How to make the onboarding process interactive

By ‘interactive’, we mean to engage new hires in a way that allows active participation instead of passively receiving information. This creates a two-way flow of communication, allowing both the employer and new hire to connect, exchange feedback, and understand each other. 

Creating an interactive onboarding experience helps keep new hires engaged throughout their entire onboarding. This blog explains why and inspires 11 different ways to make your onboarding more interactive.

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Why is it important to make onboarding interactive?

Rather than passively absorbing information, interactive onboarding experiences engage new hires with content, improving learning retention. New hires can feel more confident in their new role, increasing feelings of job satisfaction and reducing new job anxieties. 

For HR, this means a reduction in early turnover rates since new hires feel more supported and enthusiastic about their new position from the beginning. This helps boost company culture and create an overall positive branding image. 

Interactivity is beneficial to all, but the question is: How can I incorporate interactivity within my onboarding? Let’s explore some ways together.

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11 ways to make onboarding interactive

Making an onboarding process interactive is simpler than you might think. The key is to think in the perspective of your new hires. Of course, the onboarding is for them, but how can you actually include them throughout the process?

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1. Use gamification features

Start with your onboarding app, think of ways to gamify onboarding so that it becomes a fun experience. Use quizzes to encourage active thinking rather than passive absorption. You can even ‘reward’ correct answers with positive feedback.

[.callout-small] Appical best practice: Our native app features various types of quizzes, including multiple choice, image matching, and true or false. These help engage new hires, making onboarding fun and interactive! [.callout-small]

2. Visualise progress

Think of creative and motivating ways to visualise and track a new hire’s onboarding. For example, progress bars visually tell you how far along your new hire is in the onboarding process. You can also use interactive checklists where users can ‘tick off’ their completed onboarding tasks, giving them a satisfying feeling of progress.

[.callout-small] Appical best practice: Our native app visually tracks your progress for you, showing how far along you are in your onboarding! See examples below: [.callout-small]

3. Encourage messaging

Not sure how to stay in touch with your new hire after signing? Onboarding apps let you automatically send messages and chat directly. New hires can ask questions, and managers can easily check in or catch up.

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4. Personalise the experience

By personalising the onboarding app, you can ‘talk’ to new hires directly, addressing them by their first name. Directly interact with the new hire by speaking in the 2nd person (i.e. “you”), inviting them to complete their onboarding. For example: 

“👋 Welcome [first name]!”

“Hi [first name], it’s time to schedule your first coffee date!”

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5. Create an interactive welcome kit

Make a good first impression by gifting new hires a creative welcome kit, helping them feel seen from Day 1. Include interactive items like QR codes for useful resources and information, conversation starter cards, or a “First week bucket list” of (fun) things to do during their first week.

[.callout-small] Appical best practice: We welcome each new hire with a branded welcome kit, including conversation starter cards to help new hires get to know colleagues better! [.callout-small]

6. Offer an office tour

Show your new hire around their new workplace! For an in-person first day, try to organise a fun activity like a scavenger hunt, where new hires complete ‘quests’ to help them explore the office and meet new colleagues. 

For remote positions, offer a 360° virtual tour of the workplace with interactive hotspots so new hires can ‘click on’ parts of the workplace to explore what they are. 

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7. Organise team events

Organise fun ways to ‘break the ice’ amongst new colleagues. Think of seasonal activities to do as a group, like ice skating in the winter or hosting a pot-luck picnic in the summer. These can encourage relationship-building in a low-pressure environment.

[.callout-small] Appical best practice: Our very own FCA (Fun Committee Appical) organises fun monthly activities for the whole company, like padel, pub quizzes, or even overnight trips! [.callout-small]

8. Immerse yourself with VR

Take onboarding to the next level by creating an interactive virtual reality (VR) onboarding experience for new hires! VR can boost efficiency, keeps employees engaged, and enhances their focus. Design a VR office tour, immerse new hires in realistic job simulations, or gamify handbooks to make learning more fun and hands-on.

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9. Host hands-on workshops or role-playing activities

Rather than reading manuals or watching presentations, engage new hires by training them through practical workshops and activities. By actively experiencing a ‘real-world’ scenario, they can apply their knowledge immediately, helping to better understand their new role and responsibilities. Try doing this through VR, for example. 

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10. Design interactive presentations

Presentations are great for informing larger audiences, but can easily become lengthy and dull. Avoid this by engaging your audience with live polls, Q&A sessions, and group discussions. This interactivity helps incorporate your new hires’ ideas and opinions within your presentation.

[.callout-small] Appical best practice: During our monthly company-wide meetings, we use interactive tools like live polls to interact with everyone and gather their ideas [.callout-small]

11. Learn from feedback 

Feedback is essential for the success of an onboarding process. Make it an interactive experience by creating a two-way conversation to encourage participation. Use tools such as Likert scales or open-ended questions to give and receive feedback in an engaging way.

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Wrapping up

In short, interactivity is incredibly valuable as it keeps new hires engaged throughout their entire onboarding process, making it a fun and exciting process. This may benefit organizations and HR teams through increased employee retention rates, reduced onboarding costs, and a strengthened company culture.

Interactive onboarding is fun for both you and your new hires. We highly recommend using interactivity to bring your onboarding process to life!