How to create a people-first onboarding experience with Kath Myers (MD, Milk & Honey PR)

First impressions count, especially when it comes to welcoming new talent to your team. Engaging top talent doesn’t stop when you make your hire. The initial few weeks in a new job are daunting. There are new colleagues, a new culture and new clients to navigate. So how can you create an outstanding employee onboarding experience to ensure new hires feel at-home?

Having built a reputation as a people-first employer and brilliant place to work, Milk & Honey are experts at welcoming new hires. We asked Kath Myers (Milk & Honey’s MD) for her top tips on creating a people-first onboarding experience. Here’s what she had to say:

1. Start early.

“Onboarding should start right from the offer stage. Provide new starters with joiner information in advance, tell them what to expect, and make them feel part of the team already.”

2. Be prepared for their first day.

“Sounds obvious but make sure you are ready for your new starters so they can get up and running quickly. Have their laptop/phone ready, software installed, email and logins setup, useful bookmarks saved etc.”

3. Make time for them.

“It’s as simple as that. Ensure their line manager and the broader team has blocked out time to spend with them in their first few days and weeks.”

4. Introduce them to the wider team.

“Make sure some internal comms goes out to the wider team, introducing new team members and sharing a little bit about them professionally and personally – encourage people to say hi and welcome them.”

5. Make them feel special with a gift.

“To make them feel welcome, our new starters get a personalised gift, either before joining or on their first day. We take them out to lunch and organise a team social in the first month.”

Liked these tips? You’ll like our podcast episode where we chat to Milk & Honey PR’s MD Kath Myers and dive into the world of employer branding, with actionable advice to help PR agency leaders build their reputation, activate their values, and attract top talent. Give it a listen here.

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P.S. If you’re a PR agency looking to attract and engage PR talent, we’d love to help. Email: [email protected] or get in touch via our ‘Contact Us’ page.