SilkRoad Onboarding Allows Springfield Public Schools to Engage New Employees from Day One

SilkRoad Onboarding Results

• One automated onboarding process that eliminated paper forms and in-person orientation.
• A software solution customized for a variety of employee roles, departmental workflows, and numerous facilities.
• Self-service branded portals that engage new hires with an exciting, personalized experience. The portals clearly communicate the District’s mission and commitment to students.
• Greater transparency across the organization, as all departments are automatically notified as employees pass through onboarding, reducing calls from supervisors to HR department.

Challenges

1. Transition from a manual process to a single, automated onboarding solution.
2. Make new employees more productive and engaged, as soon as possible.
3. Identify software that adapts to a variety of different employee types, workflow processes, and locations.
4. Save time by eliminating paper forms, in-person orientation, and phone calls.
5. Give supervisors visibility into the onboarding process.
6. Allow customization of the onboarding experience based on the unique needs of their departments.

The Onboarding Challenge

Springfield Public Schools, the largest fully accredited public school district in Missouri, offers the state’s only K–12 International Baccalaureate program and has the second largest number of schools on the State’s top 10 list.

Springfield Public Schools is well-known for the highest quality education, yet it was using a manual system for onboarding new employees. The organization sought a strategic, automated process that would reflect its standards of excellence and quickly engage new employees in their jobs—all while reducing administrative effort.

During a typical year, the organization onboards over 500 people. Onboarding needs are extensive and complex. The workforce is dispersed across 52 different facilities, including 36 elementary schools, an intermediate school, nine middle schools, and six high schools. The District hires a wide range of skilled employees with various affiliations such as union or non-union workers. As with any publicly funded institution, the District’s hiring and onboarding practices are highly regulated by State and Federal laws.

Employees Receive a Personalized Experience

By customizing SilkRoad’s onboarding portal for each job type and school, the District has realized this goal. New employees now have an exciting experience that’s tailored particularly for them.

With SilkRoad Onboarding’s rich multimedia features, including embedding video, new hires can watch a video of their supervisors and virtually tour their worksite. As a result, employees are more rapidly integrated into the workplace culture, speeding their transition into their new jobs. Video and customized portals communicate the District’s culture of excellence in a powerful, appealing way.

What was once a lengthy process has now been shifted to SilkRoad Onboarding: When a new hire visits HR to sign the job offer, an employment coordinator initiates the orientation within SilkRoad Onboarding. By the time the person arrives at home, a “welcome to the organization” email await. Policies and procedures get condensed, so that new hires can absorb the information relevant to the specific job.

The HR team and Supervisors appreciate SilkRoad Onboarding’s efficient workflows. And how easily the organization can customize onboarding requirements for different roles or jobs, such as union, non-union, or police. SilkRoad Onboarding, tracks these requirements automatically, eliminating complexity and saving time for supervisors and HR.

SilkRoad Onboarding’s notifies managers when a new hire has completed every step in the process, eliminating status calls and questions for HR. Though the District handles all background checks for new hires, SilkRoad Onboarding’s integration of the Department of Homeland Security’s E-Verify program with Form I-9 (for employment eligibility) saves significant time and steps. SilkRoad Onboarding has given hours back to HR, supervisors, and new hires. While new hires hit the ground running, engaged, and excited about joining the organization, Springfield Public Schools that matters to academic excellence and student success.