Introducing New Hires to your Company Culture and Values (+ Template)

For many job seekers, company culture – and alignment with company values – are high on the list of considerations when evaluating a potential employer. And, as we all know, a positive and supportive company culture has the power to enhance productivity, engagement, and even retention.

Getting new hires properly acquainted with company culture and values should be a central part of every onboarding program. That’s because it’s the best opportunity to tell your culture stories, set expectations, and help your new employees feel they are part of the culture (not just observing it from outside). In fact, a survey by Talmundo revealed that more than three-quarters (79%) of employees said their onboarding program helped them integrate into and understand the culture at their new employer.

Assuming you’ve already identified your company’s core values, figuring out how to incorporate them into your onboarding communication may seem a little daunting. After all, it’s pretty clear this will require something different than a splashy video or a bullet-point-riddled slide deck. While you can certainly use those tools (sparingly) to tell your culture stories, it takes a little creativity and strategy to tell those stories in an authentic, meaningful way.

Experiencing company culture starts early

By the time a new employee reports for their first day on the job, they’ve already had a taste of your company culture. That experience starts early in the recruiting process. They gather impressions from your company’s online presence, the steps and timeline of the application and interview process, and from every person they interact with along the way. By the time a candidate accepts a job offer, they already have some strong clues about what to expect from the company culture.

Hopefully, this means they have a realistic take on what it will be like to join your team – and that at least some of the company values align with their personal values. Regardless, it’s essential to include information about your company culture and core values in your onboarding process. Doing so could mean turning your new hire into a productive, engaged team member, while leaving culture and values out of the new hire conversation could lead to confusion, discomfort, and disengagement.

Orienting new hires to company culture

If there’s any chance a new hire got the wrong impression of your culture during the recruiting process, it will take more than presentations and handouts to correct that impression. Communicating effectively about culture is incredibly important – but walking the walk will always supersede anything a manager or HR person has to say.

Even so, making culture and values part of your structured onboarding program increases the likelihood that your new employees will stay longer, be more productive, and experience higher levels of job satisfaction.

And, in the short term, communicating about company culture and core values – whether realized or aspirational – sets clear expectations and ensures that all new hires are hearing the same messages. That’s something you can’t assume they will get based on their subjective experiences with the recruiting process, given that they may have met with different people and on different timelines to finally land a job offer.

What do new hires need to know about company culture and core values?

Rather than trying to tell new hires what your culture is, show them how your culture is reflected – in your people policies, benefit offerings, and other initiatives.

Here are some examples of how you can communicate with new hires about your company culture and values. 

• If flexibility is a central part of your culture, detail your remote and hybrid work arrangements, flexible schedules, and PTO policies.
• If diversity and inclusion are high priorities, introduce new hires to your employee resource groups (ERGs), pay equity and promotion policies, and initiatives around reducing bias and promoting inclusive language.
• If entrepreneurship is a key value, explain the programs and practices at your company that support skill building, mentoring, and career pathing.
• If transparency is important at your company, give new hires examples of what this looks like, even if you need to draw from past events.
• If your company prioritizes agility, demonstrate how that manifests – through policies and programs as well as real-world examples of adapting to past challenges.

These are just a few examples of core values that many companies are committed to. To learn about how to communicate about other components of company culture and values with new hires, check out our accompanying template.

Navigating culture in onboarding

Aligning new hires with company culture begins far earlier than their first day at work. New employees form impressions during the recruitment process that shape their expectations, underscoring the importance of accurately portraying your company culture.

While presentations are valuable, culture truly resonates through lived experiences. Integrating culture into structured onboarding not only sets expectations but also cultivates engagement and satisfaction. Clear communication that’s reflected in policies ensures consistency, guiding newcomers through their organizational journey.

Use this template to help determine what types of information and stories to tell based on your company’s core values and specific culture.