Helping New Associates Make Instant Connections

When you start a new job, you’re probably not going to ask the boss, “Hoodies and yoga pants, yes or no?”

But you will ask your office friends. That’s the main reason Two Rivers Marketing has an ambassador program as part of our employee onboarding.

The first few weeks of a new job are filled with mundane questions like “Where’s the restroom? What’s the breakroom protocol? Is it alright to park here? Where do I get more office supplies? Where do I empty my wastebasket? Is it okay to eat lunch at my desk while watching highlights of the Cubs game?”

Most people don’t want to ask their supervisors these questions for fear of looking uninformed or creating a bad impression.

To help new hires feel connected and give them a peer to answer these routine questions, every person we hire at Two Rivers Marketing is assigned an ambassador. Our ambassadors help connect new associates with the culture of Two Rivers. They explain the mechanics and meaning behind our cultural and social events. Ambassadors also introduce new hires to things like our office sports teams, book club, wellness program, and more. That helps the new associate feel more connected and relaxed and improves employee well-being.

After the initial onboarding process, which we call The Great First Month, ambassadors continue to check in with new associates to make sure they are connecting with company and colleagues and to answer any questions that pop up.

All of our ambassadors are volunteers, often because they appreciate how much the ambassador program helped them. When we assign ambassadors to new associates, we try to:

• Find someone outside their immediate team. That instantly broadens the number of colleagues the new associate can connect with. Odds are they’ll get to know the members of their day-to-day team quickly anyway.

• Find someone with similar interests. Having something in common — such as a favorite sport or sports team, hobby, or life experience — is a great foundation for the ambassador and new associate to build on.

• Find someone in their geographic area for remote associates. Two Rivers has a growing group of remote associates, especially in metro Kansas City. Going forward, we’d like to pair up a new KC-based associate with an experienced KC-based associate. That way, they might be able to meet for lunch. We are still working on the ambassador program for other remote associates, but would like to connect remote associates with each other. If someone is remote but will be in the office regularly, they are usually paired with an in-office colleague.

The ambassador program works well on two fronts. First and foremost, it clears away some of the natural anxiety that comes with changing jobs so the associate can thrive. Everyone wants to do their best work every day, and ambassadors help new associates get to that point much more quickly.

Second, it’s smart business. The faster a new associate gets up to speed and starts using their talents to do great work, the better it is for overall team success.

We’re ready to welcome you aboard! Check our job openings and apply. You may soon experience the power of our ambassador program firsthand.