Some people are huggers. They greet everyone, even people they don’t know, with a big bear hug. From handshakes to hugs to friendly smooches, our welcomes are about to change. Because of COVID, welcoming new members is changing too.
Two years ago, the three most popular and effective new member onboarding tactics were emails, phone calls, and welcoming new members at in-person events, events like chapter meetings, or conferences. We can still call and email, but how do you convey that lovely, warm, in-person welcome we used to provide at events? Here are a few ideas.
- Bring your young professionals council online.
- Experiment with some of the new virtual networking platforms like Icebreaker.
- Revise your monthly new member onboarding webinar and make it an interactive Zoom-like call.
- Double down on one-on-one phone calls with members. What are their challenges right now? How can you help?
- Test out curated networking. Who can you introduce this new member too? What are they working on? Can you match them with someone working on the same project?
- Help new members quickly get connected with a special interest group that is focused on a topic they care deeply about.
Even online, we can warmly welcome new members and help them get engaged right away.
Please tell us how you are onboarding new members by taking the 10-minute New Member Engagement Survey at DynamicBenchmarking.com.
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