32 fun and engaging onboarding ideas to make your new hire love their new job.
We spoke to our colleagues, friends and Heads of HR and collated it all for you. Here are some really great ideas to help you make that onboarding experience for your new hire memorable. The type of thing that means they message their friend saying ‘My new job is great! You should come and work here, no employer has ever done this for me’.
1. Provide them with an onboarding buddy, a ‘go to’ person within their team for the onboarding process. In time, they will find their feet and know who to liaise with for each individual issue. One day, they can be someone else’s buddy.
2. Team picture board (digital or physical) with everyone’s names and roles. If you work in a large team, it can be challenging for a new hire to remember everyone’s name alongside everything else. This reduces the awkwardness and helps them feel a bit more confident approaching people.
3. Create a social media contest! Utilise your new hires’ excitement and encourage them to send photos. You can use it for your company's social media page. That way, audiences can get to know them better and it generates content and engagement. Your new employee also feels seen and valued.
4. Use a purpose built onboarding tool. I know when I have been onboarded I was given many lists and handbooks. They were saved in different places that were counterintuitive. I remember sitting in an office alone, waiting for 30 minutes, during my first week, not knowing how to be useful because only one task was given to me. I hadn’t been given the information to fully complete that task; what a waste of time! A lot of it was lack of preparation by my employer. They were often busy and at times I felt like a burden.
There are however onboarding tools such as ours here at Fallcha. It uses digital templates that you can use and reuse for future employees and update anytime. It increases the automation of organising onboarding and saves time for employer and employee. Broken down by days, structured with tasks. Assigned points of contact and completion status for each task; involving that all important onboarding buddy. There is also a real time feedback opportunity for each task. Fallcha features integration of your Google calendar for each team member, which enables fast and easy arrangement of meetings. No more back and forth establishing who is available and when. Not only does it save time but it promotes a whole team culture of organisation.
5. Provide virtual tours. Many offices are remote, but they may still require in-person presence at some point. Create 360° videos of important offices so your newbie won’t feel lost.
6. Promote a culture of self care. Encourage your new team members to take short, regular breaks, free from digital devices. Promote meditation, breath work or even power naps to get the best out of them.
7. Shadowing. Have your new hires spend their day with a team member who is friendly and experienced. They can show them what a typical day is like, and introduce them to the rest of their colleagues.
8. Lunch lotto. Assign new hires to a different colleague to eat lunch with every day. This can be a fellow newbie or veteran.
9. Entry interviews. Allow your new hires an opportunity to ask their managers and supervisors questions about the company, teams and their specific role.
10. Have them wear a particular colour identifying them as a new hire, prompting current employees to ensure they feel welcome. This can work well even online. Request all current employees avoid the colour red, for example, but ask new hires to wear an item in that colour.
11. Send a new employee welcome kit. This could include their favourite chocolates, a welcome card and a voucher for a coffee shop.
12. Scavenger hunt. Fun icebreaker activities allow everyone to be a bit less inhibited, to work in teams quickly and start conversations. You can use digital scavenger hunts too if working remotely!
13. Let them know who their boss is! Ask the new hires’ manager to send them a tailored email. This could include personal and professional information, along with a photo of themselves. It helps them to feel welcomed and the seniors seem more approachable.
14. Include them in social chats you may be having with your friend at work. For example ‘we were just talking about our obsession with said Netflix show, do you watch it?’.
15. Invite them to socials. Maybe your company has a weekly lunch or upcoming social event? Ensure your new hire receives an invitation!
16. Make the first day into a party. Decorate with balloons, bring in some cakes or snacks. Even have a fun Zoom background if you onboard remotely. My boss always had a StarWars themed background, yet we all took him very seriously. Although at the same time, he was approachable. Proving you can be professional and fun!
17. Teach them something new during on-boarding and foster a culture of continuous development.
18. Create an end of the first week quiz. This will turn learning company policies, procedures and structures into a game.
19. Create a preboarding kit so new hires will have the opportunity to get familiar with some team specific things before they start.
20. Create a digital welcome video. Current employees can say hello, and your new hire will already recognize them on their first day in the office or on Zoom.
21. Let them have a half day off at the end of their first week to ease the transition. Learning so much each day is tiring and it will help them feel appreciated.
22. Provide lunch! If you have a remote setup, send them a gift-card for a local restaurant or order something for them on the first day.
23. Set expectations of workload so they don’t undershoot with how much they produce.
24. Create an engaging handbook that promotes them to learn.
25. Ask for feedback regarding the onboarding. It helps to keep improving the process and to assure them their suggestions are valued.
26. Ask about their preferences such as tech or an office chair and accommodate these if possible.
27. Have their business cards ready so they can start networking from day one.
28. Have a “graduation” or end of onboarding party.
29. Have an open door policy so they know they can come to you about anything and ensure they feel supported.
30. Find out when their birthday is and put it on the birthday calendar.
31. Encourage coffee chats with the whole team, for the first 30 days so new hires can get to know all their colleagues.
32. Ask them to bring in a picture of their pet to put on the pet wall or get them to introduce you to their pet virtually if they work from home.
With Fallcha, you can get those onboarding schedules we mentioned above set up right away. We even have pre-made templates to help you get started. Sign up now and get your first 3 new hires onboarded into your team, for free.
