During our newcomers onboarding program, we have one golden rule … speak up.

If something doesn’t make sense, tell us. And true to their nature, Gen Z newcomers don’t hold back.

So, as part of our usual practice, we asked them to list down any issues they encountered while learning our software.

One response stood out:

“There is no SOP in PDF format, only in video, which makes it difficult for us to refer to the SOP each time without having to open the video.”

Another one followed:

“The software only has a video and sheet document for reference…whenever I need to review how to conduct the test of detail, I have to watch the video and open multiple tabs for the sheet.”

I always choke to death when something doesn’t add up.

Our software has a clear “Manual” button right on the main page. A book icon that literally screams “Click me” that contain all the answers!”

How did they miss it?

I turned to my HR manager, Angela Fong.

“Angela, is our onboarding program so bad that they can’t see an obvious manual?”

She looked equally puzzled. “But… it’s right there. Big and bold.”

Then it hit me.

The problem wasn’t the newcomers. It was us.

We assumed they would instinctively know that the book icon = manual. But to them, it was just another button in a sea of buttons (less than 10).

So, we fixed it.

A simple tweak. We create another SOP in our orientation manual to mention the icon as manual with “Click Here”.

No more guessing, no more assumptions.

Lesson learned …. If people keep asking the same question, don’t blame them—fix the system.