New Hire Onboarding: Tips for Setting Your Team Up for Success
Curious about the best advice for managers who are onboarding new team members? Gain insights from top industry leaders, including a Global Empathy Speaker and CEO and a Director of People Operations. The first expert emphasizes the importance of leading with empathy, while the final expert advises streamlining the onboarding process. Discover all fifteen essential insights to help set new hires up for success.
- Lead With Empathy
- Understand Each Hire’s Strengths
- Build Connections Early
- Focus On Cultural Integration
- Set Clear Expectations
- Avoid Overwhelming New Hires
- Make New Hires Feel Welcome
- Structure Plans Around The Individual
- Emphasize Feedback Culture
- Facilitate Team Bonding
- Set Clear Expectations Early
- Rename Onboarding To Welcome And Orientation
- Check In Regularly
- Teach Company Culture
- Streamline The Onboarding Process
Lead With Empathy
Onboarding is more than checking boxes; it’s the opportunity to shape how your new hires feel about their role, their team, and themselves. If I could offer one piece of advice to managers, it would be this: Start with empathy.
Empathy is not just a buzzword—it’s a strategic tool that transforms onboarding into a human-centered experience. When managers intentionally create a space where new hires feel valued, heard, and supported, they set the foundation for a thriving, engaged team.
Here’s how:
- Listen First, Lead Second: Begin with curiosity. Ask your new hire about their hopes for the role, their concerns, and even their preferred ways of working. Listening without an agenda sends a clear message: Your voice matters here.
- Personalize the Journey: Cookie-cutter onboarding processes don’t work for everyone. Tailor their first 90 days to meet them where they are—whether that’s providing extra resources for skill gaps or introducing them to key stakeholders who align with their goals.
- Tap Into Their Confidence: New hires are already navigating the nerves of joining a new team, understanding the culture, and adjusting to new expectations. Set them up for success by assigning projects they can confidently excel in early on. This approach allows them to demonstrate their strengths, build a positive reputation, and develop momentum. Over time, gradually introduce stretch projects to help them grow, but let their foundation be built on wins that bolster their confidence.
- Emphasize Connection: The first few weeks can feel isolating. Facilitate meaningful introductions, not just to coworkers, but to the company’s mission and values. Help them see how their role contributes to the larger vision—it’s not just onboarding; it’s belonging.
- Model Accountability: Show your new hire what accountability looks like by being transparent, setting clear expectations, and delivering on promises. Empathy doesn’t mean avoiding hard truths; it means delivering them with respect and clarity.
When empathy is at the heart of onboarding, something powerful happens: new hires feel empowered to bring their whole selves to work. They’re not just learning about processes; they’re stepping into a workplace where humanity and impact are prioritized.
Managers, this is your chance to lead with intention. How you onboard isn’t just about today—it’s about shaping the culture and success of your team for years to come.
Payal Beri
Global Empathy Speaker and CEO, RK Empathy Inc
Understand Each Hire’s Strengths
My best advice for managers onboarding new team members is to start by understanding each new hire’s unique competencies and strengths. A great way to do this is by using competency assessments early on in the hiring process and continuing to reference them during onboarding and professional development. Competency assessments are powerful because they offer insight into a new hire’s preferred working style, natural strengths, and areas for growth, which can guide how you support them from day one.
One thing managers can do to set new hires up for success is to incorporate these assessment insights into both the interview and onboarding process to personalize their experience. For instance, if the assessment shows that a new team member excels in collaboration but is still building their decision-making skills, the manager can pair them with a mentor who is skilled in quick decision-making. This gives the new hire hands-on learning opportunities and a safe space to develop critical skills.
During onboarding, share with the new hire how their strengths align with the team’s goals. This not only builds confidence but also shows them how their unique abilities are valued and impactful. For instance, if a new hire’s assessment highlights their analytical skills, outline how these will contribute to specific projects or team objectives. This sense of purpose from day one helps people feel engaged and motivated.
For ongoing professional development, use competency assessments as a tool to revisit and refine growth goals. Scheduling regular check-ins to review these goals based on the initial assessment can create a clear roadmap for the new hire’s development. When managers take the time to understand and leverage each person’s competencies, they not only set up new hires for success but also create a foundation for meaningful growth and contribution.
In short, competency assessments provide actionable insights that make onboarding and development more intentional, supportive, and aligned with both individual and team goals.
Linda Scorzo
CEO, Hiring Indicators
Build Connections Early
My best advice for managers onboarding new team members is to focus on building connections early and setting clear expectations. The onboarding experience sets the tone for how new hires will engage with the team and their role, so it’s essential to be intentional about it.
One thing managers can do to set new hires up for success is to pair them with a buddy or mentor during their first 90 days. This person serves as a go-to resource for questions, guidance, and insight into the team’s culture. It helps new hires feel supported while they get acclimated and fosters a sense of belonging right away.
Additionally, I encourage managers to schedule regular one-on-ones with their new hires during the onboarding period. Use these meetings to clarify goals, provide feedback, and create a space for open communication. When managers invest in building relationships and setting clear pathways for growth, it sets a strong foundation for long-term success.
Nurdes Gomez
Director, People Operations, eMed Digital Healthcare
Focus On Cultural Integration
My best advice for managers onboarding new team members is to focus on relationship-building and cultural integration. Since 89% of new hire failures stem from cultural misalignment rather than technical proficiency, it’s essential to help them understand the organization’s culture and build strong connections early. To set them up for success, create a structured onboarding plan that prioritizes introductions to key stakeholders and provides context for how their role fits into the bigger picture. Schedule frequent, regular breaks during their first few weeks to allow time for reflection and to process the information and insights from these meetings. This organized approach ensures new hires feel supported, aligned, and set up for long-term success.
Adriana Cowdin
CEO and Executive Coach, Be Bold Executive Coaching
Set Clear Expectations
My best advice for managers onboarding new team members is to be intentional about setting clear expectations from day one. New hires need to understand not just what’s expected of them in terms of performance but also how things are done in your business—your culture, values and ways of working. Take the time to connect their role to the bigger picture, showing how their contributions will make an impact.
One practical thing managers can do is create a structured onboarding plan that blends formal training with opportunities for relationship building. Introduce them to key people early and encourage open communication so they feel supported. Remember, onboarding isn’t a one-day event, it’s an important process. Check in regularly, offer feedback and be available to answer questions. When new hires feel welcomed, equipped, and connected, they’re far more likely to succeed.
Natalie Lewis
Founder and Director, Dynamic HR Services Ltd.
Avoid Overwhelming New Hires
One of the most impactful ways managers can set new hires up for success is by avoiding the common mistake of overwhelming them with too much information and too many responsibilities during onboarding.
While it’s natural to want to get new employees up to speed quickly, bombarding them with excessive details and responsibilities early on can have negative consequences, such as stress, confusion, and lower productivity. Moreover, new hires may forget important information, experience difficulties integrating with the company culture, and even decide that the job isn’t a good fit.
Managers should focus on pacing the onboarding process and spreading training sessions and tasks over weeks or months, rather than cramming everything into the first few days. Introducing key responsibilities gradually, prioritizing what’s most important, and giving new employees the time to absorb everything is a solid foundation for future cooperation and fosters engagement. Managers who take such a thoughtful, measured approach also create an onboarding experience that positions new hires for long-term organizational success.
Agata Szczepanek
Career Expert & Community Manager, LiveCareer
Make New Hires Feel Welcome
Onboarding is your chance to set your new hires up for success, so start by making them feel genuinely welcome. I suggest being clear about what’s expected of them but also taking time to explain how the team works together and communicates. Pair them with someone who can show them the ropes—it’s easier to settle in when there’s a go-to person for questions. Check-in regularly, not just about their work but how they’re feeling about everything. And don’t forget to celebrate their early wins, it builds confidence and shows they’re already making an impact.
Evan Tzivanakis
L&D Director, EU Business School
Structure Plans Around The Individual
Over the years I have listened to graduates expressing nervousness about starting their first job, being unsure often of what they can expect. And so, for managers onboarding new team members, particularly graduates (though not limited to) it is not only key to structure a plan around the role, but also the individual. Set short-term goals to provide direction, possible quick wins and schedule weekly check in and connected conversations for confidence-building. Assigning a work buddy or mentor is further highly effective and welcoming for a new employee, as navigating a new workplace can sometimes be daunting and this way they feel supported.
Elise McCabe
Founder, Career Transition Strategist, Career Coach, Outplacement Specialist, Career Management Consulting
Emphasize Feedback Culture
Tell them you are a feedback culture on day 1. This sounds like, “On our team, we readily share (and as for) feedback to help us all learn and grow. We use our weekly 1:1s as a regular forum to share feedback, as well as our more formal review process.” By telling them feedback is an important part of how your team functions, it eases the job of both giving and receiving feedback for both the manager and the new employee. It’s just “what we do” on our team.
Cecilia Gorman
Management Training Consultant, Manager Boot Camp
Facilitate Team Bonding
To successfully onboard a new team member, great leaders set aside time for the full team to come together and get to know each other. Having everyone prepare a brief “get to know me” slide or having each person answer a few short questions about themselves, expedites the trust building factor. The team who knows each other on a human level, builds work on top of a strong foundation.
Lara Heacock
Executive Coach, Lara Heacock Coaching & Consulting
Set Clear Expectations Early
My best advice for managers who are onboarding new team members can be summed up in a few sentences. First, make sure expectations are set from the beginning. There is nothing worse than feeling like you were told one thing in orientation and another once the training wheels are off. Next, give the new hires a list of personnel they can reach out to for questions on specific tasks. An example would be if they need help with remembering how to check their email, they can reach out to Melissa because she is proficient at that task and can reeducate your new hire if needed. Lastly, patience. Set the realistic expectation that they will make mistakes and that is a part of learning.
Katie Thomas
Operations Assistant, Argon Agency
Rename Onboarding To Welcome And Orientation
STOP calling it onboarding. That is such a horrible word. For me it conjures up images of steamer trunks being manhandled onto an ocean liner. Language is a critical ingredient in leadership and organisational culture. Calling this process “Welcome and Orientation” may be a bit longer, but it sounds infinitely more personal and appealing. Typically “onboarding” processes are boring and impersonal. They are about rules and regulations.
Think of welcome and orientation as a process of 1) introduction—bilateral getting to know each other, and 2) giving them as much context as possible so they can hit the ground running. Leaders involved in the process should create exciting audio visual content so that the important details can be reproduced for all new hires in an engaging way, and so that the leader’s interactions can be focused on getting to know each other and on answering questions.
Janet du Preez (MSc MOTI)
Leadership & Organisational Development Consultant, Engagement Dynamics
Check In Regularly
Most organizations have a standard Onboarding Agenda. I suggest that managers check-in with new hires after the first few sessions to see what the new team mate is missing. We want to meet new team members where they are at, especially in a new environment and these simple questions will keep the conversation going and engage the new hire. As a manager and leader, ask questions with regularity about the transition to see how your new team mate is acclimating. Provide “Unreasonable Hospitality—the remarkable power of giving people more than they expect” in the narrative of Will Guidara. This will set new hires up for exceptional success.
Diane Fennig
Senior Consultant, The Gallagher Group – Executive Search & Leadership Advisors
Teach Company Culture
Think Culture. What are the traits of those who do well at your firm? Catalog them and help new hires understand “the way we do it around here.”
Chip Roper
Managing Partner, RKE Partners
Streamline The Onboarding Process
Creating a streamlined onboarding process is one of the best ways managers and employers can set themselves, and their new hires, up for success. My best piece of advice is not to lose sight of this.
Your company’s onboarding process is your first opportunity to show your newly hired employees that you care about their well-being. It can leave a strong first impression and help shape employees’ perceptions of your organization and their willingness to stay long-term.
While the employee onboarding process is important for companies of all sizes, many employers fail to have a structured process.
Creating a streamlined employee onboarding process is imperative to ensure employees are cared for and your organization succeeds. This involves careful planning and structure to ensure a smooth transition for new hires. It’s crucial to provide comprehensive job training, support, and the necessary resources to help new employees acclimate to their new environment and feel welcomed by their new employer.
Leveraging technology and outsourcing onboarding tasks to trusted third parties is one way to overcome challenges associated with creating a streamlined onboarding process. By automating and outsourcing time-consuming tasks, employers can significantly enhance the onboarding experience. Doing so ensures a fast and effective onboarding process that not only improves accuracy, compliance, and the employee experience but also allows your HR and payroll teams to focus on more strategic initiatives.
Anne Obee
VP Product & Strategy, Experian Employer Services
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