What Justworks’ Onboarding Experience Is Like

Why Justworks Revamped Its New Hire Onboarding Experience

“Nobody wants to feel like they’re hired just to fill a seat.” 

That’s what People Operations Program and Enablement Manager Maya Saeed said when asked why Justworks decided to revamp its new hire onboarding experience. According to her, the aim was simple: build a program that makes new hires feel seen and supported. 

And so far, the program has done just that. Throughout the experience, new hires build a strong foundation of knowledge covering every aspect of their job, including how their role directly supports the company’s larger goals and how to use key tools that will help them accomplish work more easily and effectively.

Justworks’ new onboarding experience is designed to help team members keep up with its rapid growth. In the last few years, Justworks has expanded internationally and acquired other organizations, including international employment platform Via in 2023. Saeed said the time was right to double down on the onboarding experience, ensuring all new Justworks employees have answers to the questions that come with continuous scale and feel prepared to thrive in their roles. 

“The whole goal here is to allow people to feel as though they can contribute quicker, that their role matters and that they have the tools available for them to do that, right from the beginning,” Saeed said.

What New Hires Can Expect During Onboarding at Justworks

When Maya Saeed took part in Justworks’ onboarding process after joining the company about six months ago, she walked away with some questions. 

She wasn’t quite sure how her work fit into the company’s vision and how it connected to the work of other teams across the company. So when Saeed was tasked with revamping the process, she knew exactly what questions to answer — and how. 

But first, she and her peers wanted to make it easy for new hires to simply get started. 

“We know that new hires don’t want to spend a lot of their time on troubleshooting, hardware and system access — they’re here to learn to grow,” Saeed said. 

That’s why her team created a “mini world” within Slack, establishing a channel for new hires that offers easy-to-access information conveyed in a highly visual, dynamic way, with embedded links that provide full explanations about certain topics. Not only does this eliminate the question of, “Who do I go to for what?” but it also narrows down what a certain employee’s priority should be each day during the onboarding process. 

During the first week, new hires attend a session where they learn about what sets Justworks apart from other companies in its industry and then apply this knowledge in peer-to-peer exercises. New hires also get to hear from guest speakers who represent different business functions and take part in a segment called “Just Be You,” during which a Justworks leader discusses the company’s focus on support and inclusion. 

The program covers a broad range of topics, including specific responsibilities on each team, how the company’s platform works and what makes the organization a competitor in its field, all of which is intended to give new hires a well-rounded understanding of both their role and larger business goals. 

How Justworks Uses AI in Its Onboarding Experience

Justworks’ new hire onboarding experience is intended to make it even easier for employees to grow in their roles, supported by human peers and the power of AI. 

As new hires keep up with the onboarding process through the new hire Slack channel, they receive support from Saeed herself — well, sort of. An AI chatbot that’s designed to look like her sends employees automated reminders, so they know when to focus on certain tasks. 

There’s also an AI persona called Benny that guides employees through their benefits offerings. Regardless of where they live or which language they speak, team members can use the tool to get answers to their questions about specific benefits coverage. 

To create AI features such as these, Saeed’s team uses software like Google’s Gemini and Notebook. Language Learning Modules that can be used to host and translate data or make coding a breeze. In the last few quarters Saeed’s team has partnered with Justwork’s Revenue Enablement taskforce to use Tangelo, a platform that enables teams to work smarter by harnessing AI for learning program development, tacking on Synthesia which allows teams to create videos hosted by AI avatars. To measure the effectiveness of the onboarding program, the team uses Claude Code, which has helped them gauge how the program is getting better over time and pinpoint areas for improvement. 

Considering AI underpins Justworks’ onboarding program, the company aims to ensure new hires are supported in understanding how to use the technology. That’s why new hires have access to an AI hub with tools, guidance and a list of approved technologies. 

There’s even a learning and development session called “Vibe With AI” that enables both new hires and other team members to build their knowledge of different AI tools and learn how to automate tasks within their own workflow. 

“It’s something that has had a really great impact on myself and other ‘Justworkers’ who came here and maybe felt intimidated or just didn’t have knowledge around AI and technology,” Saeed said.

How Justworks Combines Human Connection and AI in Onboarding

According to Saeed, Justworks’ new hire onboarding experience is so impactful, tenured team members are asking to participate.

So, what makes the program so special? According to Saeed, a “human-centered” approach enables every team member to feel like they play a key role in driving forward the company’s mission of helping entrepreneurs and businesses grow with confidence

And that human-centered approach starts with helping new hires build personal connections. That’s why on their first day, they take part in a breakfast meet-and-greet with managers as well as a lunch social. As the weeks go on, they have the opportunity to join monthly events hosted by their individual team, which are supported by a “camaraderie budget” dedicated to fostering connection.

The work Saeed’s team has done to create this program is far from over. Her team is currently working on a variety of initiatives, such as an onboarding program for managers and new-hire milestone celebrations. 

Ultimately, Saeed and her teammates aim to offer an onboarding experience that balances personal growth and companywide impact, enabling everyone — everywhere — to make a difference from day one. 

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