Onboarding for Deep Connection
How to Welcome, Orient, Connect, and Retain New Members
Summary
It’s easier and less expensive to retain existing members than it is to attract new ones. At the most basic level, retaining existing members is a function of engagement while attracting new members is a function of marketing. There’s some truth to both of these arguments, but the solution that ties new members to existing members is the power and reach of a thriving community.
This article digs into something we might take for granted: how to onboard new members in a way that welcomes them into the fold, provides the proper context, and gets them involved. Onboarding new members is straightforward; creating a thriving community is much trickier. Great onboarding programs treat new members as contributors who have ideas and agency to help shape our collective future.
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Setting the Bar: What is Onboarding?
“A good service requires no prior knowledge on the part of the customer.”
Lou Downe
Onboarding is the strategic process through which new members are welcomed, oriented, and integrated into an association. It's designed to help newcomers understand the associations's culture, benefits, resources, and opportunities while establishing meaningful connections with existing members.
Effective association onboarding typically includes:
A personalized welcome that acknowledges the new member's decision to join
Clear communication about available resources, benefits, and how to access them
Guidance on navigating the association's structure and services
Opportunities to connect with other members and build relationships
Gradual education about the association's mission, values, and culture
Pathways to engagement and contribution based on the member's interests
The ultimate goal of onboarding is to accelerate a new member's journey from outsider to insider, increasing their sense of belonging, their perceived value of membership, and their likelihood of long-term retention and active participation.
For associations specifically, good onboarding addresses both transactional elements (awareness and wayfinding) and relational aspects (building community connections), creating a foundation for sustained engagement and member satisfaction.
Creating Deep Connection: A Model Onboarding Program
“Building trust in any relationship takes time because trust is built on a consistent pattern of acting in good faith.”
Kim Scott
Radical Candor
All members desire belonging, but people have differing needs. Some members could care less about your newsletter; others avoid events and are uncomfortable mingling in small groups. Belonging is an ongoing connection of new peers for some, an intimate network of trusted colleagues for others.
A model onboarding program stresses connection, personalization, and operates as a member-centric drip campaign (it happens over time and builds). Here’s what people don’t want: to be bombarded up front when they first join, to be overwhelmed with pesky emails, and to be reminded about benefits that may not serve their particular needs.
This approach can feel transactional. I recommend we position new members not as passive recipients, but as valuable contributors to a thriving organization. Knowing who our new members are as people is entrée to a robust value journey.
Gauge interest and depth of investment. This is initial high-level personalized outreach that can help provide a sense of what members are interested in while gauging their intended level of investment. Instead of making new members fill out a long survey or channeling people into interest groups, this is an opportunity to reach out and make contact in a meaningful way. Consider using what you learn to create potential groupings, mentorships, or networks of people who have yet to meet each other.
Create initial connection through deliberate invitation. When I join a new association, I tend to get a long list of stuff right away (benefits, opportunities, content, etc.). I appreciate the zeal, but it gets lost in a busy inbox. What happens next? Not much; I don’t hear from them in a way that provides value to my particular needs. I much prefer a thoughtful 15 minute call about a month after I join. We could call this a benefits review or simply the start of my value journey. A deliberate invitation to contribute meaningfully could anchor the outreach.
Design engagement pathways. The most tried and true way to get new members on board is to anticipate and design for what comes next. How do we build on an initial, deliberate invitation to contribute (ideas, insights, expertise, etc.)? All onboarding programs should have at least three lightweight experiences spaced far enough apart to not overwhelm, but close enough to create momentum. I personally like mastermind groups around important key problems as they kill multiple birds with one stone: we learn something, we meet new people, and we contribute meaningfully. Consider pairing this to a new member roundtable and a session on big ideas or trends.
Follow through by promoting deep value. It’s important here to evolve away from the traditional benefits-speak as it can sound transactional and one size fits all. Finding the time to continue and deepen the cultivation of new members takes time. At this stage, it’s important to connect the three initial experiences into a more full-blown, long-lasting connection. I like focus groups at this stage. Focus groups should be framed by purpose and a commitment to continuous discovery. It is a surefire way to empathize with new members while creating and sustaining win-win relationships.
Humanizing the member journey starts at onboarding. This is part reading-the-room intuition and part old-school lo-fi outreach. The onboarding experience is an opportunity to seed a personal connection. This can include the scheduling of periodic check-in calls. People may not answer the phone as much as they used to, but this is what can make it valuable. It’s a relatively inexpensive way to make a meaningful connection. Simple things: How are you? How can I help? What are your thoughts on [topic]?
Passing the Baton
“One misconception about highly successful cultures is that they are happy, lighthearted places. This is mostly not the case. They are energized and engaged, but at their core their members are oriented less around achieving happiness than around solving hard problems together.”
Daniel Coyle
The Culture Code
Creating and sustaining a community is hard work. Members are tapped and distracted. They often want to connect, but may not have the bandwidth. It’s even more of a challenge to cultivate connection with new members.
Apple changed how we use technology forever — not by listening to customers but by understanding their needs better than they did themselves. Members value things more when they feel like they helped create them; behavioral psychologists call this the IKEA Effect.
In this way, we shift from treating members solely as beneficiaries or consumers and more like active participants who can help us shape the journey.
Existing members can be a great source of guidance for new members. However, they are not the only source. Consider flipping the script and engage new members as the ones who provide expertise and mentoring and create a staff function that drives early member engagement and sustains it through meaningfully designed pathways.
I lead the product community; we are a learning community because we believe great relationships help us create the value our members want. Remember, product-led growth fuels connection. Join the product community and flip your destiny.
About the Author
James Young is founder and chief learning officer of the product community®. Jim is an engaging trainer and leading thinker in the worlds of associations, learning communities, and product development. Prior to starting the product community®, Jim served as Chief Learning Officer at both the American College of Chest Physicians and the Society of College and University Planning. Please contact me for a conversation: james@productcommunity.us