great onboarding: putting people before process.

In hospitality, our welcome to guests is representative of our brand, a promise of the experience to come. So why should welcoming new team members be any different?  

How you onboard new team members says everything about the employer you are. And if you’re a people-centric brand, then your onboarding should be too.

In an industry facing high attrition rates, hiring challenges, and poor engagement, onboarding is a vital tool for success. But it often becomes a tedious maze of checklists, and the people we are welcoming get lost in the process.

Yes, onboarding should orient people and get them started in their role. But more than that, it should be about showing them, from day one, that they matter and that they belong. It should reflect the promises made during the interview process.

onboarding that stands out.

At mum, we work with people-centric employers, and their onboarding stands out from the rest. Here are some of their best onboarding tips, to help put your people ahead of your process:

1. preboarding.

There’s a gap of silence between when someone accepts a job and their start date. But this is a great time to start onboarding. Some call it ‘preboarding’; light-touch contact that continues the connection made at the interview stage.

Pre-boarding communication might include:

• A personalised welcome message from the future team or manager.

• A short video showcasing the culture and values of the business.

• Access to a digital welcome pack tailored to the new hire and their learning style.

• A discount voucher to allow your new hire to experience your offering with family or friends.

• An introduction to a buddy, who will be a connection and support in their early weeks.

These actions send a powerful message; you’re already part of the team, and we’re already invested in you. You matter.

2. personalise the journey.

Every new hire’s onboarding journey should feel like it’s been built with them in mind.

Alongside the structured and consistent onboarding that everyone should receive, build in flexible elements that reflect the specific role and the person joining. No two roles are quite the same, and no two people bring the same background, strengths, and needs. So why pretend one path fits all?

First, have a quick check-in with new hires to understand the best approach for them. Let them know you want their onboarding to meet their needs, by asking them these questions:

• What do they feel they need to know, to succeed quickly?

• How do they prefer to learn; videos, hands-on, conversation, bite-sized reading?

• Are there any additional support needs/accommodations required?

• Do they have any immediate questions?

3. use tech to connect you, not replace you.

We love a smart onboarding App and a well-designed platform can help people complete basic training, understand company policies, and access daily updates in a way that suits them.

But onboarding tech should free up your time so you can focus on the people in front of you. There’s no way an App can replace a warm smile, a handshake, and a conversation. It can’t offer individual help or show an interest in the person, and it can’t connect you, human to human.

4. buddy up.

Joining a fast-paced hospitality team can be overwhelming. Especially in those first few weeks when everything is new and you don’t know who to ask.

A buddy system can help ground new hires and help them feel supported.

A buddy isn’t just someone to shadow or point out where the bathrooms are. They check in, navigate and orient new hires, share stories, and help transmit culture in a way that no handbook or App can. It doesn’t feel like more scheduling. It’s personal in approach, from one employee to another.

5. listen well then act.

Onboarding can involve a huge amount of listening. Sadly, its often one sided, with new hires forced to sit through endless videos and information sessions with little regard to whether they’re absorbing it.

But employers who put people at the centre of their business actively create space to really listen to their teams, especially in those first few weeks and months.

To support this, create in-person check-ins where new team members are heard. This is not just “how’s it going?” but deeper conversations about how they’re feeling, what’s working, and what needs a tweak. There are platforms to help with this, but again, don’t let the tech take place of human conversation. The objective is to listen, hear, and then make the adjustments needed to support that individual.

6. evidence your values and culture.

More than ever, people are looking for meaning in their work. They will have chosen to work with you partly based on the values of your business. Onboarding is when they start to see whether the claims you made about your culture hold weight.

Here are some ways to bring your values and culture to life for new hires:

• Inclusive storytelling, showcasing diverse role models.

• Training on environmental practices.

• Starting honest and ongoing conversations about growth, wellbeing, and purpose (as part of consistent career conversations).

In this way, onboarding paves the way for a deeper relationship built on shared values.

your people are your customers.

Hospitality rests on how we treat one another, and onboarding provides that crucial first moment where we show people who we are and how it feels to work with us.

Let’s onboard people the way we’d want to be welcomed, as the most important customers to walk through the door.