Hospitality and Flexibility: Be Bauli, the Phygital Onboarding of the Bauli Group

Massimo Bottacin, HR Director Bauli Group

The younger generations, Millennials and Generation Z represent the most crucial impetus toward change: their attention is increasingly focused on well-being in the workplace, work-life balance, flexibility, sustainability and inclusiveness.

We live in a time of radical change. The pandemic, climate change and wars have brought about a paradigm shift in our society, first and foremost in the world of work, which is undergoing a profound evolution, particularly pronounced if we look at generational changes. The younger generations, Millennials and Generation Z represent the most crucial impetus toward change: their attention is increasingly focused on well-being in the workplace, work-life balance, flexibility, sustainability and inclusiveness.

For instance, flexibility is the ability to benefit quickly and smartly from the information needed to get to know the environment in which one will work within the framework of a company that proves to be welcoming from the outset.

These trends now play a central role in HR strategies, so how can companies address what is an irreversible cultural shift?

Caring particularly about well-being in the workplace, our group is committed to innovating one of the most delicate processes in establishing a solid relationship between the company and the new employee: onboarding. A new hire often feels disoriented in a new environment, and the company's job is to give him a warm welcome and make him feel comfortable. In this sense, first impressions count for a lot!

To accommodate the needs of the new generation, we have decided to combine a personal approach with a digital one, creating a modern onboarding experience: Be Bauli. The goal of this Bauli onboarding process is to allow the new hire to immediately feel part of our family by introducing him to the work environment and giving him the most helpful information, all through a "journey" whose timing he can manage with broad autonomy.

The process starts before the new employee's entry with an informal communication by which the steps and information for hiring are explained. The first day on the job begins with an initial welcome-on-board moment, where the new employee is greeted by a member of HR who guides him on a brief tour of the company and escorts him to his workstation. There, he finds a welcome kit waiting for him, including a series of valuable gifts designed to create a moment of pleasant surprise and convey our welcome's warmth. In addition, in line with our values and the interest that new generations feel in these issues, these gifts are made by companies that we carefully select based on sustainability and social commitment criteria.

From this point on, a digital onboarding journey begins: the employee's photo and some information about his hobbies, interests, and history are posted on the intranet and screens in common areas to introduce the newcomer immediately and informally to the entire Group of employees.

The digital journey starts here: the new hire receives a link in his e-mail inbox that takes him to a virtual environment where he finds a step-by-step presentation of the entire company, mostly made with video modules, aimed at informing and emotionally engaging the employee. The first welcome is from our Chairman, whose words introduce the company's culture; this is followed by a video from our CEO, who instead focuses on the Group's strategy, and finally, it is me as the HR director, inviting the new colleague to take this journey together, wishing him to find in our world the place where he can express himself freely while feeling fully himself. The journey continues with a video that recounts Bauli's more than one hundred years of history in a very emotional way, which is followed by a presentation of the company and the various functions introduced by their respective directors: the new employee receives a complete overview of our Group, even of the more distant realities. Finally, helpful material of interest that can always be consulted is also made available to the employee.

The innovative feature of Be Bauli is its flexibility: the employee can manage the digital journey by autonomously choosing ways and times of enjoyment. Before each video, its duration is specified so that the person can view it when it is most convenient for him, and valuable materials have been digitized to be effortlessly searchable at all times.

The process closes with a new community moment. The last stage of the journey consists of downloading an invitation to our welcome party: new hires and company management are invited to these events to create a time of spontaneous discussion since new employees arrive prepared thanks to the journey they have traveled and can interact with the directors of the various functions directly and knowledgeably.

Finally, the journey includes visiting the production facilities to engage new colleagues in a full-fledged sensory journey into the heart of our business: the creation of goodness.

Traditionally, onboarding has been a unidirectional process in which information was passed from the company to a new hire, who had to absorb it quickly. Today, we have tried to make onboarding as engaging and bidirectional as possible: the company provides new employees with the necessary information and tools, but it also tries to make them part of its history and culture from the beginning, creating additional interaction opportunities over time.

This whole process would not be possible without using digital technologies, a fundamental driver when it comes to managing the corporate experience of young talents, without any fear that this will result in less human interaction. At Bauli, we leverage technology as an intelligent tool for information and integration with the Group's culture and history; the human component is not only not lost but is enhanced and helps the person feel at the center of his journey. This is another step for us on the road to improving employee well-being and engagement and our attractiveness to potential new employees.