Not Just for Customers: Using Pardot to Revolutionize New Hire Onboarding

 

This session shares a practical use case from Woodruff Sawyer, where the Sales Operations team collaborated with Marketing to leverage Pardot Engagement Studio for automating and enhancing the internal new hire onboarding experience for sales users.

Key Takeaways

 

• Pardot as a Business Tool: Engagement Studio is not just for B2B customer journeys; it is highly effective for internal communications, training, and operational efficiency.

• The Efficiency Win: Automating training follow-ups freed up 20% of the training specialist’s monthly workload.

• Bite-Sized Training: Delivering content in short, digestible, weekly emails significantly improved user knowledge retention and reduced requests for one-on-one sessions.

• Automation Meets Human Touch: The process is designed so that Pardot automation handles tracking and reminders, while key points remain dedicated human interactions (e.g., initial meeting, profile makeover session).

The Business Problem: Training Overload

 

Woodruff Sawyer was struggling to onboard new sales users efficiently due to a high volume of information and an increasing remote workforce.

• Previous Process: A dedicated training specialist (Kelly) hosted three mandatory training sessions (Salesforce, LinkedIn, and Sales Ops products) for every new user.

• User Feedback: New users felt overwhelmed and were not retaining the information effectively, leading to a high demand for one-on-one time and increased administrative cases submitted to the Salesforce Admin.

• The Crisis: The shift to a remote workforce in 2020 exacerbated the issue, stretching the Sales Ops team thin.

The Pardot Magic: Operationalizing Onboarding

 

The team replaced the intensive, three-session model with a blended approach using Engagement Studio.

1. The Strategy: Bite-Sized and Self-Sufficient

 

• Foundation: The process begins with a mandatory initial in-person (now virtual) training session that serves as a cultural foundation, not the entire training itself.

• Email Campaign: A Pardot Engagement Studio campaign handles all follow-up, distributing bite-sized training content over several weeks, adding complexity week by week.

• Content Variety: Emails include links to various training types to accommodate different learning styles:

  • Short Videos: Under three minutes, featuring the training specialist (most popular).

  • Step-by-Step Tutorials: Detailed written instructions for follow-along practice in Salesforce.

  • Read Articles: For users who prefer reading (least popular).

2. The Engagement Studio Workflow

 

The onboarding journey was split into two paths (Salesforce Only vs. Salesforce + Additional Products) built on the same core campaign structure to maintain consistency.

• First Touch (Personal): The first email is a personal introduction to the Sales Ops team, setting expectations.

• Action/Inaction Logic: The core of the efficiency gain lies in using Pardot’s logic to manage follow-up:

  • Trigger: An email is sent with a Calendly link (using a Custom Redirect) to book a specific training session (e.g., LinkedIn profile makeover).

  • YES Path (Action): If the user clicks and books the training, they advance to the next set of sequential training videos.

  • NO Path (Inaction): If the user does not book, the automation kicks in, and they receive a gentle reminder email two days later.

• Refresher Series: Post-training, the user receives regular emails over four weeks with short, spaced-out refresher videos on the topics covered, significantly improving knowledge retention and reducing duplicate training requests.

3. Benefits and Feedback

 

• Efficiency: The campaign eliminated the need for manual tracking and follow-up emails, saving the training specialist approximately 5.75 hours per new hire (20% of her monthly workload).

• Improved CX: The experience is seamless and professional, affirming the Sales Ops team’s commitment to user experience.

• Self-Sufficiency: The majority of users prefer the self-service, on-demand format, leading to a more self-sufficient user base.

Other Internal Use Cases

 

The possibilities for using Engagement Studio internally are endless:

• Cross-Practice Training (“Better Know a Practice”): Training sales teams on other practice areas within the company for cross-selling.

• Continuing Education: Distributing mandatory or suggested training videos and tracking completion status.

• Company Events and HR Functions: Automating ongoing communications for company events or HR processes.

• Tracking Mandatory Compliance: Using complex completion actions and custom redirects to track whether a user has watched a mandatory compliance video (notify manager, apply a tag, update a score).