Inclusive onboarding: 4 easy ways to make new hires feel welcome

Nothing’s better than finding the perfect candidate and having them accept your job offer. And while their first day is exciting, it can also be nerve-wracking — particularly if the interview process was remote.

A new hire’s first few weeks and the onboarding process set the tone for their future at the company, so it’s crucial to make a great first impression.

Here’s how Virgin Pulse, a digital-first healthcare and wellbeing company, ensures its digital onboarding is an inclusive onboarding process.

Prepare for Inclusive Onboarding Before Day 1

1. Ask what you can do beforehand. Onboarding should start before the employee’s first day! Try asking your new hire, “What do you need from us to assist you?” This helps the employee feel welcome and cared for, before they even set foot into the workplace. It also opens the door for them to discuss an accommodation they may need, which will help everything go smoothly from day one.
2. Ask them for their preferred name and pronouns. This is one of the easiest ways to get employees to feel comfortable, yet very few companies do it. By asking everyone for their preferred name and pronouns, it will help normalize it — and no one will feel singled out. This simple question will start off your relationship with a new employee on the right foot.
3. Get them up to speed on company lingo. Nothing feels more disorienting than not being able to follow along during meetings and conversations with new colleagues. Give new hires a quick rundown of acronyms and terms your organization uses, and remind them to feel free to speak up if they don’t understand something.
4. Set them up with a diverse group of mentors. New hires can easily fall victim to loneliness and isolation, so it’s important to set them up with “buddies” or mentors right away. It’s also just as critical to ensure their mentors are a diverse bunch, so the new hire has options to direct questions or concerns to. For example, they might not feel comfortable asking a veteran manager their questions. Instead, they may prefer talking to an employee who’s only been there a year and is on the same level. Introduce them to a wide variety of peers they can turn to.