Case Study: How Lyse Succeeded at Virtual Onboarding in a Remote World

About Lyse

Lyse is a Norwegian energy, telecom, and electricity grid operator. With 10 subsidiaries and over 1,200 employees, the organization operates across multiple business units, each with its own culture, processes, and operational requirements. The complexity of onboarding at Lyse is a direct reflection of the complexity of the business itself.

The Onboarding Problem

Before implementing a structured virtual onboarding solution, Lyse faced three critical challenges:

• Extended time to productivity. New hires took longer than necessary to become effective in their roles. Without a structured process, they were left to navigate the organization on their own, piecing together information from scattered sources and ad hoc conversations.
• Inconsistent onboarding across business units. With 10 subsidiaries, there was no standardized onboarding experience. The quality and completeness of onboarding varied dramatically depending on which unit a new hire joined and which manager they reported to.
• High turnover in the first 30 days. A disproportionate number of new hires were leaving within their first month — a clear signal that the initial experience was not meeting expectations or building the confidence and connection needed to retain new talent.

The Pandemic Accelerator

When remote work and social distancing became the norm, these existing challenges were amplified. The informal, in-person interactions that had previously compensated for gaps in the formal onboarding process were no longer available. Lyse needed a solution that could deliver a consistent, engaging onboarding experience regardless of physical location.

The Solution

Lyse partnered with Preppio to build a virtual onboarding process that addressed each of their core challenges:

• Accelerate productivity. Automated, structured content delivery ensured that new hires received the right information at the right time — from pre-boarding through their first months on the job. No more guessing what to do next or waiting for someone to be available to answer questions.
• Standardize the experience. A unified onboarding platform meant that every new hire, regardless of subsidiary or department, received a consistent baseline experience. Business units could still customize content for their specific needs while maintaining organizational standards.
• Build confidence and cultural integration. The onboarding program was designed to go beyond compliance and logistics. It introduced new hires to the company culture, connected them with colleagues, and provided the context they needed to feel confident in their new role.

"Preppio has been crucial for us to support, inform and onboard new hires and their managers during social distancing and work from home."

The Results

By implementing a structured virtual onboarding process, Lyse was able to maintain onboarding quality during a period of unprecedented disruption. New hires reported feeling more informed, more connected, and more confident — even when they had never set foot in a physical office. Managers gained visibility into onboarding progress and could intervene early when new hires needed additional support.

The lesson from Lyse is straightforward: virtual onboarding is not a compromise. When done intentionally with the right tools, it can be just as effective — and in some cases more consistent — than traditional in-person approaches.