5 Steps to Align New Employees With Core Company Values
Aligning new employees with core company values is a critical step in building a cohesive and productive workforce. This article presents expert-backed strategies to seamlessly integrate fresh talent into your organization's culture. From value-based onboarding to fostering community through hands-on experiences, discover practical steps that accelerate engagement and ensure new hires embody your company's ethos from day one.
- Accelerate Engagement Through Value-Based Onboarding
- Immerse New Hires in Real Work
- Integrate Core Values into Daily Operations
- Implement Buddy System and Goal Alignment
- Foster Community Through Hands-On Value Integration
Accelerate Engagement Through Value-Based Onboarding
I define the purpose of onboarding as accelerating new hires' ability to engage in your culture, feel that they belong, and start to perform to their best. By understanding onboarding from this lens, it becomes less focused on paperwork and more focused on connecting new hires to the organization. A significant part of this connection, in fact maybe even the core part, stems from aligning new hires with organizational values. This is because values aren't just empty words on a slide deck; they represent the central beliefs and principles of an organization, the tenets that define why you make the decisions you do, why you each behave the way you do (otherwise known as culture), and keep the organization moving forward towards its goals. When new employees are connected with these values during onboarding, their sense of belonging and commitment increases, which leads to quicker and deeper engagement and therefore performance.
The most effective way I have found to showcase organizational values in onboarding is through storytelling and interactive activities that bring them to life. Storytelling can be done in a variety of ways. I like to show videos from organizational leaders talking about the values, employees talking about how they utilize the values in their day-to-day actions and decisions, and even customers talking about how employee demonstration of the values meant something to them. For the interactive portion, I like to have a facilitated discussion with new hires to reflect on how these values resonate with them personally and then explore how the values relate to the roles they have been hired to perform.
Rather than a passive list on a slide, these kinds of actions bring values to life and make them "stickier" for new hires. When new hires feel invested in these values through thoughtful design, they become more than yet another piece of information to remember from onboarding; they become the foundation for quicker integration, increased connection and belonging, and accelerated engagement and performance.
Immerse New Hires in Real Work
When someone joins Spectup, we don't just throw them a slide deck of company values and call it a day. It's more like immersion therapy. From day one, new team members are involved in real client work—guided, of course—so they feel the pace, pressure, and purpose we operate with. I remember a new consultant who joined mid-project. Instead of shadowing passively, they were tasked with dissecting a startup's go-to-market deck alongside one of our team members. Not only did they get their hands dirty right away, but they also saw how our values—like no-fluff communication and real accountability—actually show up in meetings and client calls.
We also run short weekly alignment sessions for new hires during their first month, where we talk through recent decisions we made as a team—why we made them, how they reflect our principles. It's not theory; it's lived values. One thing I've found especially effective is encouraging open disagreement early on. If someone challenges something constructively, it usually means they're tuned in. And let's be honest, if you can't speak up here, you're in the wrong place.
Integrate Core Values into Daily Operations
At Fulfill.com, we believe that strong alignment with our core values starts from day one. Our onboarding process combines structured learning with immersive experiences to ensure new team members naturally embody our values.
We begin with what I call our "3C" approach: Company, Culture, and Craft. New hires spend their first week understanding our mission of connecting eCommerce businesses with the right 3PL partners, the values that drive us, and the technical aspects of their roles.
One particularly effective practice is our shadowing program. New employees partner with experienced team members across departments to witness our values in action. This isn't just about observing—it's about experiencing how we prioritize transparency with clients and partners, how we approach problem-solving when matching businesses with the right fulfillment solutions, and how we maintain our commitment to excellence.
We also incorporate real client scenarios into our onboarding. New team members work through historical matching cases to understand how we've applied our values in actual decision-making processes. These exercises demonstrate how our core values of reliability, thoroughness, and cost-effectiveness translate into tangible business outcomes.
Regular feedback sessions during the first 90 days help reinforce these values. Rather than treating onboarding as a one-time event, we view it as an ongoing dialogue about how our values apply to evolving situations.
What I've found most effective is pairing these structured approaches with informal opportunities. Our weekly team lunches, where we celebrate wins and discuss challenges, allow new employees to see how our values shape our culture in an authentic, unscripted environment.
The logistics industry changes rapidly, but our values remain constant. By weaving them throughout our onboarding journey, we ensure every team member understands not just what we do, but why and how we do it.
Implement Buddy System and Goal Alignment
In our startup, aligning new hires with company values is vital since each individual's impact is significant. We incorporate core values throughout the onboarding process and foster them through daily interactions between teams. The Buddy System, where experienced employees mentor new hires, has been particularly effective. Even more importantly, we connect employee performance goals directly to company values. For instance, if "customer-centricity" is a core value, a related goal might involve proactively gathering and addressing customer feedback.
Foster Community Through Hands-On Value Integration
We take a hands-on and engaging approach. This ensures new employees align with our core values during the onboarding process. First, we start with an immersive orientation that dives deep into our mission and values. It helps newcomers understand their importance. We pair each new hire with a mentor who embodies these values, fostering personal connections and guiding them.
We also incorporate values alignment activities, where new employees participate in team-building exercises emphasizing collaboration and integrity. Regular check-ins with managers ensure everyone feels supported and connected.
Lastly, we encourage open dialogue about our values, inviting feedback and questions. This collaborative environment helps new hires feel welcomed and reinforces our commitment to a culture driven by shared beliefs. It makes them part of our community from day one. This approach consistently strengthens our team's alignment and engagement.
