Read how Inselo uses preboarding to give new employees a better start
For many companies, onboarding doesn’t begin until the day a new employee shows up for work. At Inselo, the process starts earlier.
Inselo is a service provider and technology platform specializing in customer service, installation, and logistics. The company has multiple departments and locations and works in areas such as logistics, installation services, customer service, and IT development. In an organization with diverse roles, departments, and work routines, it’s especially important that new employees get a clear and confident start.
With XtraMile, Inselo has systematized its preboarding process, ensuring that new employees receive relevant information, clear expectations, and a stronger sense of belonging even before their first day on the job.
XtraMile spoke with HR Director Julie Vines, who explains how Inselo uses preboarding strategically to give new employees a more secure and professional start.
Photo: HR Director Julie Vines, Inselo.
For Julie, effective preboarding is about taking simple, concrete steps that create significant value for both the employee and the company.
“It means so much to me to be able to do something that’s actually very simple but yields excellent results,” says Julie Vines, HR Manager at Inselo Logistics.
Fact Box
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What is preboarding?
Preboarding is the period from when a new employee signs their employment contract until their first day on the job. During this phase, the company can build a relationship, foster a sense of security, and provide useful information before the employee starts.
Good preboarding isn’t about overwhelming the employee with details. It’s about providing the right information early enough, in a format that’s easy to understand and simple to follow.
Builds a relationship before the first day. Reduces turnover.
For Julie Vines and Inselo, preboarding is about more than just practical information. It’s about establishing a connection and a sense of belonging during the period between signing the contract and the first day of work.
This is a phase where many companies still have untapped potential. The new employee has chosen their employer, but the relationship is still new. In this case, good follow-up can help confirm their choice and strengthen their motivation before they start.
– When you’re a job seeker, you’re often involved in many different hiring processes. You don’t necessarily stop looking even if you’ve landed a job. “If you start right after they’ve signed the contract and work on building the relationship, connection, and sense of belonging, you reduce the risk of someone walking away before they’ve actually started,” says Vines.
For Inselo, this is also about the first impression of the company. When an employee receives a professional and well-thought-out introduction early on, the start becomes more positive and predictable.
Make expectations clear from the start
A key part of Inselo’s preboarding process involves clarifying expectations. Instead of important information being provided verbally, during interviews, or scattered across various channels, it is now compiled into a structured digital onboarding process.
Here, new employees receive information on topics such as working hours, breaks, absences, production targets, work clothes, work equipment, and practical procedures. This makes it easier to understand what is expected and easier for managers to provide effective follow-up.
Julie Vines points out that information provided during an interview can often be forgotten. The candidate may be nervous, there may be a delay before the start date, and there’s a lot of other information to process. When expectations are reiterated in a digital format before the first day on the job, they become clearer and easier to relate to.
– “If it’s unclear what the expectations actually are, it becomes difficult to meet them as well,” says Vines.
For Inselo, this contributes to a more predictable start, both for the employee and for the managers who will welcome and mentor them.
New employees become more familiar with the company’s values
Inselo chose to begin the pre-boarding process with the company’s value code, MAGI. For Julie Vines, it was important that the values not just be listed on the website or in a presentation, but actually become part of the employee’s first encounter with the company.
During preboarding, employees receive an introduction to who Inselo is, how the group is structured, which departments exist, and how the values can be applied in their daily work.
– “I started with the value code so that everyone has actually gone through it.” Then I tried to get them to reflect a bit on how they can apply MAGI in their daily work, says Vines.
For an organization with multiple business areas and locations, this fosters an important shared understanding. New employees not only learn what they’re supposed to do, but also who they’re joining.
Lowers the barrier to getting to know others
A good start is also about people. That’s why Inselo has worked to make colleagues and contacts more visible to new employees. Among other things, the company uses profiles of managers and employees that include practical contact information and small personal details.
The goal is to make it easier to find one’s way around the organization and to reach out to others.
– “A new employee should be able to find someone and think, ‘He likes soccer; so do I. Maybe we can chat a bit during the break?’ It lowers the barrier to talking to people,” says Vines.
This is a simple measure with great practical value. For the new employee, it can reduce uncertainty. For the company, it can contribute to faster integration and a stronger sense of belonging.
Receives relevant information—in a far more engaging format
Inselo has chosen to keep the preboarding process short, clear, and practical. The content is divided into four main lessons: Who is Inselo, Your Workday, Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE), and Practical Information.
This gives employees a simple introduction to the company culture, expectations, safety, and practical matters before they start. At the same time, the scope is limited enough that employees can actually work through the content.
For many companies, important information is still found in an employee handbook, often as a long document or a PDF that few people read from start to finish. The challenge isn’t necessarily that the information is missing, but that it isn’t presented in a way that makes it easy to find, understand, and apply in practice.
With XtraMile, Inselo can instead highlight the most important information in a more accessible format. This makes preboarding more relevant for employees, while also providing HR and managers with a more structured way to communicate expectations and practical information.
– Many people may not want to read long documents. That’s why we’ve tried to keep the information short and to the point, so they can take in what’s there, says Vines.
This is especially important in a workday where many employees aren’t necessarily sitting in front of a computer all day. The information must be easily accessible, easy to understand, and quick to implement.
Creates a more professional impression of the company
In the past, much of this type of information within the company was often communicated verbally, via email, or in documents. This can work on a small scale, but quickly becomes problematic when more managers are involved, as the business grows, or when HR needs to track who has actually received and acted on the information.
With XtraMile, Inselo gains a more modern and professional way to present its content. It also sends a clear signal to new employees that the company takes their onboarding seriously.
– It looks good. It looks professional. It’s pretty old-fashioned to receive a PDF file and just be told to read through it. With XtraMile, there’s more interaction, some images, and a better impression of the company, says Vines.
For HR, the solution also provides a better overview. When preboarding is done manually via email, follow-up often depends on the person sending out the information. On a digital learning platform, completion and reporting become more accessible and structured.
Provides better follow-up and less frustration
Although Inselo’s preboarding is still relatively new, the expectations are clear. Julie Vines hopes that better information before the start date will make the workday smoother for both managers and employees.
When new employees know more about what’s expected of them, it becomes easier to succeed. At the same time, managers have a better foundation for follow-up, because the information is provided in a clear and consistent manner.
“I hope this will reduce frustration among managers and that employees will be able to meet expectations,” says Vines.
For Inselo, preboarding is therefore not just about providing information. It’s about creating a sense of security, fostering a sense of belonging, and making the transition into a new job easier for everyone involved.
We’re getting very positive feedback
Before the preboarding materials were widely distributed, the content was reviewed with several key groups within the organization. This gave Inselo the opportunity to quality-assure the content and ensure that management, safety representatives, and union representatives all identified with the message.
The feedback has been positive.
– I’ve received a lot of positive feedback. Everyone who has seen it has been very satisfied. The preboarding program has been reviewed by management, safety representatives, union representatives, and employees alike. It’s gone very well, says Vines.
For Inselo, the response confirms that preboarding doesn’t have to be extensive to create value. When the right information is presented in a simple and professional manner, it becomes easier for new employees to get off to a good start—and easier for the organization to welcome them.
About Inselo
Inselo is a service provider and technology platform that delivers services in customer service, installation, and logistics. The company helps businesses create efficient deliveries, positive customer experiences, and practical follow-up throughout the entire customer journey.
Inselo operates in Norway and Sweden, with its headquarters in Berger, outside Oslo. The group consists of several specialized teams, including logistics, installation, customer service, and IT development.
