bit overwhelmed. To mitigate information overload and to make sure our recruit gets the most out of the onboarding experience we make sure there is plenty of time to ask questions and discuss any concerns or matters that need clarification.
Naturally, there will have been time to talk about the person’s ambitions and areas of interest during the interview process but we find that onboarding presents a great opportunity for taking those conversations further and putting a preliminary career development plan in place. Here we can talk about how the person can realistically progress at Bramwith and what all parties need to do to make that happen.
When the onboarding process has been completed we always ask for feedback on which elements worked for the recruit and which could be improved. We will then look at adjusting the program so it gets better and better as our business and our recruitment process evolve.
To give you a flavour of how the onboarding world is in practice, let’s hear from Molly about her first few weeks at Bramwith.
Molly’s story
Molly joined Bramwith as a graduate during the COVID-19 pandemic. This meant the whole onboarding process had to be carried out remotely. While this is obviously not the optimum environment to introduce a new employee to the company, the team at Bramwith devised some unusual and innovative ways to help Molly feel welcome and included.
Molly tells us; “Even though my start with Bramwith was remote due to lockdown, I felt completely welcomed and supported. The senior leadership team took me under their wing from day one. They were always one hundred percent available and approachable.”
“The company directors took the time to support me with interesting and useful 1:1 training which covered pretty much every aspect of my job. I never felt like a burden and their willingness to be there for me and to make sure I could succeed in my role was apparent at all times.”
One aspect that Molly likes and appreciates about working at Bramwith is the clear route of progression for all employees. She tells us; “The process is very transparent and you have a good understanding of how to achieve your targets. If you’re ambitious, you have many opportunities to progress quickly through the ranks. There’s a fair structure for everyone which helps to create healthy competition as well as highly motivated staff.”
Molly was also impressed by the benefits and rewards offered at Bramwith including company holidays abroad three or four times a year. There are also plenty of staff incentives and team social events taking place regularly. Even during lockdown, the team organised games and virtual get-togethers including a game of Family Fortunes, a virtual escape room and a whole company workout with a personal trainer on Zoom!
“If you are interested in working in a dynamic environment where you can progress quickly, and get offered great opportunities that match your skill set, you’ll love working at Bramwith. This is a forward-thinking company with a fantastic team spirit, generous reward schemes, and excellent opportunities for socialising. It’s a real privilege to work with some of the best and most experienced recruiters in the procurement and supply chain sector. I am very excited to discover how my career will continue to evolve at Bramwith.”
If you’d like to find out more about developing your career at Bramwith contact our friendly team today.
