Morning onboarding: 5 days to come aboard!

At Morning, onboarding is a step we look after with particular care. Over the years, this process has been constantly questioned and improved. Until recently, it took place over 3 days, but since June 2024, we have tested and approved a 5-day format.

The objective remains the same: to present, from the very first days, the company culture and its key values - trust, transparency, sharing and commitment - while offering newcomers a rich and immersive experience.

It is at the start of each month that new arrivals are welcomed, in cohorts.

Trained together, they forge their first bonds before following specialised training within their team. The idea here is to walk you through the 5 days of the shared core programme.

Day 1,
Immersion in the Morning culture

On the first day, all the new joiners are placed in the good care of a mentor. These volunteers - who responded positively to an email from HR - do not work in the same team as their mentee. Their mission as an established member is to welcome the newcomer, share their experience and support them so they feel at ease as quickly as possible.

Over a breakfast with the whole team, each mentor-mentee pair steps forward to introduce themselves. It is the mentor, specifically, who then takes the microphone to say a few words about their mentee's background, but also their passions, hobbies, hidden talents, and so on. Just the thing to handle the introductions in front of everyone while lightening the mood.

Marie and Mélanie, from the HR team, then take over for an in-depth presentation of the Morning culture and the employee benefits. This session allows newcomers to understand the company's DNA and what makes it unique.

A team lunch is then arranged so that the new arrivals can meet their close colleagues.

The afternoon is punctuated by a series of essential sessions to get to know Morning inside out:

- a business briefing to understand the company's economic challenges

- a communications briefing to grasp how Morning positions itself and tells its story

- a hospitality briefing to discover the values of welcome and service that make up Morning's DNA

This first day allows newcomers to get an overall view of the company they have just joined.

Day 2,
Tools, photos and spaces

On the second day, the onboarding programme kicks off with the handing out of IT equipment. Everyone is assigned their login details, boots up their computer, installs the first pieces of software and sets up their inbox.

"When you log in to the Morning email address created for you, you immediately see invitations popping up to all sorts of events: training courses, lunches, meetings… May as well get stuck in quickly!" recalls one employee (January 2022 cohort)

This is followed by an individual photo session, allowing everyone to have a professional portrait for the internal communication tools.

The cohort then has lunch together! A chance to talk about their past experience and about what brings them to Morning. Everyone can then share their first impressions of the onboarding and collectively kick off the new adventure.

The afternoon is devoted to the famous "Morning Tour", run in an "info hunt" format with a "space ID card" to fill in. The cohort then puts a whole host of questions to the space manager and to the baristas and front-of-house staff who are there.

This guided tour allows newcomers to discover at least three Morning spaces and to understand what makes each one tick and what is at stake. It's a chance to grasp Morning's offering in concrete terms and to meet the teams out in the field.

"It's really the moment when everything becomes real. You come out of the theory to see what a Morning space actually looks like", one employee testifies.

Day 3,
A day in the life and project management

The third day has a little surprise in store: the famous "day in the life" sessions. This is THE new addition that makes quite an impression in our onboarding process. Why? Because it allows newcomers to get their hands dirty (or rather, into the coffee!) and to discover the very essence of Morning.

The morning begins at the coffee bar in the shoes of a barista. Our new recruits put on the apron alongside the space's barista.

On the programme:

- discovering the secrets of a perfect coffee

- an introduction to latte art

- a masterclass on the Morning way of welcoming people (or how to turn a simple "hello" into an experience for the members)

But be warned, it's not just a demonstration! Our newcomers roll up their sleeves and serve real coffees to real customers. Just the thing to create memorable moments and a few fits of laughter.

A lunch among cohort members then allows everyone to debrief on this unusual experience and to share the morning's anecdotes.

The afternoon is devoted to Asana training. As the true backbone of the way Morning is organised, this software makes it possible to plan, organise and manage the work of every team from A to Z. It is also a collaboration tool that helps coordinate team tasks so that all members know each other's responsibilities and share comments, files and status updates.

For an hour and a half, participants are trained in the software. This is a first step that gets a longer period of self-training under way: "We created an onboarding pathway on Asana over the course of which, for a month, Morning employees have tasks to complete. New arrivals train themselves on the platform, using the platform!", the HR team explains.

Day 4,
Data and property

The fourth day begins with Airtable training. As a true database tool used at Morning, this session allows newcomers to understand how information is structured and shared within the company. From managing members to managing spaces, Airtable centralises a large part of Morning's operational data.

A lunch among cohort members punctuates the day, before tackling a more technical subject.

The afternoon is devoted to property training. Morning operates in a very particular sector, and it is essential that all employees, whatever their role, understand what is at stake in property terms. This session covers the specifics of commercial leases, regulatory constraints and the particularities of managing coworking spaces. "Even though I don't work directly in property, understanding these issues helps me better grasp the company's strategic decisions", an employee from the communications team confides.

Day 5,
Innovation, feedback and community commitment

The final day of onboarding starts with innovation training.

An essential ingredient for continuing to evolve and grow. It is crucial that newcomers understand from the outset the importance of innovation and continuous improvement in the company culture. The watchword: dare to put forward new ideas! (the famous test and learn).

The morning continues with cybersecurity training. This hands-on training gives them the keys to navigating Morning's digital environment safely.

A lunch among cohort members is arranged in the middle of the day, allowing newcomers to enjoy this special moment one last time before joining their respective teams.

Finally, last but not least, the afternoon of this final day is dedicated to a particularly innovative initiative: the volunteering mission.

At Morning, commitment does not stop at the company's doors. From their very first week, new employees are automatically signed up for a half-day of volunteering with a partner charity.

"It was completely unexpected and brilliant! From the very first week, they show us that Morning is genuinely committed. We spent the afternoon with a local charity, and it really strengthened the bonds within our cohort", recounts a member of the September 2025 cohort.

Whether with food-aid charities, tutoring or environmental protection, each cohort contributes in its own way to causes that mean something.

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