Remember starting your first job as an adult in the “real world?” You were excited, nervous, and wanted to make a big impression on day one. The problem was you were not exactly sure who everyone was nor what you were supposed to be doing.

Our growth and commitment to client service has required the addition of many new teammates, especially over the last five years. Over that time frame, the size of our team has grown by 64% through the addition of over 60 new teammates. Our continued growth and culture require that we are committed to supporting these new teammates from the moment they sign their Greenleaf offer letter. We refer to this as our onboarding process.

Prior to stepping in the door on their first day, our human resources team and respective managers are in regular contact with each new teammate, helping them understand our onboarding process and what to expect. Onboarding is required, purposeful, and designed to provide each new teammate with a foundation for success at Greenleaf. On their first day, they are formally welcomed by every teammate in their office before spending the majority of their day completing the necessary new hire paperwork and technology training. This is where many other onboarding processes start and stop. Ours continues for another three weeks and each day is planned out to the minute and scripted.

During the rest of onboarding, new teammates will begin learning the specifics of their new role through job shadowing with peers, training, and one-on-one time with their manager. As importantly, they will spend formal one-on-one time with every division leader in the company. These meetings can involve impactful time with nearly 50 teammates over the course of the onboarding process. Through the division leader meetings, new teammates learn about everything from the history of Greenleaf to the responsibilities of each division and their role in serving our clients. My time with them is spent making sure they know they are now working for a company that has a purposeful strategic planning process and it involves them. Opportunities are also created for new teammates to spend time informally with others typically over coffee or lunch. Ideally all of this time with others is in person. When that cannot be done we simply pivot and do it virtually.

The benefits of our process are immense. New teammates feel the genuine support from their peers and leaders. They are equipped with the knowledge they need to be successful in their new role and familiar with the tools they need to serve. Important new relationships are developed. They know where to go with questions. And, they begin to really experience the culture they heard so much about during the interview process.