Scaling "Preboarding Brilliance": How Mondelez Transformed Global Onboarding

For a global giant like Mondelez International—the power behind brands like Cadbury, Oreo, and Ritz—onboarding isn't just an HR process; it is a critical "moment that matters" for thousands of employees across 44 countries. When their 2021 global engagement survey flagged onboarding as an "enterprise barrier to execution," leadership knew they had to escape the "Admin Trap" and architect a new Digital Lobby.

In this episode of the All Onboard podcast, Thomas Kunjappu (CEO of Cleary) sits down with Sarah Skellern, Employee Experience Lead for Talent Acquisition and Onboarding at Mondelez, to discuss the innovative journey of revamping their global integration strategy.

What is Design-Led Onboarding?

Design-led onboarding is a methodology that applies Design Thinking principles—empathy, persona development, and rapid prototyping—to the employee integration lifecycle. Instead of viewing onboarding as a compliance checklist, this approach focuses on the emotional and functional journey of the new hire, aiming to reduce "time-to-productivity" while maximizing cultural belonging.

The Mondelez Blueprint: From Immersion to Global Deployment

Mondelez’s transformation was built on a foundation of "Slow-Thinking"—taking the time to understand systemic friction before implementing a tech solution.

1. The Design Thinking Workshop Phase

Sarah and her team didn't start with software; they started with stories.

• The Immersion Phase: The team conducted raw, unfiltered interviews with new hires, "buddies," and managers. They even brought in "process enablers" from IT and Facilities to see where the handoff "fabric" was fraying.

  
  

• Persona Development: They created high-fidelity personas for every stakeholder. This ensured that the final solution wasn't just built for HR, but for the manager drowning in manual tasks and the new hire staring at a blank browser tab.

  
  

2. The Agile Execution Model

To turn ideas into reality, Mondelez utilized an agile scrum model, categorizing the work into three strategic pillars:

• The Process Team: Defined the balance between global standards and local cultural nuances across 44 markets.

• The Content Team: Built a knowledge repository of "referenceable artifacts" that allows new hires to find more and seek less.

  
  

• The Technology Team: Focused on "Automation You Control," specifically automating the laptop ordering process and launching a centralized, user-friendly onboarding portal.

The Results: A 30x Leap in Manager Sentiment

The outcomes of this structured, iterative approach were immediate and measurable. By moving toward a Digital Lobby model, Mondelez saw significant jumps in Net Promoter Scores (NPS):

Conclusion: Reclaiming Strategy Through Case Studies

The Mondelez story proves that when you stop spending your days in spreadsheets and start focusing on the "Human Handshake," you don't just improve a process—you improve the business. By involving cross-functional teams and leveraging automated Employee Journeys, Sarah and her team successfully reclaimed hours of administrative time to focus on strategic impact.

Ready to see the ROI of your onboarding transformation? Use our (https://www.google.com/search?q=https://gocleary.com/onboarding-ROI) to see how Cleary’s automated journeys can drive similar results for your People Team.