Companies define their values to show what they care about the most. In a nutshell, the values should describe what kind of behaviour is expected and encouraged.
Although in best cases, values are present during the entire recruitment process and are one of the components of the hiring decision, they still need to be presented to the new joiner during onboarding.
We aim to ensure that the new joiner is familiar with the values and feels they know how to show them in their everyday work.
Values guiding our work
At Lyyti, we have created our values together with our people. They guide our way of working and are an organic part of every operating model and development process (and not just the ones that focus on people).
Our values are:
- Curious mind: we dare to dream big and make it happen by investing in our naturally inquisitive minds.
- Tribal spirit: we cherish the importance of human connections, seek to help each other whenever possible, and believe that every person can proudly be who they are.
- Founder's heart: we believe people know how to think, when to use an axe instead of sandpaper, and always act bravely for what's best for Lyyti.
Thus, when starting to develop our onboarding process, it felt natural to ensure that the new process supports our values and helps the new joiner get familiar with them. And the best part? It is all about the little things.
The onboarding process
As we see it, the "official" onboarding period lasts 90 days, starting from the new joiner's first day. The target for the first 90 days is to get the new Lyytian going with a solid foundation to succeed in their role and be a part of the Lyyti team.
We have steps from preboarding to asking for feedback regarding the onboarding period. From the process, you can also find a detailed first-week plan, a task-board listing all practicalities, responsible people, and additional information, including a 30-day/60-day/90-day plan. The aim is to create structure and support for the new joiner's first months.
Embrace values from day 1
The structure is not everything. The process only clarifies what should be done. Our values come into play when a new joiner navigates how to complete various tasks.
We ask our new joiners to take responsibility for completing their onboarding tasks, such as setting up necessary induction meetings with colleagues and learning to use the Lyyti software. We also emphasise self-study instead of monologue meetings and believe that a little bit of digging and independent work sparks that curious mind.
From the first day on, our new joiners meet a bunch of new people from around Lyyti; during high-five alleys, lunches with colleagues and our CEO Pete, and induction meetings. The purpose is to raise the tribal spirit.
During the first days, new joiners receive a lot of information. We discuss our strategy, share a written version of Lyyti's history, and check the most recent monthly performance review. During the whirlwind, we actively ask for as much feedback from the new joiner as possible. The meaning of this is to get their founder's heart beating stronger.
And these are only to name a few things.
The Green Book makes values tangible
Lyyti's Green Book outlines our cultural code. It has been written for current and future Lyytians and everyone interested in what it is like to work here. We use it when recruiting, onboarding, day-to-day work, and describing the Lyyti-life to people on the outside.
From the book, one can find (among many other things) tips on what everyone can do to improve our culture. Or, for the sake of this blog post, how to act according to our values. The book is not too instructive but rather a way of making the culture and our values more tangible. These tips include, for example:
- Be active in learning new things and sharing them with other Lyytians. Remember, even mistakes are learning opportunities.
- Raise your hand to help a colleague whenever they seek help.
- Use Lyyti tokens and #positivefeedback-channel on Slack to provide positive peer-to-peer feedback.
- Be present and respect the meaningful daily encounters with your colleagues and customers.
- Share your ideas boldly and make brave decisions using our decision-making model to improve our product, service, business, and workplace.
Answer the “how?”
Ensuring that your onboarding process supports the company's values is about answering the simple question "how?" How are our culture and values described? How are they present in our day-to-day work? How do we wish our employees to work as a team, develop their work and go about one's business? And how will you make this visible to your new joiner?
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If you want to know more about our HR processes or network, you can contact me directly or send a LinkedIn request.
