Thank you so much for your time! I know that you are a very busy person. Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?
Initially, I wanted to become an accountant because of the love I have for math. Right before I left for college, someone shared with me that loving math didn’t necessarily mean I would love being an accountant. As a result, I switched gears and declared myself a business major. During my business major journey, I took my first marketing class and was instantly captivated by it.
I had planned to work on the client side, but when I graduated with my MBA at the height of the 2008 recession, I was lucky to land a job as a Traffic Manager at a large Hispanic agency. My experience as a Traffic Manager set a very strong foundation for my understanding of agency operations. When it was time to grow at the agency, I thought about joining the media team because my love of numbers was still ingrained in me, but I decided to push my introverted self and go with the Account Management department. For me, this was the only way to stay on my toes, learn and never get bored.
It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?OK, this is embarrassing. While at a gynecologist’s appointment, I was adding my follow-up appointment to my calendar; somehow, it ended up getting onto a client status meeting notice and it was sent to all those attendees. In the midst of it all, I had clients asking me if “gyno” was associated with a product launch. After that minor hiccup, I learned to be very careful about calendar notices, replying all, etc.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful for who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
Throughout my career, I have been fortunate to work with a lot of strong and incredible women leaders. All of them were different and made me feel confident in who I was. If I had to choose someone specific, I would say my mother. She instilled in me the values of hard work and honesty, and constantly encouraged me to pursue my goals.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
In marketing, especially today, things change constantly and move so fast that you can’t be too hard on yourself. And that is why my “Life Lesson Quote” is “In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: It goes on.” by Robert Frost.
As a piece of advice, I always remind my younger employees that minor mistakes in creative work or delayed airtime for an advertisem*nt won’t be remembered in the long run. In fact, there will always be another issue that we may overemphasize when in reality most audiences have no idea.
Thinking back on your own career, what would you tell your younger self?Don’t be self-conscious about being the “quiet one,” you will speak up when it’s time and people will listen.
Let’s now move to the central part of our interview. What does the onboarding process consist of at your organization?
A successful onboarding process begins with a successful hiring process. Ensuring you have a job description and clear expectations of this new role. Once a candidate is selected, consistent communication and transparency are key. During their first week, it is important that the new employee feels comfortable, connected, and useful. And finally, onboarding doesn’t end after week one. How do you continue to educate and engage employees?
As part of our onboarding process, we have managers/supervisors schedule one-to-one meetings with their respective new hires to ensure the first couple of weeks are productive, seamless and comfortable. In this learning phase, we also have new hires join client and internal meetings to familiarize themselves with the day-to-day tasks, responsibilities, and processes that take place within the organization.
How have your onboarding practices evolved over time and why?When we were a smaller agency, we weren’t that structured, so we definitely have had to “grow up” and “glow up” from a human resource perspective. Transitioning to a hybrid workplace presented challenges in terms of onboarding, so we had to adjust our approach.
Could you share a successful onboarding story and what made it successful?
I like surveys, A LOT! After implementing the hybrid office model, I received feedback that some employees were missing out on interacting with their colleagues who they had never met in person. They also expressed confusion about how certain departments operated. Based on our findings, and in an effort to keep up with the agency’s mission and culture, we launched an initiative called “Department Week” where we bring different departments together for one week each year for educational and team-building sessions. “Department Week” aims to train, educate, and build relationships in an effort to boost productivity. And this idea was born out of the desire for more in-person and agency bonding time.
It was successful because we allowed the teams to plan their own weeks within the parameters set. The result was enthusiastic. I never imagined the employees would take this and make it their own. Employees developed theme days, social content and Department Week SWAG. We even have a logo for the initiative, it’s definitely become a popular week every year that our employees look forward to participating in.
Based on your experience and success, what are your top five tips for a successful onboarding process?
1 . Do your research, there are so many great tools out there that helped us refine our process.
Currently, we utilize project management and human resource tools; however, not all tools are “one size fits all ”. In order to determine which tools are suitable for their organization and teams, organizations must do their due diligence.
2 . Ask your employees, new and veterans alike, what they liked, and didn’t like. This helped us find gaps within teams that weren’t communicating or sharing out the appropriate information.
3 . Remember that onboarding shouldn’t be limited to the first week of employment. A new employee cannot retain all the information thrown at them in week one. Ensure you are always setting them up for success with continuous education and engagement.
For instance, we have the following initiatives in place at the agency:
30-, 60-, and 90-day check-ins — To ensure new employees are getting settled into their new work environments, this allows individuals to reflect on the first few months, inquire about things they may not be understanding and helps them become familiar with the company’s mission, policies, goals, and expectations, and identify development opportunities.
Department Week — In keeping with the agency’s mission and culture, leadership brings different departments together for one week each year for educational and team-building sessions. “Department Week” aims to train, educate, and build relationships in an effort to boost productivity. This idea was born out of the desire for more in-person and agency bonding time.
Champagne Campaign — As an ad agency, we fundamentally believe that everyone is creative, regardless of department. We’ve transformed our brainstorming sessions into a creative celebration — Champagne Campaign. Our Chief Creative Officer, Rob Canales, brings the champagne, and 3–5 groups of agency personnel build ideas for a campaign. This approach has generated over a third more initiatives and campaigns that exceed clients’ expectations and drive action.
4 . Onboarding is not led by Employee Experience, they can organize and structure it but managers and teams are ultimately responsible for the complete immersion of a new team member.
5 . Constantly optimize your onboarding process, it’s not a set-it-and-forget-it experience.
Can you share 3 or 4 of the most common mistakes you have seen businesses make during the onboarding process? What should one keep in mind to avoid that?
Companies focus only on the business / transactional items, like tech setup and direct deposit. While those are important, onboarding should really focus on company immersion.
New Employees sit around idle for week one. Ensure they are busy with meet-and-greets, have reading materials and even have them sit in on meetings to absorb agency culture and workflow.
Don’t let an employee eat lunch alone on day one! Make an effort to introduce new hires to everyone at the workplace to familiarize themselves with their colleagues.
How does or how would your approach to onboarding remote hires differ from those who will work onsite?We aim to always have week one conducted in-person, regardless. When individuals start a new job, scheduling their time properly is crucial to make them feel like they’ve truly started a new position. It’s important for the manager to check in during and at the end of the week to discuss expectations, address any missing information, and get a sense of the overall atmosphere.
How do you measure the success of your onboarding program?In order to improve, we gather feedback through surveys. It’s also important to look at churn rate, are employees resigning or being let go within 90 days and how did the onboarding affect that outcome.
Which tools do you use or recommend for your onboarding?
Currently, we utilize ADP as our primary platform, although we have also used others like BambooHR that have great resources. It’s worth noting that a variety of tools are available to suit any organization’s needs.
We are very blessed to have some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world whom you would love to have a private lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this.
Serena Williams. I mean do I even have to explain why, it’s so obvious? Beyond the tennis world, she is a legend and extremely influential. She was honest about her experiences as a woman in a male-dominated industry, highlighting the challenges of balancing motherhood and career-building. I admire her multifaceted nature. Despite being mostly recognized for her athletic talent, she is also a successful businesswoman and fashion designer.
How can our readers further follow your work?
Of course! Follow me on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/anaisnrodriguez/
and our website at https://www.the3rdeye.com/
Thank you so much for sharing these important insights. We wish you continued success and good health!
