Chalmers University builds a smarter start for every employee

Chalmers University of Technology is a leading Swedish university known for world-class research and education in technology, science, and maritime studies. With an international workforce and a strong culture of innovation, Chalmers is committed to providing an exceptional employee experience from the very first day.

The Challenge

Previously, onboarding at Chalmers was fragmented. New employees received varying levels of information depending on department, manager, or location. This inconsistency created knowledge gaps, duplicated effort, and unnecessary administrative burden.

At the same time, new starters were often overwhelmed by large volumes of complex information — policies, employment terms, security regulations, campus logistics, and organisational culture — delivered in ways that could feel heavy rather than inspiring.

Chalmers needed to:

• Ensure every employee received a consistent, high-quality introduction
• Reduce administrative workload for managers
• Present essential information in a way that was engaging, inclusive, and reflective of the university’s identity
• Support an international workforce with accessible, multilingual learning
• Improve long-term employee productivity and integration

The goal was clear: create a digital onboarding experience that educates, engages, and makes new employees feel, “This is where I want to be.”

The Solution

Using Totara, Chalmers developed a fully standardised and scalable digital onboarding programme within its LMS, the Kunskapsportalen.

The programme consists of five structured courses:

1. Welcome!
2. This Is Chalmers
3. Finding Your Way on Campus
4. Your Employment – Work Environment, Rights and Benefits
5. Safety Instructions and Fire Protection

Standardisation with flexibility

Every new employee now receives the same core knowledge, expectations, and cultural introduction. This ensures fairness, consistency, and compliance across the organisation while eliminating duplicated effort across departments.

Updates can be made centrally and rolled out instantly, ensuring accuracy and alignment at scale.

Engaging and interactive learning design

To prevent information overload, the onboarding is delivered in manageable, bite-sized modules spread over time. The experience combines:

• Video and text-based learning
• Interactive scenario-based storytelling
• A warm, personal tone using direct “you” addressing

This blend of factual and creative content reflects Chalmers’ identity, where historic achievement meets future innovation, while making learning both accessible and motivating.

Accessibility and automation

• Available in both Swedish and English
• Automatic language detection based on learner settings
• Fully compliant with accessibility requirements
• Automated enrolments and centralised reporting

The platform allows learners to complete training at their own pace, revisit content anytime, and clearly track their progress.

The Results

The new onboarding programme has transformed the employee experience at Chalmers.

Increased efficiency and cost savings

• Significant time savings for managers, who no longer need to manually coordinate introductory content
• Reduced administrative effort through automation and centralised management
• Streamlined reporting and compliance tracking
• Scalable rollout across the entire organisation

Improved consistency and engagement

• All new employees now participate in a structured and consistent programme
• Higher completion rates and stronger engagement
• Improved clarity around expectations, policies, and culture
• Stronger employer branding through a professional, cohesive onboarding journey

Managers have responded positively, with many requesting expansion of the modules to include additional content, a strong endorsement of the programme’s impact.

A foundation for long-term workforce development

Beyond onboarding, the programme provides measurable learning data and comparable insights across the organisation. This enables better follow-up, continuous improvement, and more strategic workforce development.

By combining standardisation, automation, engaging design, and accessibility, Chalmers has created a modern onboarding experience that both informs and inspires, ensuring new employees become productive, confident, and connected from day one.