10 Ways to Welcome New Employees and Interns Into a Culture of Recognition

Various employee retention studies find that anywhere from 30-40% of new hires are making plans to leave in their first months on the job.

Why is this? A key reason is poorly structured onboarding. Expectations don’t align with experiences, information is dense and scattered, and they don’t feel as welcome as they hoped.

Hiring interns and new employees can add new skills and fresh perspectives to your company. However, their contributions can easily be overlooked or questioned. Recognizing and rewarding their achievements can help them feel like they actually belong on your team.

More importantly, it strengthens your culture of recognition instead of threatening it.

Why include recognition during onboarding?

Introducing recognition during the immediate post-hire, preboarding, and active onboarding stages has a few advantages:

• Immediate confidence boost. Let someone know they’re “doing it right” frequently with informal shoutouts. Self-doubt and confusion are the biggest hangups for new people.
• Faster integration into the culture. We don’t age out of worrying about fitting in. Companies with a positive culture bring new hires into the fold right away and include them in all rituals.
• Gets ahead of turnover. Recognition that starts before day one and never goes away helps eliminate shift shock. It makes people feel more comfortable asking for assistance when they need it.
• Give them a fair shot at high engagement. It’s much harder to engage employees who come in feeling doubtful or uncertain. Positive feedback is motivating and encourages participation.

10 Recognition and reward ideas for interns and new employees

Recognizing your new employees’ and interns’ contributions makes them feel welcome and hopeful for the future. Including rewards further incentivizes participation and commitment to collective goals.

1. Introducing peer recognition tools.

Peer recognition feels more authentic to employees because it catches the small acts managers may miss. It’s also an early intro to positive reinforcement from coworkers, not just HR.

With HeyTaco, employees can send up to five virtual tacos to their peers daily. This limit encourages team members to think carefully about their peers’ contributions and show appreciation for behaviors they value most.

2. Social media shoutouts and introductions.

Celebrate your new employees and interns by sharing their accomplishments on your company’s social media accounts. Alternatively, share a short profile that introduces them to a broader audience. It encourages engagement from followers and reinforces the values your company prides itself on.

Ask your new employee or intern for permission to post the shoutout. Make sure they’re comfortable being praised publicly before you share their accomplishments with your company’s social media followers.

3. Reinforce a sense of belonging by including them on the website.

How often does your company get around to updating staff bios and web pages? With those first weeks and months being so high-risk, don’t hesitate to add new additions to the public roster.

It’s an easy and free way to recognize their contributions as official members of your team. Leaving it for later can create the impression that what they’re doing is a trial period and that the team hasn’t truly accepted them.

4. Welcome them in internal communications like newsletters, too.

Larger teams should introduce new hires and interns through internal communications like newsletters. Include pictures of your new hires, along with their names and roles. Optionally, include fun facts about your new hires, such as their hobbies and interests outside the workplace.

This reduces how often someone has to introduce themselves. It’s one thing to get better acquainted with your collaborators. It can feel repetitive and intimidating to keep explaining who you are to contacts in other departments.

5. Show them the ropes inside the Taco Shop.

Recognition programs feel logical and fair when employees know how they work. This is even more important for the rewards portion. After employees earn tacos, they can visit the Taco Shop. Show them how they can redeem tacos for prizes such as taco trophies, movie tickets, a taco dinner, or a company T-shirt.

Need reward ideas for your team? Check out our list of meaningful HeyTaco rewards for over 30 ways to celebrate your employees and interns.

6. Offer quick, accessible positive reinforcement with a classic gift card.

A tangible reward early in their tenure may be more impactful than waiting around to earn enough tacos. Reward a successfully completed training or reinforce an early value with a gift card.

The more personal a reward is, the more meaningful and memorable it will be for your employees. If one of your new employees recently moved to your city, reward them with a membership to a local museum that just unveiled a new exhibit. If one of your interns can’t stop talking about fishing on the weekends, reward them with a gift card to a bait and tackle shop or sporting goods store.

7. Hype up wellness days as a reward.

Work-life respect and well-being matter more to employees than ever. Wellness days show people are seen and valued as humans, not just employees.

Rewarding your team with wellness day activities boosts morale and reduces stress. They’re important preventatives for the burnout that hurts retention and engagement. Be sure new hires and interns are aware when you offer:

• Stress management workshops
• Meditation classes
• Cooking classes
• Fitness challenges
• Creativity workshops
• Massages

8. Get everyone psyched for some birthday PTO.

Celebrating employee birthdays is a common part of any recognition program. Let newbies know they’re welcome to a day off on or around their birthday, if it falls on a weekend or holiday.

Offering paid time off for birthdays also encourages employees and interns to use their paid time at different times throughout the year. That way, everyone’s not rushing to use up the bulk of their PTO before the year ends. It can help to prevent your workplace from being short-staffed during specific times.

9. Keep up the longstanding tradition of making Fridays fun.

TGIF rituals, casual Fridays, and other enduring traditions are worth keeping around. Dedicate part of Fridays to helping your team unwind at the end of the week. This is another great cultural feature that new people view favorably.

You can have your employees participate in weekly team-building activities or have a team chat celebration to cheer the week’s wins. Extended breaks or time dedicated to playing catch-up are also welcome.

10. Handwritten notes

Handwritten notes are a simple yet meaningful way to show appreciation for your new hires and interns. Be specific in your message, naming achievements or contributions that they’ve already made.

Offering tangible messages of appreciation early in their tenure creates positive core memories. This can be a major factor in the “pro” category if they start wondering whether the company is right for them.

Recognition + rewards = Job success and strong retention.

Recognizing and rewarding your employees and interns for their accomplishments and contributions early on makes them more likely to stick around and do the same.

With HeyTaco, you can easily integrate peer-to-peer recognition and rewards into your company’s work culture. Here’s what innovation consultancy Haze Shift discovered when they began including recognition in their onboarding:

• New hires received welcome recognition on their first day
• Early contributions were celebrated, building confidence
• Culture values became visible through recognition patterns

Try HeyTaco for free to start every new hire and intern on a positive note.