Tiffany Castagno, an HR consultant at Gallagher Bassett, recently joined our monthly Risk Control Webinar series to discuss effective onboarding strategies that help new hires integrate successfully into the workplace culture. Castagno emphasized the critical difference between traditional orientation and comprehensive onboarding.
Continue reading for an overview of Castagno’s presentation.
Castagno distinguished between basic orientation, which typically involves reviewing paperwork and handbooks, and strategic onboarding, which integrates employees into the organizational system.
Castagno highlighted concerning statistics about employee engagement, noting that fewer than 35% of people are engaged at work.
Castagno outlined the four C’s of onboarding as a strategic framework:
“When we prepare for that in advance, people feel welcome, like they belong,” Castagno explained. “You want me here because you thought of it.”
During the presentation, Castagno outlined five key onboarding practices:
Effective onboarding begins before the employee’s first day. This includes ensuring system access, equipment, and workspace preparation are completed in advance and addressing practical concerns such as parking, dress code, and first-day logistics.
Organizations should provide new hires with a preview of their first week to reduce anxiety and prevent last-minute surprises.
Weekly or bi-weekly checkpoints allow leaders to assess the integration process and address concerns early.
“Those first 30, 60, 90 days are critical, and we must give people the tools they need,” Castagno said.
Connecting new hires with mentors, internal leadership opportunities, and external professional development resources helps establish long-term engagement.
Recognize achievements and connect employees to the purpose behind their work.
“We want to connect it to their work and help them see the purpose behind their work and that they’re appreciated,” Castagno said.
Castagno highlighted social media’s potential in recruitment and onboarding strategies. She noted that candidates research companies extensively and will contact current employees on platforms like LinkedIn to verify employer claims.
She encouraged organizations to develop social media policies that allow employees to serve as brand ambassadors, sharing their authentic experiences while maintaining appropriate boundaries.
Castagno identified several onboarding mistakes:
Castagno emphasized that onboarding extends far beyond the traditional 90-day period.
“Onboarding will always be ongoing,” she said. “We want to ensure that we’re refining it over time.”
Castagno encouraged leaders to regularly seek employee feedback about their onboarding experience and use check-in meetings to understand what keeps employees engaged and what might cause them to consider leaving.
“Successful onboarding requires viewing it as a strategic investment in employee experience rather than an administrative necessity,” said Castagno.
This presentation was part of Captive Resources’ Risk Control Webinar Series — regular installments of webinars to educate the group captive members we work with on topics like workplace safety, organizational leadership, and company performance. The thoughts and opinions expressed in these webinars are those of the presenters and do not necessarily reflect Captive Resources’ positions on any of the above topics.
