Onboarding 201

Jun 1, 2025 | Tools of the Trade

Advanced tools and tips for building a seamless employee experience.

Cooperatives face a common challenge: onboarding employees who can thrive in a member-driven, community oriented business model. While standard checklists cover paperwork, introductions and safety training, cooperatives that excel go several layers deeper, using onboarding as a strategic opportunity to improve retention, cultural fit and leadership development—regardless of whether the new hire is a summer intern or a C-suite executive. Research shows this investment pays off. A well-designed onboarding program can improve new hire retention by over 80% and productivity by more than 70% (StrongDM, 2023). But beyond the basics, some of the most effective onboarding strategies are the ones few organizations think to implement.

1. PERSONALIZED PRE-BOARDING

Before day one, send new hires a “Welcome to Our Cooperative” guide that goes beyond logistics. Include a cultural briefing that outlines your coop’s values, governance structure and community initiatives. As a bonus, pair this with a short, personalized video from their future department head. You can record videos using simple phone tools or platforms like Loom, and you can use Canva or Adobe Express to design a co-op-branded PDF with visuals that showcase recent projects, board activities and community impact stories. This creates an emotional connection and brand loyalty from the start.

2. THE FIRST 5 CALLS

In the first two weeks, require each new hire to have five scheduled conversations with people from different areas of the business—not just their department. Include one person from the board, one frontline worker (e.g., a seasonal applicator or elevator operator), one mid-level manager, one HR or compliance officer and one member-facing employee. HR should coordinate the calendar ahead of time and frame the meetings as informal “coffee chats.” You can also provide guiding questions for the new employees to spark conversation, such as “What do you wish you’d known your first month?” or “How does your role support the cooperative’s members?”

3. SUCCESS SCORECARD

An “Onboarding Success Scorecard” is a tool that tracks progress in key areas—systems proficiency, cultural understanding, compliance completion and peer integration. Have the new hire and their manager review it at 30, 60 and 90 days. You can use a simple spreadsheet or onboarding software to track items. Color-code the progress (green/yellow/red) to quickly flag areas that need reinforcement. Include open-text fields for qualitative feedback.

4. CO-OP CONNECTION

Most new hires, especially those outside ag or rural development, have never worked in a member-owned business. In these cases, include a 30-minute session in the first week that teaches the co-op difference—covering patronage, member governance and local investment. You could ask a board member or long-time employee to lead this session. Include examples of how surplus is returned to members or invested in infrastructure. This fosters early buy-in and strengthens cooperative identity.

5. REVERSE ONBOARDING

For executive hires or department heads, consider “reverse onboarding,” a structured listening tour where the leader interviews team members and frontline staff before making any decisions related to processes or systems. The goal is to understand existing workflows and challenges before introducing change. To help maximize the success of this technique, equip leaders with a question guide (e.g., “What’s working? What’s slowing us down?”). This encourages humility, builds trust and uncovers key insights before strategy is set.

6. AUTOMATE, BUT PERSONALIZE

Digital tools reduce manual workload, but personalization remains critical. Use automation to handle form completion, tax documentation and benefits enrollment—but personalize onboarding content based on role, location and generation. Set up role-specific onboarding tracks in your HR system. For example, create separate welcome flows for interns vs. managers vs. field applicators. Include custom videos, training modules and policy reviews based on their responsibilities.

For cooperatives, onboarding isn’t just about getting someone up to speed—it’s about helping them become a contributor to the mission. When HR teams move beyond generic orientation and design onboarding as a strategic, layered experience, they lay the groundwork for long-term engagement and operational excellence.