"The morning dawns somewhere in the distance. The icy wind whistles and snowfall lashes your face as you ascend to the top step of the grand stone staircase. You've been traveling for so long that you can't even remember when or where you started."

The excerpt above is the beginning of the latest Granite onboarding document. It's written by our front-end coder Heikki, and this 10-page, humor-infused welcome text specifically for our new full-stack developer is enlivened not only by witty storytelling but also by AI-generated illustrations. According to Heikki, Granite's onboarding process for a new employee resembles creating a character at the beginning of a role-playing game, so "a touch of fantasy was necessary."

Granite's onboarding process for new employees consistently receives praise and accolades. What do we do differently than many other companies? Here are at least five things.

Recruitment Approach

For us, the onboarding process starts during recruitment – we carefully assess the type of person who would fit well with us and only enter into a work relationship if we're convinced that both parties will benefit equally from the choice. This facilitates the integration of a new employee into the team, and even before the first day of work, we know that this person is the right fit for our group!

Warm Welcome – Community is Paramount to Us

Many new Granite employees get to enjoy some team-building activities even before or shortly after starting their employment. We try to keep things chill, and it's easy to join our laid-back group. Asking for help is encouraged and help is readily available.

Goal-Oriented Onboarding

Have you ever started a job and you were just left in the break room for an hour to read a dusty manual from 2006, only to be expected to start working immediately after without, or with barely any, assistance? Not at Granite!

Our HR Lead, Tiiu, ensures that every employee is thoroughly introduced to both the company's practices and their role-specific tasks. The onboarding process involves various stages depending on the role – general company practices are introduced by the HR Lead, covering topics such as employment, payroll, benefits, and guidelines. Employees also receive a list of tasks to independently complete during their first days. Role-specific practices are introduced by the Team Lead and any personal mentor within the team. We don't throw employees into work blindly, and we invest time and resources in onboarding to provide the best starting conditions for every Granite employee.

A good onboarding process has a clear structure and goal. These aspects are exceptionally well-considered at Granite, if we do say so ourselves.

Comprehensive Understanding – Familiarizing with Other Teams' Operations Regardless of Role

During the first few weeks, a new Granite employee receives a comprehensive overview of the company's operations, with someone from each team explaining their role. It's beneficial for a salesperson to understand the daily operations of customer support, and a new project manager will benefit from understanding the processes of the product team. This also helps in understanding how responsibilities are distributed among teams and roles within the company.

Check-Ups

At the two- and five-month marks from the start of employment, a new Granite employee discusses with their Team Lead how things are going and whether the recruitment has met expectations from both sides. These check-ups are part of the onboarding process and aim to assess how well the topics covered in onboarding have translated into practical work during the initial period.

Things haven't always been this well thought out at Granite, either. The onboarding process has been thoroughly refined over the years, and we can proudly say that significant progress has been made. We listen to the voices of our new employees regarding the success of onboarding, and our HR club constantly explores ways to improve employee satisfaction. Onboarding plays a significant role in this.