Welcome Home: Why Onboarding is the Front Porch of the Employee Experience
At Haus of Human, we believe onboarding isn’t just paperwork and passwords. It’s the front porch of your company — the space where first impressions are made, connections are sparked, and people decide whether they feel truly welcome.
Why is it important?
That first week on the job isn’t just about setting up Slack and figuring out how to request PTO. It’s about answering a bigger question: Do I belong here? If your onboarding experience doesn’t answer that with a resounding yes, you’re likely already losing trust, momentum, and maybe even your newest team member.
In an increasingly remote world, this matters more than ever. Over 40 million workers will go fully remote in the next few years — and remote employees face unique challenges when it comes to building connection, understanding culture, and ramping with confidence.
The Cost of a Meh Onboarding Experience
Poor onboarding leads to higher turnover and lost productivity. That’s not just a “nice to fix” — it’s a business issue. Consider these stats:
- Companies with strong onboarding improve retention by 82%
- Employees who have a positive onboarding experience are 18x more committed to their organization
- Well-designed onboarding ramps employees to full productivity 34% faster
Translation: investing in onboarding is investing in your people and your bottom line.
So, What Makes a Stellar Onboarding Experience?
Here’s what we’ve learned at Haus of Human — and what we build for our clients every day:
1. Start Before Day One
The welcome mat goes out early. Great onboarding begins the moment a candidate says “yes.” That might mean a personalized offer box, a welcome video from the CEO, or a quick check-in from their future team. These small gestures create human moments that build connection and trust — long before the first official onboarding session.
2. Don’t Cram the Curriculum
Nobody wants to drink from the firehose. Spacing onboarding across the first week (and beyond) gives new hires the chance to actually absorb what they’re learning. Mix live sessions, e-learning, and self-guided tasks to reduce cognitive overload while maximizing engagement.
3. Involve IT Early
Nothing derails momentum like a laptop that won’t connect or missing system permissions. Looping IT into the onboarding plan early — ideally with a dedicated 1:1 support session — makes new hires feel supported and ready to roll.
4. Prioritize Company Onboarding Over Departmental Tasks
Yes, teams are eager to get their new hire contributing — but slow down. The first week should be focused on the company — culture, values, purpose, and cross-functional understanding. Departmental onboarding should complement, not compete with, this higher-level context.
5. Build in Social Connection
Remote onboarding can be lonely. That’s why we champion group learning activities that feel more like a gathering than a training. Use fun prompts, cross-functional icebreakers, or brand value discussions to turn strangers into Slack buddies.
6. Extend the Experience
Onboarding isn’t a one-week affair. Keep the porch light on by designing a 30-60-90 day plan that includes leadership Q&As, intro sessions with ERGs, and opportunities for feedback. New hires should feel like their integration into the company is supported, intentional, and ongoing.
7. Measure and Iterate
You can’t improve what you don’t track. Collect feedback from new hires and hiring managers at multiple points. Ask about clarity, connection, confidence — and make space for candid insights. Then, do something with it. A continuously evolving onboarding process signals to employees that you care about their experience and their voice.
Onboarding is your front porch. Make it warm, make it welcoming, and above all — make it human. Ready to reimagine your onboarding experience? Haus of Human can help you create a front porch that makes every new hire feel at home.
