Capstone Projects

Process Improvement of Employee Onboarding

Program: Healthcare Administration Master's Degree
Host Company: UW Health University Hospital
Location: Madison, Wisconsin (hybrid)
Student: Christopher Dettmann

UW-Health’s onboarding process is one that was adapted from the original for use during the time of the Covid-19 pandemic. This onboarding structure left each hospital department with a different format that did not fit a direct system under the control of the organization and due to this, left inefficiencies and a lack of common understanding for new employees going through it. The goal of this project was to create a one size fits all model for employee onboarding that both eliminated inefficiencies and took advantage of the learning opportunities available in the program. The hybrid model that was developed did this by incorporating an asynchronous portion of onboarding that allowed employees to complete on their own and a face-to-face portion that connects new employees to their role while maintaining an exemplary level of education. The new model was both more financially and organizationally efficient for UW-Health and its staff roles involved in the onboarding process. However, the new model was not without flaws and needs to be further developed through employee work groups involving additional department types prior to full integration. Through the use of process improvement, this project aimed to create a product that fit all the needs of the organization and developed a standardization for employee onboarding under the new model.