5 Memorable Ways to Welcome a New Employee

You’re done with the hard part — you’ve hired an excellent new employee.

June 8, 2022
Press the button to generate random icebreaker questions.
There are 300 more icebreaker questions at the bottom of the article
How would you describe your job to a five year old?
What season would you be?
What is a weird food you have tried? Would you eat it again?
What is your favorite holiday tradition?
Would you go in the mother-ship with aliens if they landed on Earth tomorrow?
What is your favorite season?
Do prefer working from home or the office?
What is your earliest memory of this job?
What is the best thing you have bought so far this year?
What is the earliest book you remember?
If you had to move to another country, which one would you choose?
You are the best criminal mastermind in the world. What crime would you commit if you knew you would get away with it?
What is your favorite movie genre to watch?
What was the last thing you ate?
What person from history would you add to Mount Rushmore?
What is a weird fact you know?
What is your favorite part of working from home?
Were the Spice Girls a good team?
Imagine you can instantly learn any language. Which would you choose?
If you could live in any state, which state would you pick?
Which fictional team is the best team of all time?
What did you want to be when you grew up?
What do you usually eat for a quick lunch?
What simple food will you never eat?
Show us the weirdest thing you have in the room with you right now.
Would you rather stay at a hotel or an AirBNB?
What is your favorite movie genre to watch?
Are you more productive in the morning or at night?
Who is someone in your community that makes a difference?
Who was your most unique pet?
Choose one famous person from history you want on your team during a zombie apocalypse.
What is a good way to give back to the community?
Which song could you listen to over and over again?
Is Hugh Grant funny?
What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?
Would you want to have an imaginary friend today? Did you have one as a child?
What actor or actress would you want to play you in the movie about your life?
What is the best super power?
What is your New Years resolution?
You can only eat one food again for the rest of your life. What is it?
What is the best work holiday?
What is the first gift you remember receiving?
Would you rather join Metallica or Backstreet Boys?
What is the best example of a community you have seen?
What is an easy way to do something nice for someone?
Show us your phone background and tell the story behind why you picked this image.
What was your first job?
Pick any band to play at your funeral.
If you could have an unlimited supply of one thing for the rest of your life, what would you pick?
Which superpower would you give to your arch enemy?
What is the most obscure superpower you would want?
What emoji best describes how you are feeling right now?
If you could live in any country, which country would you pick?
Would you rather live in a city or a town?
What is your favorite holiday?
What is something you accomplished as part of a team?
What is your standard office lunch?
What is your most used phone app?
What is your favorite season?
Have you ever won something as a team?
Imagine you are a professional baseball player. What is your introduction song?
Beach holiday or ski trip?
Have you ever been to a funny comedy show?
Would you rather live at the North Pole or the South Pole?
What is your favorite song to sing?
If you could live in any state, which state would you pick?
Imagine you could teleport anywhere. Where would you go right now?
What is the most unusual job you have heard of?
What was the last thing you ate?
You can visit any fictional time or place. Which would you pick?
What do your family and friends think you do all day?
What movie do you wish you could watch again for the first time?
Show us your most-used emoji.
What was the most unique style or fashion trend you ever embraced?
What movie defined your generation?
You are stranded on a remote desert island. Are you alone or with your worst enemy?
What is your favorite knock-knock joke?
Have you ever told someone Santa is not real?
Do you know how to speak more than one language?
On a scale of 1 – 10, how much of a team player are you?
What is your #1 recommendation in this city?
What is your favorite holiday?
What bucket list item do you most want to check off in the next six months?
What is your favorite mythical creature?
What was the first way you made money?
If you could be great at any Olympic sport, which would it be?
Which song could you listen to over and over again?
When did you start liking/hating mushrooms?
Where is your favorite vacation spot?
Do you take your PTO all at one time, or another way?
Which show do you remember most from your childhood?
Which beverage goes best with pizza?
Would you want to have a personal assistant follow you around everywhere and do what you asked of them?
Have you ever met your idol?
What did you want to be when you grew up?
Would you rather live 100 years in the past or 100 years in the future?
What is your hobby?
When you are alone in the car, what volume is the music at?
Imagine you no longer have to work. How would you spend a Tuesday?
What is your favorite type of sandwich?

Phew. 😌

You’re done with the hard part — you’ve hired an excellent new employee. 

The onboarding checklist is ready and you can already imagine the new employee walking into the office with a cup of Joe in their hand. But close in on the mental image and you’ll see a face with mixed emotions of excitement and nervousness. Nearly 80% of all professionals are nervous before they start a new job. 

So, how can you help them ease into the new job and make their first day memorable?

In this article, we give you five ways to make your new employee’s first day even more exciting and memorable, while taking the nervousness out of it.

Celebrate the New Employee

A new employee announcement is an excellent starting point. You should let everyone on the team know that a new person is joining and briefly introduce your new employee. Assembly lets you share announcements with your team quickly. You can also share the announcement with select participants.

But everyone welcomes new team members with an announcement. How can you one-up new employee announcements? Well, you can put a celebratory spin to your announcement. 

You can celebrate employees on Assembly with the Celebrate a Teammate flow. Here’s how:

When you celebrate an employee instead of just making an announcement, you make them feel warm and fuzzy inside. 🥳

On Assembly, team members can also respond to the celebration post and put the new employee’s name in front of them. Interaction on Assembly fast-tracks building relationships with colleagues and allows the employee to settle into the new environment quicker.

Start a Buddy Program for New Employees

Employees already familiar with the company culture can help new hires get settled in faster and help address the nervousness. And that’s why starting a buddy program is the perfect way to help new employees get comfortable with their new job.Start by getting some basic information about the new employee’s interests and hobbies. This information will allow you to pair them with a like-minded employee.

A new hire might feel even more nervous if you send someone from the HR team with a survey form. After all, don’t we all feel the pressure of giving answers that make us likable when we’re new? 😬

So instead, make the process a bit more personal with Assembly’s Onboarding Survey template. It will give new hires the space to answer with freedom and at their own comfort.

You should also reassure them that this data is only accessible to the person overseeing the buddy program. The new employee will remember their experience with the buddy program for a long time. They’ll appreciate the effort your company puts into helping new employees get more comfortable.

Organize a Small Party

What’s a better way to start a new job than with a casual party? Just an informal gathering of team members mingling at the end of the day over coffee and donuts allows a new employee to make connections with teams, even outside of their department.

You can even make these casual parties a monthly tradition. The party doesn’t need decorations. Just snacks and maybe some music. 🎶

If you have a small team, make your employees feel like family by sending out birthday or anniversary greetings and throwing a small after-work party. Now, if you’re one of those people who’s bad at remembering birthdays, we’ve got the perfect solution. 

You can set up automated greetings and rewards on Assembly by entering an employee’s birthday and joining date. Here’s how:

Wouldn’t you remember the wholesome feeling of being thrown a surprise party on your first day at work? ❤️ It’s a genius way to break the ice and welcome the new team member to be a part of the family.

Organize a Lunch for the New Employee

One on ones outside the office setting can be an excellent way to defuse the new job nerves. As a manager, you have an impact on employee morale. Being proactive about building a positive relationship with employees from day one can go a long way in improving the team’s morale. An informal lunch relaxes the employee because they’re likely wondering what the boss likes and how to impress the boss

It also gives them a chance to ask questions they were previously reluctant to ask being a new employee. Since they aren’t familiar with the office lingo or team members, you can catch them up during lunch. Building this interpersonal relationship can not only help get your new employee off to the right start, it also makes them see you as more approachable. 😊

Get the team's lunch orders with ease with the help of the Lunch Order Flow:

Surprise Them With an Onboarding Gift

I know, I know. Onboarding gifts are so yesterday. But they can still have an impact if you do it right. Gifts make people feel special. But the problem with onboarding gifts is that every employee receives the same gift—boring.

Instead, find thoughtful gifts for welcoming a new team member. It can be something simple like a coffee mug with a special message or an office gadget with their name on it. 

If the new employee has had to relocate, give them a guide book with interesting sights in the area and places for good food. You can even put a hand-written note in the gift package to make it more personal.

If you want to gift a package, you can add something quirky, company swag, and gift certificates to restaurants. As long as you’re adding something personal for a new team member, you can add any number of items to the package without losing the special element.


Assembly makes it easy to do something special for employees with the built-in swag store, culture and gift rewards.

Organize a Scavenger Hunt

Exciting, right?

That’s probably how new employees feel about a scavenger hunt too. More importantly, a scavenger hunt encourages interaction with other staff members. If you’ve got multiple new employees, a scavenger hunt can help build connections and reduce the nervousness of being a new employee.

When new hires talk to other staff members as they look for clues, they’ll meet new people and get acquainted with the people they’ll be working with.

But what if you’re a remote team? 🤔 Well, you can use a modern intranet solution like Assembly. In addition to offering all the standard intranet benefits, it will enable you to organize an online virtual hunt for your remote team.

You can subtly bury clues in individual employee profiles, group discussions, or an intranet post.

When new hires explore the intranet for clues, they’ll learn more about current staff members while reading their profiles, and learn using a key business tool.

Welcome New Employees With a Bang 💥

A warm welcome makes new employees a lot more comfortable. Think of yourself when you started the job. On the first day, you probably felt unfamiliar.  Would you have felt better if there was a small surprise office party at the end of your first working day? 😁

The focus is on you for a few minutes and you meet everyone on the team and other departments. It fast-tracks building connections which could’ve otherwise taken a week. 

Why put new employees through that stress? Give them a memorable beginning and help them get settled in faster.

If you’re also looking for ways to promote interpersonal relationship building among existing staff members, try Assembly.

Assembly is a modern intranet solution that helps enterprises connect their teams on an interactive platform. Employees can wish each other, collaborate on projects, and even request time off via Assembly.

If that sounds interesting, sign up for a free account to take Assembly for a spin.

Browse our Free Employee Recognition Guide

Get the foundational knowledge on creating an employee recognition program that boosts employee engagement and helps them feel valued.

Explore Guide

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Assembly SOC 2 compliant?

Yes, at Assembly, security is a top priority. Each quarter, we have ongoing security work that is everyone’s responsibility. While we maintain a strong security posture, it was important for us to prove to our customers that we do everything we claim to do. This led us to pursue a SOC 2 Type II report that would provide evidence of our compliance with industry gold-standard security practice.

What's the ROI for employee recognition?

There is study after study showing that employee recognition leads to increased engagement. This in return creates an environment where employees are happier and more motivated which increase productivity and reduces voluntary turnover significantly. In order to filled critical roles, companies tend to spend nearly twice the value of an annual salary. Assembly is an investment in your employees that supports your bottom line.

Does Assembly offer longer-term contracts?

Yes, we will offer contracts for companies with longer-term agreements to help larger customers have more certainty around future costs.

The minimum agreement term is a 12-month subscription.

Does Assembly offer onboarding support?

We do and for FREE! Any new customer needing further support to get started with Assembly to ensure you're set up for success can request custom onboarding support. Improving your employee experience is about much more than just using our amazing software; it’s about transforming your business to create a workplace that people love. That’s much easier to do with the personal support and advice from our passionate people experts.

Is there a free version of Assembly?

Yes. We offer a completely free plan for up to 50 team members. This plan is intended for teams or organizations that are looking to get started with an employee engagement tool. Keep in mind, this plan is limited in features.

All customers can open an Assembly account for free and get started without a credit card. Then you can change plans as necessary.

How much do rewards cost?

At the time of redemption (when your employees exchange their points for a paid reward) you'll pay face value. If a reward is a $10 Amazon gift card, your cost will be $10. All paid rewards are billed for on a monthly basis.

The good news is that you don't have to pay for rewards upfront because we only charge you when points are redeemed, not when they're earned.

Does Assembly offer discounts?

We offer discounts or educational or charitable organizations. In order to secure a discount, you'll first need to book a demo with a customer support specialist.

For all other organizations, we are willing to consider longer-term agreements in exchange for discounts. To set up annual plans or longer, you will need to book a demo with a customer support specialist.

How do I cancel my plan if needed?

If you're on a month to month plan, you can go here and cancel anytime. If you're having concerns or need help setting up your account for success, you can always book a demo with a customer support specialist.

If you're on a longer-term custom plan, you'll need to reach out to your customer support specialist to cancel your account or email us at support@joinassembly.com.

What customizations are available?

Great question! You can customize your core values to match your organization's to boost and track alignment. You can change your currency from the 🏆 emoji (our default) to any emoji of your choice. You can swap our logo for your own. You can also set up company culture rewards such as, "Lunch with the CEO," "Buy a book on us," and so much more!

Who can give or receive recognition?

While we recommend a peer to peer set up where anyone in your organization can give or receive recognition, you can set up Assembly however you want. If you need to limit the people who can give or receive recognition, that's perfectly fine and can be done from your Admin, here.

What integrations are available?

Assembly connects to the tools your employees use every day to offer an easy, seamless experience with minimal change management.  

Assembly has integrations with HCM/HRIS systems like ADP, Google, Office 365, and Slack. We also integrate with communication tools like Slack and Teams so you and your employees can access Assembly wherever they work now.

What's your average adoption rate?

That depends on the company's permissions set up. That said, over 90% of the employees on Assembly's platform are recognized on a monthly basis. That means nearly every employee across all of our customers are receiving regular recognition from their peers, managers, or leadership. We're extremely proud of this.

Must rewards be set up to use Assembly?

They are not required. You can use Assembly without having rewards set up. However, we don't recommend it if you intend to have a high adoption and usage rate. You can always keep the costs down by offering internal culture rewards that are fulfilled by you internally.

Are points required to use Assembly?

No, you can remove allowances from anyone or everyone. It's up to you but we do recommend using points whether they're worth a real dollar value or not. Companies that use points have a much higher engagement rate even if those points don't exchange for real dollars.

Could find the answer you are looking for?

Please schedule time with an expert and we will help you to get all your questions answered