Culture & Engagement Onboarding Strategy
Turning new joiners into confident culture carriers — from day one
🎓 100% onboarding reach | 🧭 Culture, recognition, and wellbeing embedded from day one | 🎯 Boosted first-quarter engagement | 💬 Celebration built into every new hire’s journey
🔍 The Challenge: Helping New Hires Go Beyond the Basics
Starting a new job should feel exciting, not overwhelming.
At Reward Gateway | Edenred, we noticed that while new employees were being welcomed, they weren’t always confident in how to engage with our internal tools, culture, or communications.
They weren’t sure:
Where to find important updates
How to use recognition and wellbeing platforms
Or how our tools connected to our mission and values
Managers also needed help starting these conversations early.
We knew we had to make onboarding not just informative — but connective.
📌 Background: Turning Onboarding into Culture Activation
Culture shouldn’t be something new hires discover later — it should be something they feel from day one.
That’s why I created and led Making Room for boom! — a 60-minute, high-energy onboarding session designed to bridge the gap between people, platforms, and purpose.
Part of our broader engagement strategy, this session introduced new joiners to:
Our internal comms rhythms
Our recognition ecosystem
Our wellbeing strategy and benefits
And most importantly, how it all connects to our EVP and mission
This wasn’t just orientation.
It was an invitation to participate in our culture from the start.
🛠️ My Role: Program Design, Delivery & Culture Integration
I owned the full strategy, facilitation, and global rollout of the onboarding session, tailoring content for hybrid teams across regions and roles.
Key initiatives included:
Program Design & Content
Created a 60-minute onboarding session covering:
Internal comms (e.g., Mission Monday, Feel-Good Friday)
Recognition programs (eCards, Goal Awards, Milestones)
Wellbeing tools (Wellbeing+ Hub, HEART strategy, EPIC Networks)
Our tech stack (SmartHub™, Connect+ App, feedback tools)
Embedded the AVI model (Action, Value, Impact) to build stronger appreciation habits
Delivered content in both live and recorded formats to support flexible participation
Making room for boom! overview
Interactive Learning & Platform Familiarization
Guided tour of boom!, our employee engagement platform
Scavenger hunt and team-building tasks to encourage tool exploration
Real-time participation:
Blog commenting
Profile updates
Peer-to-peer shoutouts
Prompted app downloads and digest opt-ins for mobile engagement
Manager Enablement
Included a dedicated section for leaders with practical recognition tips
Introduced the 1+1+1 habit challenge:
Daily: Say thank you
Weekly: Send an eCard
Monthly: Nominate or reward someone
💥 The Results: A Better Start That Stuck
The session became a key touchpoint in building early connection, confidence, and clarity.
📈 100% onboarding attendance across all geographies
💬 Every new joiner received scheduled recognition at 30, 60, and 90 days
🎯 Increased early engagement with recognition, wellbeing, and comms platforms
🧭 New hires left with a strong understanding of our EVP, mission, and internal ecosystem
🧡 Managers reported feeling more equipped to embed culture conversations from day one
❤️ Why It Matters
People don’t just want a job — they want to feel part of something.
Making Room for boom! helped new employees understand the “why” behind our culture, while giving them the tools and confidence to participate in it.
It turned onboarding from a one-way download into a two-way experience — one that sparked connection, built trust, and made day one feel like belonging.
