Your new hire’s first impression can shape their entire employee journey—and determine whether they stay. With research showing up to 20% of turnover happening in the first 45 days, Ontra treats onboarding not as a task, but as a strategic advantage. The results? 

• 99% of new hires felt welcomed and acknowledged
• 98% felt integrated into Ontra’s remote-first culture
• 97% felt well-prepared to succeed in their roles
• 95 eNPS after Week 1

In a recent fireside chat, Ontra’s Jordan Conway (Sr. Manager, Employee Experience) and Megan Hardy (Sr. Employee Experience Specialist) shared how they consistently reduce dropoff and boost engagement using Donut Journeys and Gatheround.

 

A Look Inside “Ontraductions” — Ontra’s 4-Week Onboarding Program

Every new hire at Ontra joins an onboarding cohort that participates in a structured four-week experience:

• Preboarding: Optional training and early access to resources
• Week 1: Live and async sessions on company basics, benefits, and tools
• Week 2: Industry and customer context
• Week 3: In-depth product training
• Week 4: Organizational frameworks like OKRs and DEI initiatives

To support different learning styles, Ontra blends live facilitation via Gatheround with asynchronous activities—like a Notion scavenger hunt and microlearning via 7taps—to reinforce key concepts.

One new hire summed it up:

“I loved how thorough this process was! Everything was thought out and timed perfectly. There’s no room for confusion at all.”

 

Engagement-First Design for New Hires

Every element of Ontra’s onboarding program is crafted to increase clarity, connection, and confidence from Day 1:

• New Hire Welcome Kits: Core items are sent to every hire, along with swag store credit so employees can personalize their experience
• Cohort Slack Channels: Every cohort is automatically added to a dedicated Slack channel via Donut  for casual conversation and peer support
• Buddy Program: Each new hire is paired with a peer in a similar time zone and role; buddies receive a checklist and conversation guidance
• Structured Manager Guidance: Managers receive automated reminders via Donut and access to onboarding plans to help pace their new hire’s experience
• Live Gatheround Sessions: Facilitators follow AI-assisted agendas with embedded slides—making it easy to run breakout rooms, quizzes, and intention-setting exercises without switching tools
• Feedback Loops: New hires complete surveys at 1 week, 45 days, and 90 days, and the program is updated quarterly based on feedback and product changes
• Breadcrumbed Communication: Instead of overwhelming new hires with one long email, key information is broken into timely, digestible Slack messages—each designed to arrive when it’s most relevant

How it’s landing with new hires: A 95 eNPS in Week 1, 88 eNPS at Day 45, and overwhelming feedback that the experience feels welcoming, connective, and empowering.

 

1,200+ Minutes of Live Engagement via Gatheround

Across Ontra’s onboarding cohorts, new hires participate in over 1,200 minutes of live Gatheround sessions annually—designed to build connection, reinforce learning, and make onboarding feel personal at scale. Despite global time zone differences, 99% of international hires attend live, some joining in the middle of the night just to take part.

Ontra uses Gatheround to facilitate agenda-driven sessions throughout onboarding. They bring that experience to life with:

• Embedded slides: Decks run directly in the session—no screen shares or tab-switching
• Interactive quizzes: Quick knowledge checks are baked into the flow to reinforce key takeaways
• Breakout rooms: Structured prompts help new hires connect and build trust from Day 1
• Built-in brain breaks: Designed to protect focus and reduce fatigue—so new hires stay energized and present
• Facilitator controls: Hosts can adjust in real time—extending, skipping, or reordering activities as needed
• Group Share activity: Each person joins a queue to respond to a prompt—ensuring everyone gets equal time to speak and no one gets lost in the shuffle

“Before, we were just doing a one-hour Zoom call on Day 1—that was it. Since we started using Gatheround, it really motivated us to create a robust and fun program. Now people rave about it. – Megan Hardy”

By prioritizing interaction, Ontra built an onboarding experience that drives engagement, builds connection, and keeps new hires showing up—no matter where they’re based.

 

2,000+ Automated Touchpoints via Donut Journeys

Before Donut Journeys, Ontra’s team was buried in manual reminders, time-consuming scheduling, and constant prep work. Now, over 2,000 touchpoints are automated—freeing up hours each week to focus on strategy and connection.

“If each of those 2,000 messages saves even a few minutes, that’s hours and hours we’ve gotten back to focus on improving the experience itself.” — Megan Hardy

Here’s how they use Donut to support the entire onboarding journey:

• 13 preboarding messages: Swag, paperwork, IT setup
• 11 messages during Week 1: Daily nudges, reminders, resource links
• 18+ touchpoints through the first year: 30/60/90-day milestones and a 1-year celebration
• Personalized delivery: Messages appear to come from Jordan or Megan, increasing visibility and engagement
• Channel automation: Cohorts are auto-enrolled in onboarding channels and a Donut Watercooler channel (affectionately named #random-burrito)
• Plus: Birthday and work anniversary celebrations were automated using Donut Celebrations

“We used to suffer—everything was manual. Now we can deliver a consistent, personal experience for every new hire without all the lift.” — Jordan Conway

With this structure, the team can run a highly customized program across locations and time zones—with consistency, clarity, and a human touch at every step.

 

Built to Scale a Global Workforce

With team members across the US, UK, and APAC, Ontra designs its onboarding for scale without sacrificing experience:

• Time zone optimization: Messages are delivered during local working hours
• Global swag fulfillment: Automated via Stadium
• Flexible participation: 99% of international hires attend live, with recordings and 1:1 follow-ups for those who can’t
• Localized benefits support: Every new hire can meet live with Total Rewards or IT for region-specific questions

HR Takeaways to Apply

Whether you’re leading onboarding at a startup or scaling a global program, here are a few tactics to borrow:

✅ Scale with automation, connect with intention

✅ Balance async and live formats

✅ Enable managers with checklists and reminders

✅ Design for belonging from Day 1

✅ Collect feedback—and act on it

 

Ready to Build Your Own Zero-Dropoff Onboarding Program?

We’ve partnered with Ontra to make their exact setup available to you—with prebuilt templates in Gatheround for Day 1, Day 2, and Day 4.

Want to try Gatheround? Reach out to [email protected] for a free trial.