Hospitality and Flexibility: Be Bauli, the Phygital Onboarding of the Bauli Group

Massimo Bottacin, HR Director Bauli Group

We live in a time of radical change. Pandemic, climate change, and wars have brought about a paradigm shift in our society, first and foremost in the world of work, which is undergoing a profound evolution, particularly pronounced if we look at generational changes. It is the younger generations, Millennials and Generation Z, that represent the most important impetus toward change: their attention, in fact, is increasingly focused on well-being in the workplace, work life balance, flexibility, sustainability, and inclusiveness.

For instance, flexibility is meant as the ability to benefit quickly and smartly from the information needed to get to know the environment in which one is going to work, within the framework of a company that proves to be welcoming from the outset.

These trends now play a central role in HR strategies, so how can companies address what is an irreversible cultural shift?

Caring particularly about well-being in the workplace, our group is committed to innovating one of the most delicate processes in establishing a solid relationship between the company and the new employee: onboarding. A new hire often feels disoriented in a new environment, and it is therefore the company's job to give him a warm welcome and make him feel comfortable. In this sense, first impressions count for a lot!

To accommodate the needs of the new generation, but not only, we have decided to combine a personal approach with a digital one, creating a modern onboarding experience: Be Bauli. The goal of this Bauli onboarding process is to allow the new hire to immediately feel part of our family, by introducing him to the work environment, and giving him the most useful information, all through a "journey" whose timing he can manage with wide autonomy. 

The process starts before the entry of the new employee with an informal communication by which the steps and information for hiring are explained. The first day on the job begins with an initial welcome-on-board moment, where the new employee is greeted by a member of HR who guides him on a brief tour of the company and escorts him to his workstation. There he finds a welcome kit waiting for him, which includes a series of useful gifts designed to create a moment of pleasant surprise and to convey the warmth of our welcome. In addition, in line with our values and the interest that new generations feel for these issues, these gifts are made by companies that we carefully select based on criteria related to sustainability and social commitment.

“The younger generations,  Millennials and Generation  Z represent the most crucial  impetus toward change:  their attention is increasingly  focused on well-being in the  workplace, work-life balance,  flexibility, sustainability and    inclusiveness” 

From this point on, a digital onboarding journey begins: the employee's photo and some information about his hobbies, interests, and history are posted on the intranet and on screens in common areas, so that the newcomer is introduced in an immediate and informal way to the entire group of employees.

The actual digital journey starts here: the new hire receives a link in his e-mail inbox that takes him to a virtual environment where he finds a step-by-step presentation of the entire company, mostly made with video modules, aimed at both informing and emotionally engaging the employee. The first welcome is from our chairman, whose words introduce the company's culture; this is followed by a video from our CEO, who instead focuses on the group's strategy, and finally it is me as the HR director inviting the new colleague to take this journey together, wishing him to find in our world the place where he can express himself freely while feeling fully himself. The journey continues with a video that recounts Bauli's more than one hundred years of history in a very emotional way, which is followed by a presentation of the company and the various functions, introduced by their respective directors: the new employee receives a complete overview of our group, even of the more distant realities. Finally, useful material of interest that can always be consulted is also made available to the employee.

The innovative feature of Be Bauli is its flexibility: the digital journey can be managed by the employee by autonomously choosing ways and times of enjoyment. Before each video, its duration is specified so that the person can view it when it is most convenient for him, and in addition useful materials have been digitized to be effortlessly searchable at all times.

The process closes with a new community moment. The last stage of the journey consists of downloading an invitation to our welcome party: new hires and company management are invited to these events, to create a time of spontaneous discussion, since new employees arrive prepared thanks to the journey they have traveled and can interact with the directors of the various functions in a direct and knowledgeable way.

Finally, the journey includes a visit to the production facilities, to engage new colleagues in a full-fledged sensory journey into what is at the heart of our business: the creation of goodness.

Traditionally, onboarding has always been a unidirectional process, in which information was passed from the company to a new hire who had to absorb it quickly. Today we have tried to make onboarding as engaging and bidirectional as possible: the company provides new employees with the necessary information and tools, but it also tries to make them part of its history and culture from the very beginning, creating additional interaction opportunities over time.

This whole process would not be possible without using digital technologies, a fundamental driver when it comes to managing the corporate experience of young talents, without any fear that this will result in less human interaction. At Bauli, we think that by leveraging technology as a smart tool for information and integration with the group's culture and history, the human component is not only not lost, but is enhanced and helps the person feel put at the center of his own journey. This is another step for us on the road to improving employee well-being and engagement, as well as our attractiveness to potential new employees.