AbelsonTaylor Group’s Onboarding Program
Setting Up New Hires for Success
Responding to seismic shifts in how companies hire and develop employees post-pandemic, AbelsonTaylor Group launched a broad-scaled onboarding program over the past year that deeply integrates new employees into the agency and sets them up for success and professional growth.
Before their start date, new employees have an informal chat with their manager and receive a personal phone call from CEO Dale Taylor to answer any questions they may have. They also receive a personal “care” package welcoming them to the company. Once the employee begins work, team-specific onboarding is conducted over a week of daily two-hour sessions. During this time, new hires learn AbelsonTaylor Group’s policies, procedures, resources, culture, and corporate philosophy. This is also when employees are introduced to the company-wide Psychological Safety Initiative, which provides training to ensure all employees foster a work environment in which everyone feels respected, included, and encouraged to contribute ideas.
Next comes New Hire Week, a program that brings new employees—local as well as those based in other states—into AbelsonTaylor Group’s Chicago headquarters for several days of in-person meetings and socializing. New hires are also paired with a “buddy” from another department to promote cross-functional networking. The onboarding process is further supported and amplified by an education program managed through a system called CELL (Collaborate, Educate, Learn, and Lead), which offers five learning paths for expanding employees’ knowledge.
In the past 12 months, 96% of survey respondents have rated their onboarding experience as favorable, with 97% reporting they feel confident they will be able to perform successfully in their new roles.
