Investing in new technologies is a daunting undertaking, raising questions like: How hard will integration be? Will my team embrace it? Will the tool really have a positive impact on my business? How can we maximize its potential?
At Super Dispatch, our onboarding process is designed to answer these questions and build user confidence from day one. Onboarding doesn’t just involve learning a new system – it’s about empowering users to feel confident and well equipped to use a tool effectively. Our onboarding team humanizes a technical process to address user concerns and provide tailored support.
We recently chatted with Emma Pearl, our Head of Customer Onboarding and Implementation, to hear more about the challenges our users face, the strategies we use to help, and why onboarding is critical for an auto transport company’s long-term success.
Here’s what Emma had to say:
To kick off our conversation, can you walk us through the typical onboarding journey?
Emma: At Super Dispatch, we’ve found that engaging customers from the onset sets everyone up for success. So, our onboarding begins during the sales process when we outline what our customers can expect. We’ve worked closely with our marketing team to develop customer-type and journey-specific content that’s shared with customers even before deals are closed.
Once a deal is closed, our customers are introduced to their onboarding specialist. During their welcome call we outline the general process and identify customizations that can be made. The setup call to configure our system to their specific business needs comes next.
From there, we provide user training, which can be tailored to our customer’s preferences and needs whether it be group or individual sessions. If it’s applicable to the customer, we’ll host an integration workshop and provide resources so they understand all the integration possibilities.
We’ll hold follow-up, milestone-based calls before handing customers off to our internal support team to ensure their teams understand the platform before transitioning to regular use.
What are the most common concerns users have about adopting a new system, and how does your team address those during the onboarding process?
Emma: Different users, even within the same company, have different concerns. One of the biggest challenges we face, specifically with larger dispatch teams, is change management.
Many of the users who are actually working within the system worry a new system will make their jobs more complicated, add extra steps or even take their job away. It’s our team’s goal, to help users understand that our platform is here to simplify their work, not to make it harder.
That’s why onboarding is vital in setting our users up for success. It’s how we ensure users don’t face a heavier workload due to incorrect use or missed opportunities to fully utilize the platform.
We are also often asked, “How are we going to implement this?” and “How long will it take?” Another big one: “Can we be up and running tomorrow?” There are big challenges to this, too.
With new technology comes different uses and functions. During onboarding, we determine how, and just how much, businesses want to use our platform in their operations. Do they want to go to 100% immediately and use every function or take a phased implementation approach? Or just use our SuperPay payment functionalities or automated price negotiations?
By addressing these questions during onboarding, we can provide clear steps, tailored support and realistic timelines to help our users feel confident and prepared for Super Dispatch usage.
We want to give you a chance to clear the air. Are there any common misconceptions about onboarding in the auto-transport industry that you’d like to clear up?
Emma: I think there’s a misconception that onboarding cannot be scaled for such a diverse industry. The auto transport industry is incredibly diverse, with each customer type representing a unique niche, with different needs and expectations from the tools they use.
Our goal in onboarding is to address these specific, wildly different use cases and deliver solutions tailored to each of our customer’s key business needs and goals. We don’t simply hand over our platform and say, “Here are the keys—good luck.” We work to ensure users understand how to use the Super Dispatch platform effectively and confidently.
There’s one other misconception I need to dispel: Our onboarding process equips users with the knowledge and technical support they need to fully leverage our platform’s capabilities, not just navigate the basics. But, while we are a technology company, our onboarding isn’t overly technical. It’s designed to teach users to help them understand how to leverage our platform.
How does Super Dispatch ensure the onboarding experience goes smoothly for users with varying levels of technical proficiency or industry experience?
Emma: We understand that for many of our users—especially brokers or smaller businesses—transitioning from using no technology or older systems can feel overwhelming. It’s like being handed the keys to a spaceship instead of a car. To address this, and make it less intimidating, we focus on making our platform feel approachable and intuitive from the start.
Our onboarding team breaks down the process into manageable steps, demonstrates how our platform simplifies workflows, provides one-on-one support and ensures users feel comfortable asking questions. During onboarding, users work directly with a dedicated resource who knows their business and provides personalized guidance. Users remain with this onboarding specialist until they achieve key product milestones and are fully ready to graduate. Our approach ensures users, regardless of their tech savviness, are confident in using our platform effectively while still having access to a knowledgeable resource to answer their unique questions.
Let’s dig in a little deeper into that. Tell us about the specific training or resources your team provides customers to ensure users understand our platform’s full capabilities?
Emma: Beyond providing in-person training and support from onboarding specialists, we provide an extensive help center with articles and videos that customers can access anytime.
For more personalized support, we use video-sharing technology. So, if a customer has a specific question that arises, we can record a custom video tailored to their exact issue or business need and send it directly to them. Recently, we also launched office hours as a resource. This is particularly helpful for more tech-averse users or those who prefer quick, person-to-person answers without having to schedule a lengthy training session. During office hours, customers can drop in, ask questions, and get the help they need to ramp up quicker.
How does the onboarding team work with customer support to ensure a seamless experience as our users transition from onboarding to regular use?
Emma: Our two teams share the same tools,, which allows support to access detailed notes gathered during onboarding. We also maintain open communication between our teams. Say a customer just completed onboarding has a question that my team can help address quickly. We collaborate with support to provide answers without delay.
More on the technical side of things here: If users are switching from a different platform, what support do we offer to make their transition smooth?
Emma: Regardless of what the tool is we focus on understanding how our customer’s previous platform was being used and the value it provided. This helps us ensure Super Dispatch meets, and exceeds, those same needs to solve any challenges.
For users with specific technical data needs, such as importing carrier lists or terminals, they can complete one-time data imports or ongoing updates through our system. During setup calls, we guide them through uploading contacts, configuring settings and establishing integrations.
When talking about your hopes for the customers and users you are working with, what are your ultimate goals for them when completing the onboarding process?
Emma: That’s a great question! Our goal isn’t just to onboard an individual user—it’s to empower the primary stakeholder who will be training and implementing the system within their organization along with all of their team members. We want them to be confident not only in using the platform but also in teaching and synthesizing the information to others.
Without full knowledge of our platform, we aim to ensure they know where to find answers—be it through our help center, support team, or other resources. It’s like giving our customers training wheels. They’re ready to ride, but they’ll always have support if they need it. Our goal is to set them up to succeed independently while ensuring they know help is always available.
Super Dispatch’s onboarding isn’t just a step in the technology adoption process—it’s the foundation for long-term success. Whether you’re new to technology or transitioning from another platform, Emma’s team is here to ensure your journey is seamless and impactful.
Reach out to our team to find out how our platform can be tailored to fit your needs.
