Through its award-winning onboarding program, ASC was able to navigate a challenging period and foster a supportive environment for a huge crop of new recruits.

An employee’s first few days in a new organisation can have an enormous impact, particularly during periods of change.

In 2021, ASC, which has served as Australia’s sovereign submarine builder and sustainer for almost 40 years, was faced with the challenge of onboarding hundreds of new employees during a period of intense change and against the backdrop of pandemic lockdowns. 

This challenge prompted ASC to devise a refreshed onboarding program with a more strategic, innovative and supportive approach. The success of the new program saw the company win the Best Learning and Development Strategy Award at the 2023 AHRI Awards.

“This program has resulted in a much better experience for all employees joining the business,” says Sally Renshaw, Talent and Organisational Development Manager at ASC. 

“We continue to run the induction program today, and ASC’s Executive Committee and senior leaders are very much invested into it. It’s not just an HR initiative – it’s actually how we as ASC care for our people as they join our business.”

Renshaw spoke with HRM to provide an in-depth look at the strategy that led to the program’s success.

Responding to change with a revamped onboarding process

The decision to develop a new onboarding program was made in 2021 in response to the announcement that approximately 350 employees would be joining ASC from other shipbuilding employers. 

This change came about as a result of a Government decision to cease the Attack class submarine program and the need to retain Australia’s submarine skilled workforce, which solidified plans for Australia to acquire nuclear-powered submarines. 

“It happened very quickly,” says Renshaw. “A number of people were essentially losing their jobs, and even though it was great news and they were being offered employment with us, that’s a huge change. We were thinking about that as part of our design – we really wanted to help people navigate that change and help them have some tools to be able to support themselves.”

Previously, explains Renshaw, ASC’s onboarding process consisted mostly of eLearning modules on safety and compliance. But, with so many new starters joining the organisation, the HR team recognised the need for a more consistent and well-rounded onboarding process that increased speed to competence and offered a real taste of the company’s culture and operations. 

This would also ensure leaders were not overwhelmed with having to onboard dozens of new employees from scratch. 

Based on these needs, the team devised the new Corporate Induction Program in just six weeks. They took care to ensure that the program offered a balanced view of the organisation’s mission and values to build an early sense of connection and belonging.

“We talk about our strategic pillars  and what this business is here to do – so the why of our business – but also it helps them understand the how of the business, the different structures, the different teams and how they interface with each other,” says Renshaw.

“[For example], we take them to the shipyard as part of this experience and get them to touch and see the submarine and understand what it really looks like… And I think it helps them understand our deeper purpose.”

Prioritising wellbeing during onboarding

Many of the employees who were redeployed faced sudden and unexpected changes to their careers, so it was important that the program addressed their wellbeing and readiness to join a new team, says Renshaw.

This led to the decision to structure the induction program around two distinct pillars: ‘About ASC’, and ‘About You’.

“[The ‘About You’ modules] supported people to learn some coping strategies and understand that change and loss are normal, and that, actually, they had a lot to gain as they were joining our organisation,” says Renshaw.

While the ‘About ASC’ sessions provided an understanding of the company’s history, mission and operations, the ‘About You’ sessions, interspersed throughout the program, covered diversity and inclusion, wellbeing, networking and personal development through tools such as the Team Management Profile (TMP).

TMP is a psychometric tool used to help individuals understand their work preferences, strengths and areas for development within a team context, explains Renshaw. It’s designed to enhance teamwork and communication by providing insights into how team members can best collaborate and support each other.

“It removes the hierarchy because we’re all new and we’re all here to learn together. And that creates a nice safe space for people.” – Sally Renshaw, Talent and Organisational Development Manager, ASC 

During the program, each participant completes a detailed questionnaire, which is analysed to create an individual profile. This profile highlights their work style and preferred roles in a team, and how they collaborate best. Participants are then given the chance to apply their unique work style in a group workshop.

“It helps them understand what their own preferences are, and then how they can work with others more effectively. That is always a huge hit,” says Renshaw.

Another popular aspect of these sessions is the use of device-based simulations to help employees understand the importance of strategic networking.

“It’s essentially gamification,” she says. “Everyone sits with a laptop, we set up the simulation and they are provided with a scenario. It’s nothing to do with submarines, or our business per se, but everything to do with understanding that if we’re just thinking about ourselves and our own needs, we’re not going to be able to move ourselves forward collectively. 

“At the start, people think it’s all about them and winning. And then, at some point, they realise it’s not, and they need to bring others along on the journey to succeed. It becomes more of a team approach, and you see the people who have a ‘we’ mindset are the ones who get further along in the game.”

Crafting a consistent onboarding experience 

As well as making new starters feel welcome and valued, one of the team’s key objectives was to ensure the program was as flexible as possible. Given the scale of onboarding required, it was important to ensure the program was suited to employees from all levels of the business.

“Whether you’re an apprentice, a graduate, an executive, or anywhere in between, you come into the organisation the same way. So it’s really consistent, and everyone gets to have the same experience when they join,” says Renshaw.

“They’re also from a diverse range of departments – we have engineers, supply chain professionals, project managers, et cetera… So there’s opportunity for people to start building a network, which is one of the key differentiators of the program. It removes the hierarchy because we’re all new and we’re all here to learn together. And that creates a nice safe space for people.”

This has had the knock-on effect of improving cross-departmental collaboration, she says, as employees feel comfortable reaching out to familiar faces from their induction regardless of where they sit in the business.

The team also had to take into account the fluctuating levels of new starters coming through the program, as well as adjustments to accommodate remote onboarding during the 2021 lockdown periods. 

While ASC’s preference is to deliver most of the program face-to-face, the individual workshops and sessions with expert speakers were designed to easily migrate online when necessary, and were made available on-demand to accommodate changing schedules.

In order to ensure the program was adaptable enough to withstand further periods of transition, it was broken down into flexible modules, which build on each other to create an overarching company story, but can be completed in any order. 

“We simplified our operating model into a one-page document, and the whole program has been built around that,” says Renshaw. “So, we’re slowly sharing the operating model and how each piece fits in, giving them bite-sized pieces of information that they could retain and understand, and then building on that for the next piece.”

An empathetic approach

For organisations looking to embark on similar initiatives, Renshaw stresses the importance of taking the time to understand the unique needs and circumstances of participants when crafting an onboarding program like this.

“Part of our design was taking an empathetic approach,” she says. “It’s really important that we put ourselves in the shoes of others and that time is spent connecting with stakeholders to understand the challenges and the opportunities through their eyes. Then we design solutions that meet those needs.”

The value of this approach has shone through in feedback from new hires. Following the induction, 93 per cent of participants agreed or strongly agreed that they felt more comfortable about starting at ASC, and 99 per cent agreed or strongly agreed that the program provided them with key information about ASC and how the business operates. 

The fact that the program had been designed and implemented in a very short timeframe in a turbulent environment made its success all the more rewarding, says Renshaw, and having this achievement recognised with an AHRI Award last year was an immensely satisfying moment.

“We were quite a small team – there were just four of us,” she says. “We put our heart and soul into developing this program, so to get that recognition of our work was fantastic.”

Know someone who has made award-worthy contributions to their organisation or the HR profession? Applications for the 2024 AHRI Awards are open until 21 June. Read more and apply here.