What Is An Onboarding Experience And Why Does It Matter?
Starting a new job is an important period both for the employee and the company. For employees, it’s the start of a new chapter in their lives, and they’re usually filled with excitement, but a bit of stress, too. That’s where onboarding comes in. The onboarding experience and the examples we’ll see below are the process of welcoming new hires into a company and guiding them through a smooth transition to help them succeed in their new role as soon as possible.
Basically, an onboarding experience eliminates that feeling of being a fish out of water during your first day at a new job. With this process, the company shows you’re welcome there, and you have all the support to find everything you need in order to feel comfortable and be productive early on. This is why the onboarding experience should start even before day one. It might include a welcome email, information about the team, or even a note about what to expect. Then, on your first day, you can meet your manager and teammates, understand the company culture, learn the tools and systems, and, of course, complete the necessary paperwork.
Why does it matter, though? First impressions are everything, and the onboarding experience is your first glimpse of the new company. A positive and organized process shows that the company values you, making you feel more confident and appreciated immediately. Without further ado, let’s explore how companies can ace that first impression by showing you what’s included in a solid employee onboarding experience, as well as 10 onboarding experience examples of famous companies to learn from the best.
What Makes The Best Employee Onboarding Experience?
Comprehensive Orientation
A good orientation should make you feel like you belong in the company from day one. It’s not just about HR handing you paperwork or informing you about company policies. Instead, it’s about creating an experience that answers all your questions, eases your mind, and builds trust. Hence, a comprehensive orientation introduces employees to the company culture, values, and goals in a genuine and engaging way. Also, it allows them to ask questions, share their thoughts, and start forming connections with their teammates.
Clear Expectations
A new job can feel overwhelming with all the new faces, processes, and tools. Without clear expectations, it’s easy for a new hire to feel lost, and this is why they should know what’s expected of them in their role from day one. This means stating not just their responsibilities but also how their work contributes to the team and company goals. With this clarity, they’re more likely to feel confident and motivated to begin working more productively. It’s also about communication. Regular check-ins during onboarding allow newcomers to ask questions, clarify things they’re unsure of, and get feedback to become better.
Supportive Mentoring
A mentor serves as a guide for new employees, offering encouragement, important information, and feedback. Upon entering the workplace, your new staffers should be paired with an experienced employee who understands the company culture, can inform them about their role, and help them build relationships with their colleagues. A supportive mentor should be able to listen to and answer the new hires’ questions and share insider tips that can help them integrate into the organizational family quickly. Knowing you have a supporter during the stressful first weeks of a new job makes the onboarding experience much more positive and smooth.
Engaging Training
Nobody wants to sit through hours of dull presentations or read through outdated manuals. This is why training should be engaging and tailored to the role and each employee’s goals. What you can do to make training more interactive and exciting is add real-life scenarios, hands-on activities, and opportunities for collaboration. For instance, try role-playing, solving a team problem together, or using gamification. Engaging training also means recognizing different learning preferences. Some people learn by practicing, others by reading, and some by watching. Offering videos, workshops, and online modules helps make the onboarding experience more memorable.
Personal Connection
While covering the basics, like company policies and job expectations, don’t forget to build a personal connection with your new employee during the onboarding process. For instance, you can take them to the break room for a coffee and start casual conversations that other colleagues can join. It’s more welcoming than handing them documents or engaging them in training immediately. This makes people feel like they’re part of your corporate family from day one. And when people feel connected to their coworkers, they’re more likely to engage, collaborate, and grow.
Continuous Feedback
How will your new staffers know they’re on the right path? Through continuous feedback. Starting a new job without guidance can make even the most confident employees feel lost. By offering regular and constructive feedback as soon as they step into the office, you help your new team members get better prepared and build confidence. Feedback also shows you care about their development. If a new hire excels at their tasks but struggles with time management, for example, you can let them know to put them back on track.
Meaningful Involvement
As soon as your new employees start their first day, you should give them opportunities to participate and contribute, even during the onboarding phase. For example, instead of simply sitting through presentations, they could follow team members around, take part in brainstorming sessions, or contribute to real projects. Why does this matter? Because people are more likely to feel connected and invested when they see how their skills and ideas have an immediate impact. It also gives new hires the chance to become more confident and form relationships with their colleagues early on.
Evaluation And Growth
The onboarding experience must focus on evaluation and growth. New hires need to know what’s expected of them right away. From clear job descriptions to regular feedback, they should know exactly how they fit into the company in order to grow in it. Thus, an important part of onboarding is showing employees how they can thrive. Introduce them to training programs and mentorship opportunities to show them that you invest not only in their current role but in their future as well. Employees who see a chance to grow are more likely to commit and stay with you for a long time.
10 Best Employee Onboarding Experience Examples
1. Google
Google’s onboarding experience is one of the most efficient and supportive processes out there. At least according to the people who’ve lived it. They provide managers with a simple and effective checklist, including tasks like onboarding buddies and one-on-one meetings regarding the company’s mission and values. This ensures employees feel supported without being overwhelmed.
2. Netflix
Netflix’s motto in its onboarding experience is “freedom and responsibility.” How does it reflect that in its onboarding process? It offers new hires autonomy from the start, encouraging them to make decisions, work on projects, and take ownership of their own learning. This makes newcomers feel like they are part of the family immediately and more comfortable sharing their ideas.
3. Airbnb
Airbnb prides itself on having one of the most personalized onboarding experience examples. They send out a fun preboarding package filled with important information about their mission, core values, and culture, as well as what each employee can expect during the onboarding process. Once they’re onboard, new hires go through orientation, where they meet their peers and get paired with mentors who guide them.
4. Zappos
At Zappos, they’re so confident about their onboarding process that they offer $2,000 to newcomers to quit if they feel that the job doesn’t fit them. This ensures that only the right people stay—the ones who completely fit into the company’s culture. What about the process itself? They offer an immersive employee onboarding experience, where new members dive into a training program highlighting Zappos’ customer service philosophy. They also get to explore different departments, which helps them see the big picture of the company.
5. LinkedIn
LinkedIn combines practical training with networking opportunities. As a networking platform, they couldn’t do it any other way. So, they allow new employees to participate in team-building activities, personal development workshops, and even community service. They also encourage them to leverage LinkedIn as much as possible to build connections within and outside the company. For them, it’s about learning while building relationships.
6. Shopify
Shopify creates personalized onboarding paths for each position. New hires receive personalized content that reflects their roles and responsibilities, courses that focus on the skills they’re interested in, and mentors tailored to their position. This customization ensures employees feel prepared for their role and valued right from the start.
7. Microsoft
At Microsoft, each new team member receives a personalized onboarding plan that includes training modules tailored specifically to their role. And since collaboration is at the core of their culture, they pair new hires with mentors and encourage everyone to connect and network with their colleagues across different teams. They also focus on career development, thus providing extensive skills training programs.
8. Adobe
Adobe ensures a warm and welcoming onboarding experience for new employees by guiding them through an orientation program that helps them familiarize themselves with the company’s products, services, and culture. What’s really special about this onboarding experience example is Adobe’s focus on creativity and innovation. This is why they prompt their people to express their uniqueness and share their perspectives and ideas.
9. HubSpot
First impressions matter, and HubSpot knows it. When new hires join, they are greeted with an exciting onboarding experience. They get an onboarding buddy, learn about the company’s mission and values, and get insights into the industry and market trends. Most importantly, HubSpot equips new hires with the skills and knowledge they need as soon as possible.
10. Meta
Meta offers a unique onboarding bootcamp for engineers, allowing them to explore different teams before they decide which to join. During these first weeks, they learn about Meta’s products and services and focus on bootcamp tasks, not real projects. This allows them to have full control over their career path in the company and decide themselves in which team they will be able to grow and enhance their skills better.
4 Tips To Level Up Your Onboarding Experience
1. Take Stock Of User Goals
Acing onboarding isn’t just about teaching users how to navigate their roles and responsibilities. It’s about connecting with them on a deeper level. One of the best ways to do that is to consider their goals right from the start. Every employee has something different in mind when they begin a new job, and instead of guessing what it is, you should ask them. A simple questionnaire or a quick survey can give you valuable insights. Once you know what they’re aiming for, customize their experience with that and their role in mind.
2. Leverage UI Tactics
Nobody likes to feel confused or overwhelmed by complicated software. When onboarding employees, use platforms with clean, intuitive layouts to guide them step by step. After all, this is what all the companies in our onboarding experience examples do. As far as visuals are concerned, add progress bars or checklists to show newcomers how they move through the process. This keeps them engaged and motivated to continue.
3. Segment Users
As we mentioned above, each employee has different requirements. Segmenting helps you tailor the experience to match your recruits’ needs, making them feel understood and valued from day one. Start by gathering data such as their goals, preferences, or roles. Then, create personalized onboarding paths. For example, a beginner in the position might appreciate step-by-step guidance, while an experienced employee would prefer advanced tips. You can also leverage segmentation to send personalized emails and even custom tutorials.
4. Test, Tweak, And Track
When it comes to onboarding, testing, tweaking, and tracking can make all the difference. First, experiment with different onboarding methods like video tutorials, welcome kits, or one-on-one meetings and test which ones click with your new hires. Once you gain feedback, it’s time to refine. Did your team find some parts too lengthy? Then, shorten them. Were they confused about certain policies? Try to explain things differently. Finally, measure the success of your onboarding process through surveys or analytics to see how well your new employees are adapting.
Conclusion
Creating the best employee onboarding experiences is all about making new hires feel welcome, supported, and excited about their journey. The onboarding experience examples we shared above clearly reflect that, as they focus on clear communication, engaging activities, and meaningful connections. From personalized orientation and mentorship programs to immersive activities, these examples show that a company should value its people from day one. When done right, onboarding makes employees feel confident, appreciated, and ready to contribute.
