We were delighted to support Galaxy Insulation in their search for a new HR Manager earlier this year. Working closely with their HR Director, Jackie Cotton, I successfully recruited Pippa Wilson, who joined the team following a three-month notice period.

Named as one of the 100 fastest-growing founder-led companies in the UK, Galaxy Insulation and Dry lining is a market-leading insulation supplier with strong relationships with top dry lining and insulation manufacturers.

The company became an employee-owned business back in September 2022 and are one of the few businesses in the construction industry to have moved to this model.

Throughout Pippa’s notice period, I was particularly impressed by Jackie’s proactive approach in maintaining regular contact with Pippa. She ensured that Pippa was well-informed about the business, had the opportunity to meet much of the team, and felt confident and welcomed before her official start date.

I recently caught up with both Jackie and Pippa to discuss the onboarding experience. Their story serves as a great example for other businesses looking to improve retention and employee experience from day one.

JACKIE

How do you usually approach employee onboarding, Jackie?

We don’t really have an ‘official’ policy as such – we recruit mainly in our branch network but also for head office roles occasionally.  Much of our recruitment is done through referrals or people in the industry who are known to us, however, we always try to keep in touch with anyone who is on an extended notice period so that the individual doesn’t feel isolated and forgotten.  Alternatively, much of our operations recruitment is done on a fairly quick turnaround so it becomes much easier to keep the new employee engaged and quickly onboarded.

With Pippa I just did what felt right to make sure she felt welcome when she joined the team.  Having contact prior to starting also gives you the opportunity to build a relationship prior to the official start date which makes it more comfortable for everyone.   We do have some plans for future improvements to our onboarding process, such as increasing the online aspect as this will help with consistency across the business, and ensure employees have easy access to all policies and benefits information.   On-line onboarding is great but it is also important to cater for people who still like a nice folder of information that is presented professionally and in a timely manner.

I think another absolute must is that everything is set up for someone on the first day when they arrive, having the laptop set up and ready to go, having passwords and logins available and also providing organisation charts and key contacts helps the new employee to become established.  Having documentation ready to hand on with regard to job processes and procedures is also beneficial.

What stages/points of contact with Pippa did you have? What exactly was the onboarding process?

We met for coffee 2 or 3 times off-site, and I also invited Pippa to the office a couple of times, once to meet the rest of the Senior Leadership Team, and then to meet the wider team.  I could also show her the office where she would work and her desk, I think it is really beneficial for someone to visit where they will work and it makes it a little less stressful and daunting when arriving on the first day.

Why did you feel it was important to stay close to Pippa and make her feel welcome during her lengthy notice period?

To make her feel welcome and to ease any worries about starting with a new employer.  It gave us the opportunity to get to know each other and a chance to generally discuss what was currently happening in the business and chat about future plans, as well as current projects and the team set up. I shared an organisation structure chart to help Pippa to understand the company structure ahead of starting. Also, as we are an employee-owned trust it was important during onboarding to be clear about this and explain what this means for the business and employees both now and in the future.

PIPPA

It was equally important and interesting to get Pippa’s perspective on the onboarding process and how that impacted her journey to becoming a Galaxy employee:

How did it make you feel to be so included from offer to start date?

Great! I felt really valued from the start. It helped to give me further insight into the company and the industry, and - especially from a HR perspective - into the company culture. It was really good to meet the leadership team prior to the first day, as well as the rest of the team.

I found it extremely useful to hear about what is currently happening within the business and the different ongoing projects in the catch ups with Jackie. I felt included and part of the team, even before my first day.

As part of the onboarding experience, I received my induction pack prior to my first day which was really helpful. This allowed me to read the employee handbook and understand the different policies and benefits in my own time. I was able to complete all the necessary new starter forms in advance which helped with a smooth onboarding process as I had the time to digest the information and ask any questions.

Did it make a difference on first day to have met with Jackie and been to the office previously?

Meeting most of the team ahead of starting really took any worry out of my 1st day. It also gave me a chance to assess parking and traffic timings and discuss these with the team. Recognising team members on my 1st day was a nice change from walking into a sea of new faces! It also made it easier to ask for help when needed.

Jackie also gave me a guide of procedures for HR, like a ‘How-To’ guide, so that on Jackie’s day off I wasn’t wondering how to process anything, especially anything time-specific like payroll. As a new starter, you have so many questions and have everything to learn, but this helped me to get on with tasks independently and find the answers myself, without constantly having to ask for the next steps. I was able to feel like I was able to support the team much quicker.

SUMMARY

Getting onboarding right is so important. Candidates are taking away first impressions right from how offer management is handled. This is particularly important if your business doesn’t have a HR team. Keeping candidates engaged during long notice periods ensures a seamless transition and enhances team relationship building. It eases first day worries or stress in some cases, especially for more junior roles and for neurodiverse talent, helping alleviate any anxieties.

Working with clients across Yorkshire and the Midlands, we see such a variety in the level of contact during onboarding and long notice periods. It’s been great to see Galaxy Insulation recognise that meaningful engagement between offer and start date can significantly enhance new hire integration. They not only a customer-centric approach, but also a very clear-to-see employee-centric approach too. This value extends into their regular updates and clear internal communications day to day, across a wide geographical spread, ensuring everyone feels part of the team- something that’s tricky to conquer during periods of rapid expansion like they have had.

Tips to take away from Galaxy’s onboarding example:

• Off-site informal coffee meet-ups regularly
• Inviting the candidate into the office to meet the SLT and see the layout (especially if interviews have been conducted off-site or at another company location)
• Ensuring the candidate has an organisation structure chart
• Discussing imminent projects and plans for the business to help them feel included
• Meeting colleagues on-site and seeing where they will be sitting
• Setting up their desk - possibly with a few personal items ready for their 1st day – and ensuring any IT and any tech is fully working on the first day, the timescales of which are easily underestimated
• Passing on an ‘Employee Handbook’ on the first day including information such as key internal contacts, benefits and how to access them (i.e. healthcare/discount schemes) and policies

Aftercare is also vital – we’ll be exploring this in more detail soon.