About this session
A welcome presentation, a checklist, and access to a learning library are useful components of onboarding.
Designing the program means connecting those components with the work a new employee needs to perform, the relationships they need to build, and the support required at each stage.
Choose this session for HR, L&D, People Operations, talent acquisition partners, and managers responsible for creating or improving onboarding.
Participants start with a defined role or employee population and examine the current journey: what is promised, what actually happens, where people become blocked, and which responsibilities fall between teams.
They then design a coordinated pathway from practical preboarding and first-day readiness through early role learning, supported practice, team integration, and ongoing development.
The approach combines a shared organizational foundation with purposeful variations for different roles, locations, working patterns, and entry routes. Participants decide what every new hire needs, what should be tailored, and who keeps each element current.
The longer formats develop the operating detail behind the experience: manager and buddy responsibilities, service handoffs, learning resources, exception handling, delivery capacity, pilot testing, and evaluation.
Participants leave with a scoped onboarding design and a practical route to implementation. The four- and eight-week options describe the professional learning program for onboarding designers; they do not prescribe one universal onboarding timeline for new employees.
What your people take away
- Connect onboarding objectives with role clarity, practical readiness, relationships, and appropriate support
- Use current journey evidence to identify gaps, duplication, and unresolved handoffs
- Design a phased experience with a shared foundation and relevant role-specific pathways
- Build manager involvement, supported practice, and purposeful team connections into the journey
- Assign delivery ownership, completion evidence, capacity, and exception routes
- Evaluate program delivery and new-hire readiness separately, then use the findings to improve the design
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- What each length covers, 30 minutes to full day
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What each length covers
30 minutes
30 Minutes — Key Points: Define the Onboarding Purpose & Diagnose the Current ExperienceA focused 30-minute session on three key points from Define the Onboarding Purpose & Diagnose the Current Experience: start with role readiness, map the experience as it actually happens and define the population & its requirements.
- Start with role readiness
- Map the experience as it actually happens
- Define the population & its requirements
Covers 3 of 4 points in Define the Onboarding Purpose & Diagnose the Current Experience.
60 minutes
Strategic Onboarding Design EssentialsA focused introduction to Module 1. Participants define one onboarding population, identify the readiness outcomes that matter, examine a short journey example, and create an Onboarding Design Brief with one priority improvement. This version establishes the design direction rather than producing a complete program.
- Onboarding purpose and role-readiness outcomes
- Current experience versus intended experience
- Scope and employee-population requirements
- Shared foundation versus tailored pathways
- Guided output: Onboarding Design Brief
- Live Q&A
Covers 1 of 4 parts: Define the Onboarding Purpose & Diagnose the Current Experience.
90 minutes
Build a Role-Relevant Onboarding JourneyAn extended workshop covering Modules 1 and 2. Participants define the design brief and build a first-draft journey for one role or employee population, including practical preboarding, staged milestones, information sequencing, and one supported role-learning task. Manager delivery and evaluation requirements are identified for further development.
- Module 1 — Define the Onboarding Purpose & Diagnose the Current Experience
- Module 2 — Build the Journey From Preboarding to Supported Contribution
- Preboarding and first-day readiness
- Role-relevant milestones and learning sequence
- One supported task and readiness check
- Guided output: First-Draft Onboarding Journey Map
- Live Q&A
Covers 2 of 4 parts: Define the Onboarding Purpose & Diagnose the Current Experience and Build the Journey From Preboarding to Supported Contribution.
3 hours
Covers 3 of 4 parts: Define the Onboarding Purpose & Diagnose the Current Experience, Build the Journey From Preboarding to Supported Contribution and Enable Managers, Connections & Reliable Delivery.
Full day
Strategic Onboarding Program Design LabA four-hour workshop, including breaks, covering all four modules. Participants work on one scoped role or population, map the journey, assign manager and service responsibilities, design initial learning and support tools, and test the experience through a tabletop walkthrough. They leave with a draft program blueprint and a prioritized pilot plan, not a fully deployed enterprise onboarding system.
- Module 1 — Define the Onboarding Purpose & Diagnose the Current Experience
- Module 2 — Build the Journey From Preboarding to Supported Contribution
- Module 3 — Enable Managers, Connections & Reliable Delivery
- Module 4 — Pilot, Evaluate & Improve the Program
- Onboarding Design Brief and Journey Map
- Role Readiness Milestone Planner
- Manager and Buddy Support Plan
- Ownership, Handoff, and Exception Map
- Tabletop Journey Test
- Guided output: Draft Onboarding Program Blueprint and Pilot Plan
- Live Q&A
Covers all 4 parts.
Also available as a 4-week or 8-week program, for change that lasts. Ask us about it.
What’s covered
Define the Onboarding Purpose & Diagnose the Current Experience
Every length- Start with role readinessParticipants define what a new employee should understand, be able to do, and know how to access at appropriate stages.
- Map the experience as it actually happensParticipants compare the intended onboarding journey with available evidence from recent hires, managers, existing materials, service records, and approved feedback.
- Define the population & its requirementsParticipants select a manageable design scope, such as one role family, site, business unit, or entry route.
- Establish a shared foundation & tailored pathwaysParticipants distinguish the organizational essentials that should remain consistent from the elements that require local, functional, or role-specific design.
Build the Journey From Preboarding to Supported Contribution
90 minutes and longer- Prepare the conditions for a good startParticipants map the practical arrangements needed before a new hire starts.
- Design meaningful stages & milestonesParticipants structure the first day, first week, and later stages around what a new hire needs to understand, practice, and accomplish.
- Sequence information at the point of needParticipants sort content into what is needed immediately, what should be introduced later, and what should remain accessible as a reference.
- Build role learning around real tasksParticipants select appropriate early tasks and design a progression from explanation and observation to supported practice, feedback, and demonstration.
Enable Managers, Connections & Reliable Delivery
3 hours and longer- Make the manager's role specificParticipants define the manager conversations, preparation, task selection, feedback, and review responsibilities needed throughout the journey.
- Create purposeful connections & buddy supportParticipants design introductions around the relationships a new hire needs to navigate work.
- Assign ownership across the delivery chainParticipants map the contributions of recruiting, HR, IT, workplace teams, learning specialists, managers, and other relevant functions.
- Make the program accessible & maintainableParticipants examine whether the journey works for frontline, remote, hybrid, and office-based employees within the selected scope.
Pilot, Evaluate & Improve the Program
Full day only- Test the journey before a wider launchParticipants walk through the proposed journey with a realistic employee profile and test what happens at each stage.
- Measure delivery and readiness separatelyParticipants define delivery measures such as access readiness, scheduled check-ins, and completion of required steps, alongside evidence of role understanding, supported task performance, and the ability to find help.
- Use feedback to identify actionable problemsParticipants design focused feedback questions at useful moments and decide who reviews the responses and follows up.
- Create an improvement & governance rhythmParticipants establish a review process for prioritizing improvements, assigning owners, maintaining resources, and deciding when a change is ready for wider use.
Tools and materials
- Onboarding Design Brief
- Current-State and Future-State Journey Maps
- Role Readiness Milestone Planner
- Shared Foundation and Pathway Variation Matrix
- Role-Learning Task Designer
- Manager Check-In Guide
- Buddy Brief and Connection Map
- Ownership, Handoff, and Exception Map
- Onboarding Measurement Plan
- 90-Day Onboarding Pilot and Improvement Plan
How booking works
- Book online. Create a free Workbliss profile, then pay with session credits, by card or by invoice.
- Pick a date. Choose a date at least 14 days ahead, or book now and set the date later.
- Choose your expert. Within 3 working days, we send you profiles of the experts available for your date.
- We deliver it. Your expert is briefed on your people and goals, then runs the session live online or at your site.
Questions about Strategic Onboarding Program Design
How long is Strategic Onboarding Program Design?
Strategic Onboarding Program Design runs as 30 minutes, 60 minutes, 90 minutes, 3 hours or full day. You choose the length when you book. A 30-minute session covers three key points from Define the Onboarding Purpose & Diagnose the Current Experience: start with role readiness, map the experience as it actually happens and define the population & its requirements. A 60-minute session covers Define the Onboarding Purpose & Diagnose the Current Experience in full, with a live Q&A. A 90-minute session adds Build the Journey From Preboarding to Supported Contribution. A 3-hour session adds Enable Managers, Connections & Reliable Delivery. A full-day session adds Pilot, Evaluate & Improve the Program. It is also available as a 4-week or 8-week program.
Can Strategic Onboarding Program Design be delivered online or in person?
Yes, both. It runs live online, so every office can join at the same time, or in person at your site, in any country.
How do we book Strategic Onboarding Program Design?
Create a free Workbliss profile with your work email, then open Strategic Onboarding Program Design to see the price for each length and book it. You can pay with session credits, by card or by invoice, and choose a date at least 14 days ahead, or set it later.
Who leads the session?
A vetted Workbliss expert, briefed on your people, culture and goals before the session. After you book, we send you profiles of the experts available for your date within 3 working days, so you can choose who leads it.
Can it be tailored to our company?
Yes. Every session is shaped around your goals, your people and the benefits you already offer, and delivered by experts in your people’s languages.