Sigma’s onboarding success story
AN ADVANTAGE CUSTOMER STORY
Turbocharging learning and driving engagement during production shifts
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Get a behind-the-scenes look at how Sigma was able to increase employee engagement and retention and get new employees and all leaders participating in the learning experience In a two-pronged approach that had new employees on a 30-day learning journey while supervisors and team leads improved their skills and changed their mindset to become better leaders
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Above is an example of colorful, bilingual paper cards containing 10 minutes of daily learning for new production employees - 1 each day for their first 30 days. One side is in English and the other is in Spanish.
The map below hangs in the break room. Each new employee moves their name tag to a new point on the map after they complete their daily learning. This lets everyone see and track their progress of growing and thriving through their first 30 days.
As a result, new employees felt more valued and engaged during their shift, resulting in a big drop (by more than two-thirds) in costly turnover rates.
Background
Global food company Sigma teamed up with Advantage Performance Group and 1st90 to overhaul their food production culture through scalable, non-disruptive employee onboarding and supervisor development.
Key initiatives
- Supervisor development program
- Daily micro-learning: 10-minute sessions focused on leadership skills.
- Goal-setting and positive modeling: Training emphasized clear goal-setting and positive behavior.
- Relationship building: Improved supervisor-team relationships, fostering a supportive work environment and dramatically reducing turnover
Onboarding program
- Custom learning map
Bilingual structured learning paths tailored to new hires. - Daily engagement activities for the supervisors and employees
Instead of a classic approach of 4-8 hours of a one-time, death-by-PowerPoint approach, bite-sized, daily continuous learning activities were created to touch the minds and hearts of new employees at the initiation of their shifts. - Accelerated learning curve
Quick, manageable learning moments were created to rapidly upskill and engage new hires using 1st90’s unique learning in the flow of business - For the employees, a colorful, paper-based approach was taken as phones were not allowed or provided for their roles and in their challenging work environment. So the same bite-sized approach 1st90 has used on mobile phones was deployed on paper to provide daily learning and reflection over the employees' first 30 days. Topics included career development, health benefits, success stories, safety, company culture, and skill training.
- For the supervisors and team leads, 1st90 took a science-based approach providing embedded, mobile learning in job tasks with social learning and repetition to build effective habits
- 10-minute micro-lessons
Bite-sized, action-focused lessons based on behavioral science. Easy access via mobile app or desktop. - Gamified and fun
Engaging, with social interactions and a personalized experience.
Implementation highlights
The supervisors started their development journey first resulting in enhanced supervisor skills, increased confidence, and improved team management. The 30-day onboarding path for employees followed. Employees felt more valued and engaged. Retention rates improved. Higher engagement and continuous communication helped to reduced costly turnover and increased production efficiency.
Survey results for the supervisor training
- Pilot participation: 150 participants with 89.3% completion rate.
- Net promoter score (NPS): Achieved a score of 9.25.
- Positive impact: 100% felt the program improved their leadership or team skills.
- Behavioral change: 92% changed their work approach due to the training.
- Seamless integration: 92% found the learning path fit smoothly into their workday.
Employee turnover has been reduced by more than two-thirds during the initial pilot period.
Conclusion
This global food company’s strategic integration of learning into daily routines has proven highly effective, enhancing skills and maintaining uninterrupted production. The innovative approach ensures that supervisors and employees continually develop, leading to a more engaged and competent workforce.
Are you looking for an innovative, efficient way to upskill remote workers? Contact us or talk to your Advantage partner about just-in- time onboarding solutions.
Practice Area: Helping Businesses Flourish
Tagged with: 1st90 • onboarding
Let us know if you'd like to learn more about how this can work for you, and we'll be in touch.