Alliant Insurance Services, Inc., customizes its New Hire Orientation to fit the needs of the departments new employees will be working in, including Employee Benefits, Corporate, Specialty, Americas, Alliant Consumer Group (SMS), and Personal Lines. This customization takes the form of a variety of delivery options, individualized content, and flexible scheduling options.
Program Details
Prior to the first day of employment, remote workers receive their equipment via FedEx, with instructions on how to power it on and connect to the Internet. Phone numbers also are included in case there are questions. Employees working in the office arrive to equipment that is already turned on and connected to the Internet.
On the first day of employment, employees participate in a virtual instructor-led training (VILT) that covers all of their equipment, how to set it up and how to access Alliant’s systems, then meet with their managers and teams. C-suite executives such as the CEO, Chief HR Officer, and Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer provide a welcoming video to all new hires.
On day two of orientation, all employees attend a VILT course delivered by the Human Resources department that covers time, payroll, benefits, and other HR-related information. It is at this juncture that the branching of specialized training begins.
Depending upon the department, employees are assigned some live in-person trainings, some VILT sessions, some online self-paced modules, and some hybrid modules. On days three and four, employees from various roles and departments attend the Professional Development department’s New Hire Experience. For employees in Employee Benefits, SMS, Americas West, Specialty, or Personal Lines, additional branching off to experience customized new hire orientations occurs. Departments also customize further based upon years of experience.
The content for all of the onboarding includes information on what resources are used for that business unit, where and how to access the resources, and an explanation of how to best utilize them.
Alliant provides new hire cohort Zoom channels that are monitored daily for 90 days. These channels post guidance documents, announcements relevant to new hires, and answers to their questions. Additionally, new hires meet regularly with their managers and are assigned new hire buddies in some cases. At the 90-day mark, new hires are asked to anonymously answer a satisfaction questionnaire to provide necessary feedback for continous improvement.
New hires are automatically enrolled in the New Hire Onboarding Learning Community for one year. This learning community is only for those in their first year of employment and is moderated by the Professional Development department. Regular discussions, Q&A, and postings related to new hires are part of this social learning environment. New hires also have the opportunity from the very beginning to engage in networking opportunities.
Results
New Hire Orientation contributed to a more than 2 percent reduction in Alliant’s attrition rates between 2023 and 2024.
