Build Culture from Day 1: 5 New Hire Strategies

As soon as a new employee starts, you have only about 44 days to win them over for the company and retain them in the long term. On top of that, 44% of employees regret accepting the job within the first week.

For HR managers, it is therefore essential not to waste any time when it comes to supporting new employees in acclimating to the company culture that originally attracted them. The onboarding process gives you the chance to make a strong first impression. At the same time, it is crucial to create an inclusive and welcoming work environment that aligns with your culture and values throughout the entire employment period.

Otherwise, your employees are more susceptible to burnout and declining motivation, which can lead to premature turnover.

In this article, we present proven methods for optimizing your onboarding process and show you how to leverage this positive development to strengthen employee retention in the long term. With IceHrm's onboarding tools, you can create a solid foundation for the development of your employees.

Examples of a positive company culture during onboarding

The great company culture of your organization has caught the interest of your new employees, and now it's time to demonstrate it during onboarding as well. Your onboarding processes should be tailored to your company, but here are two examples from well-known companies that can serve as inspiration:

Slack

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted Slack to switch its onboarding process, which was previously conducted in San Francisco for all international new hires, to a remote procedure. During this transition, the organizational development team identified several best practices that should be maintained in the long term, such as the five-day onboarding checklist. In line with the company value of transparent communication, previously implicit steps are now explicitly stated, such as submitting planned paid time off requests for manager approval.

HubSpot

As part of its onboarding process, HubSpot offers 'Culture Code' training to familiarize new employees with the company's expectations and values. These include humility, empathy, adaptability, excellence, and transparency. In the interest of transparency, HubSpot has decided to make the previously internally created presentation slides on the 'Culture Code' publicly available.

5 Best Practices for a Positive Company Culture from Day One

Here are some strategies for a successful start for you and your new employees:

Seamless Transition from Interview to Onboarding

After numerous interviews, you finally want to extend your job offer to the outstanding candidate. Take this opportunity to convey your company culture along with the key details such as start date, salary, and signatures. Give the offer authenticity with language that reflects your values and give new employees a preview of what to expect.

After you have laid the groundwork in the job interview by discussing the tasks of the new employee and outlining the overarching expectations, you should now kick off the onboarding process with a clear roadmap. For example, create a personalized checklist for the first 30, 60, and 90 days. Supplement this with regular one-on-one meetings aligned with these milestones to discuss progress, overcome challenges, and promote open communication.

Use onboarding to introduce the company values

It is crucial for effective onboarding that new employees know the company values. Our values at IceHrm, for example, are:

• Enjoy life.
• Continuously improve.
• Be open.
• Assume the best.
• Do the right thing.
• Take leadership.
• Make a difference.

Values are not a one-time conversation. To help new employees internalize these principles, you should offer regular training that delves into each individual value. This training should go beyond rote memorization and illustrate the values in practice through case studies.

Also, share success stories of existing employees who exemplify your core values. This shows that your values are not just words, but guiding principles that shape the company culture.

Establish a connection between the tasks of new employees and the company mission.  

The company mission provides new employees with guidance and a sense of purpose in their work. Even those who are not in direct contact with customers should understand how their work contributes to the company's success on a daily basis.  

The first step is to distinguish between vision and mission. Simply put: the vision describes the future of your company, while the mission explains in detail why your company was founded and what it currently does.

A simple but effective way to align your employees' work with the company's mission is to recognize good performance. According to Nectar – a recognition and rewards platform and partner of the IceHrm Marketplace – 77.9% of employees would be more productive if they received recognition more often. Small gestures like praise in team meetings or handwritten thank-you notes can have a big impact: they not only encourage recipients to continue their good work but also motivate other employees to engage more with your company's mission.

Provide a positive example of a balanced work-life schedule.

The ideal work-life balance is subjective. Many consider a classic eight-hour day to be standard, but in some industries, such as healthcare, shift work and on-call duty are common. It is important that employees know from the start what to expect. For example, if you work in retail, inform your employees that there will be quieter periods, but that overtime is likely during the busy pre-Christmas season. Also clarify whether employees are expected to be reachable outside of regular working hours.

Once realistic expectations are set, you should encourage new employees to define their personal idea of work-life balance and strive for it. If you offer flexible working hours, promote telecommuting and flexible schedules to reduce stress, especially for parents and caregivers. Lead by example and respect your employees' free time; if your company has set office hours, avoid contacting them after hours.

Measure employee engagement over time with IceHrm

High employee engagement offers numerous benefits, including higher productivity, lower turnover, a better brand image, and more satisfied employees. In short: employee engagement is too important to leave to chance.

Our employee satisfaction measurement software allows you to continuously track eNPS and collect anonymous (and therefore honest) employee feedback. Thanks to AI, we analyze each individual response within seconds, enabling you to take strategic actions to ensure employee engagement from day one through the entire tenure.

Building a strong company culture starts the moment a new employee accepts an offer. The onboarding period is a critical window to align the new hire with organizational values and mission, which directly impacts their long-term engagement and retention. To effectively implement these five strategies and ensure new employees feel welcomed and valued, process efficiency is key. IceHrm provides the integrated onboarding and HR management tools essential for success. Specifically, the Onboarding Tools enable a seamless and structured start (Strategy 1), while the ability to track goals and performance aligns their daily work with the company Mission (Strategy 3). Most importantly, IceHrm’s employee satisfaction measurement software allows HR to continuously track eNPS and collect feedback (Strategy 5), giving managers the real-time data needed to ensure a positive culture is built and sustained long after the first 44 days.