Getting a new job can be a fun and scary time: there’s a whole new set of tasks and processes to learn, and teams to get to know and integrate yourself into and, depending on the organisation, varying levels of support to help you do it.
Aiming to help organisations create a helpful and engaging onboarding process is HR startup Enboarder.
Founded in Sydney, with offices in London and Austin, Texas, Enboarder is an “experience-driven” onboarding platform guiding both new hires and their managers through the onboarding process.
As founder and CEO Brent Pearson put it, the talent acquisition challenge doesn’t end with the offer letter.
“Given the cost and effort associated with getting the right person through the door, it makes sense to take steps to ensure you then retain that talent,” he said.
Launched in 2015, Pearson said the initial idea he had for Enboarder was different to what it eventually became.
“I built a low-fidelity prototype of the first idea, took it out to my network and did some validation testing – but I kept hearing ‘buts’ and so realised it wasn’t quite right. Those early testers did, however, gravitate towards the onboarding element within that first prototype – it was clearly hitting a pain point with them,” he said.
Pearson accepted the feedback and took a step back, he said, before doing more research and realising he was drawn to the idea of reinventing the onboarding process from a human experience perspective. He knew he had something when he took the revised concept back to the testers.
“They didn’t just like it, they wanted to buy it,” he said.
The platform allows employers to design engaging content via a drag and drop workflow tool that delivers to new hires automatically along their bespoke timelines.
Managers and new hires can choose how they would like to send, or be sent, these communications, whether by text message, email, Facebook, Slack, or Whatsapp. Each is sent with an embedded link that opens in the device browser when clicked, Pearson explained, which means there are no apps to download or usernames and logins required.
The startup is targeting a range of companies, from those hiring around 50 employees a year through to enterprise customers. With that in mind, it counts the likes of Westpac, Qantas, and Australia Post as customers locally, and companies including McDonalds, Gucci, and Walmart among its international customer base.
“Our pitch to them is pretty simple. You spend thousands of dollars hiring the right talent for your organisation, for a small extra price, you can now ensure that everybody has an incredible and a consistent first impression when they join,” Pearson said.
“I think if most companies look at their employee onboarding process they will realise that it is quite hit or miss depending on who the hiring managers are.”
According to Pearson, the startup has two core values that influence the way it works with customers: customers rule, and keep it real.
“Delighting our customers is critical for any B2B company, especially early stage ones. Our customers love working not just with our product, but with our team, and we really love working with our customers. Our customers have a huge influence over the way we work and our product roadmap,” he said.
Enboarder last November raised $5 million in a funding round led by US venture capital firm Greycroft and Australia’s Our Innovation Fund to help scale further.
While there are no shortage of HR-focused platforms tackling everything from hiring to onboarding, shift scheduling, employee rewards and more, Pearson believes Enboarder is the only onboarding solution that solves the challenge of onboarding from an engagement and experience perspective.
What’s more, he believes the platform is the only one to also solve the challenges around engagement from the perspective of the hiring manager.
“Managers have a major influence on a hire’s experience at their new job, but they’re busy, and don’t usually have in-depth HR training. Enboarder provides manager coaching, nudges and reminders to help even the busiest of managers deliver engaging onboarding experiences for their new hires,” he said.
With its $5 million in hand, Pearson said the startup is focused on this year tripling its revenues and “dramatically” growing its Austin and London offices.
“We want to keep delighting customers and having fun as a team.”
Image: Brent Pearson. Source: Supplied.
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