There is no second chance  to make a first impression

Everyone has probably had very different experiences with new employers in their professional life so far and can confirm what studies clearly show: First impressions count! Those who immediately feel that they are in good hands work more productively and are more satisfied. This also makes resignations within the first year less likely. "New employees usually start full of euphoria. It's important that they can settle in well. Otherwise, this can quickly lead to demotivation. Especially in times of a shortage of skilled labour, it is important to retain committed employees. You never get a second chance to make a first impression," says Lara Manthey. She works in the "BeProf@BHV" project and is responsible for personnel marketing. The project's target group is actually future lecturers, but "onboarding is important for everyone." Together with the Organisational Development department and other university stakeholders, she has therefore considered how to make new employees' first time at the university a pleasant one.

A digital process helps with preparation

In the past, line managers often had to think for themselves about how to organise the first few weeks and what equipment their new employees needed. This is not only inefficient, but also prone to error - after all, even managers can forget something. For this reason, a standardised university-wide approach is to be introduced in future, with supervisors being supported by a comprehensive checklist.

As a first step, Lara Manthey and Daniela Schimrigk, in collaboration with various stakeholders at the university, have compiled a comprehensive collection to record all onboarding requirements. This now serves as the basis for all further developments. "We are currently working on implementing a digital onboarding process. When a supervisor starts the process, all departments involved in the onboarding process are informed about their next to-dos. This can include equipping and setting up the workstation, providing the necessary software or issuing a copy card. In this way, it is always transparent how far everything is prepared for the arrival of the new colleagues," says Lara Manthey. The new process will soon be trialled for the first time.

"Open welcome" for all employees

"Good onboarding not only takes place on a professional level, but also includes the social and value-orientated integration of new employees," explains Lara Manthey. To this end, she has developed a new format together with Daniela Schimrigk from Organisational Development: the "Open Welcome". At the event, new colleagues can get to know employees from the various departments in a relaxed atmosphere over a cup of coffee or tea. They can also find information material, for example on counselling services, at large tables. Lara Manthey and Daniela Schimrigk came up with the idea for the event together with experts at the university during their work on the collection of requirements for onboarding. "The core idea was a kind of 'World Café' where new and old employees could network with each other and engage in dialogue," explains Lara Manthey. For lecturers and newly appointed professors, there are additional offers that make it easier to network with each other and get started in university didactics.

Find information more easily with the "university navigator"

Anyone who still has questions after networking can find answers in the "University Navi". This is a collection of links that makes it easier for new and existing employees to find information on work organisation. "It has become clear that knowledge transfer is a large and important part of onboarding," says Theresia Plünnecke. The "University Navi" therefore organises important information alphabetically according to key points. Anyone looking for something will find a link to further information and the right departments and contact persons. At the same time, the individual departments are also relieved, as frequently asked questions are already answered by the targeted provision of information. "Taking good care of new employees also has something to do with appreciation. That's why we are happy to endeavour to give new employees a good start at the university," says Theresia Plünnecke.

Anyone interested in Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences as an employer can find all important information and job vacancies at www.hs-bremerhaven.de/karriere.

This article first appeared in our newsletter "Karlsburger Horizonte", which you can subscribe to here .