Some of the most prominent HR processes are rather small: requesting days off, applying for corporate training, celebrating work anniversaries. Others are more complex: defining how recruitment is done within the company, formalizing performance meetings, organizing international mobility for expats.
Let’s zoom in with some classic examples. While many companies recognize the value of a good onboarding process, they often struggle to set one in place, making it quite of a puzzle for the HR team and new hires alike.
A good offboarding process is even more overlooked even though the way an employee exits a company can be just as impactful as their first few months on the job. Here’s an example company created for the purpose of this illustration (it doesn’t exist in reality but is a composite of several organizations with strong practices): LarZette is a growing organization with a team of 15. Their onboarding process used to include some basic steps: assigning a mentor or buddy to the new employee, sending them a series of pre-written emails, and scheduling 2–3 onboarding meetings in advance. However, the real onboarding experience relied heavily on “tribal knowledge” – the unwritten know-how shared informally between team members. This included:
To improve this, LarZette’s HR team compiled all this knowledge into a practical onboarding handbook. Short and sweet, but clear, it significantly reduced the time they invested in facilitating the new hires’ onboarding – simply because they no longer needed to fill in the blanks ad-hoc.
Energized by the success, they soon identified other areas that could benefit from a similar approach.For instance, after receiving feedback from a colleague on notice leave who felt uncertain about her next steps, the team created an offboarding checklist, outlining the role of each stakeholder, next steps and the proper timing for them: handling the administrative details, holding an exit interview, organizing work handover, etc. This not only helped their colleague but also gave HR a chance to audit and improve the process.
Later, after attending an HR conference, the team added new best practices to their checklist. Because a foundation was already in place, it was easy to iterate and evolve.
This example illustrates how documenting and shaping your processes enables collective knowledge and ideas to come together smoothly.
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*Irina Lilova has been exploring the HR field since 2012. At Telerik Academy, she is responsible for growing and developing the team, and for the career services, part of the company’s programs for IT career start.
She holds a MSc degree in Human Resource Studies from Tilburg University, the Netherlands, and is an Erickson-certified coach. Her background is in both corporate and start-up environments. She is a published author in the International Journal of Training and Development, and a guest lecturer in her first Alma Mater, Sofia University, since 2019.
Borislav Davidov’s decision to return to Bulgaria led him to seek a more stable and fulfilling career. With Telerik Academy Alpha, he learned how to study effectively, developed teamwork and self-awareness, and gained the confidence to move forward. Today, he continues to build on those foundations with discipline and perseverance.
Read the storyAfter six years in hospitality, Tihomir decided it was time to return to his passion: programming. With Telerik Academy Alpha, he transitioned into IT in less than six months and landed a job as a Front-End Developer at CleverPine just one month after graduation. Today, he works with cutting-edge technologies and has turned his hobby into a career that excites him every day.
Read the storyPetko tried self-learning but struggled to stay consistent. With Telerik Academy Alpha, he gained structure, real-world practice, and community support. Today, he works as a Junior Front-End Developer, applying what once was just a hobby in his everyday career.
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