Tag: workplace culture

Onboarding Has Become a Tick-Box Exercise. Let’s Fix That.

Once upon a time, onboarding was about helping someone feel welcome. Now? It often looks more like: 

“Here’s your laptop.” 
“Here’s 17 forms.” 
“Here’s the Health & Safety manual.” 
“Sign here.” 
“Sign here too.” 
“Have you done your compliance modules?” 

Tick. Tick. Tick. 

Somewhere along the way, onboarding quietly shifted from culture to compliance.  And while compliance matters (we’re HR people, we’re not about to suggest otherwise!), many businesses have accidentally turned the first few weeks of employment into a giant tick box exercise. 

The result?  People are technically onboarded, but they’re not actually connected. And that’s becoming an expensive problem. 

The Early Exit Problem 

The first few months of employment are some of the highest-risk periods in the employee lifecycle. Research consistently shows: 

  • 69% of employees are more likely to stay for at least three years when they experience great onboarding. (flair.hr) 

That’s a lot of recruitment fees, training time, management effort, and team disruption walking straight back out the door. And contrary to popular belief, most people don’t leave because they couldn’t figure out how to complete their induction paperwork. 

They leave because they don’t feel connected. They don’t understand how they fit. They don’t know what’s expected. Or they spend their first few weeks wondering if they made the wrong decision. 

People Don’t Join Companies. They Join Experiences. 

Think back to your own first day somewhere new. You probably don’t remember every policy you signed. But you’ll remember: 

  • Whether someone was expecting you. 
  • Whether your laptop worked. 
  • Whether anyone took you to lunch. 
  • Whether your manager had time for you. 
  • Whether you felt awkward or included. 

Those moments matter. 

Before a new employee has even delivered meaningful output, they’re already deciding whether this feels like somewhere they belong. In fact, some studies suggest most employees decide how long they’ll stay within their first six months. (Enboarder) 

That’s not a lot of time to get it right. 

The Businesses That Nail Onboarding Do One Thing Differently 

They stop thinking about onboarding as a day. And start thinking about it as a journey. Too many organisations treat onboarding as complete once the paperwork is filed and the mandatory training is done. 

The reality? The real onboarding starts after that. When the new person begins navigating: 

  • New relationships 
  • New systems 
  • New expectations 
  • New personalities 
  • New ways of working 

That’s where confidence is built. Or lost. 

The Power of 30-60-90 Day Check-Ins 

One of the simplest things businesses can do is create intentional check-in points. Not performance reviews. Conversations. 

30 Days 

Focus on clarity. 

  • What has surprised them? 
  • What still feels unclear? 
  • What support do they need? 
  • Are expectations making sense? 

60 Days 

Focus on connection. 

  • Who have they built relationships with? 
  • Are they feeling part of the team? 
  • What’s working well? 
  • Where are they getting stuck? 

90 Days 

Focus on confidence and future success. 

  • What are they proud of so far? 
  • What development support would help? 
  • What should their next 90 days look like? 

These conversations often uncover concerns long before they become resignations. They’re also particularly valuable when you’re operating under a 90-day trial period. Because if performance concerns do exist, you want visibility early, not a surprise in week twelve. 

Small Things That Make a Big Difference 

You don’t need a Silicon Valley budget to create a great onboarding experience. Some of the most effective things are surprisingly simple: 

Be Ready 

Have their equipment, access, workspace, and systems prepared. Nothing says “we’re excited you joined us” like spending three days waiting for a login password. 

Assign a Buddy 

Managers are important. But buddies are gold. New starters often ask buddies the questions they don’t want to ask their boss. A good buddy helps people understand the unwritten rules, social dynamics, and day-to-day practicalities. 

Introduce the Bigger Picture 

Don’t just tell people what they do. Help them understand what everyone else does too. Give them time with key stakeholders across the business. When people understand how departments connect, they make better decisions and build stronger relationships faster. 

Create Early Wins 

People want to contribute. Find opportunities for meaningful success early. Confidence grows when people feel useful. 

One Size Doesn’t Fit All 

This is where onboarding often gets overlooked. Not everyone learns the same way. Not everyone processes information the same way. Not everyone responds to feedback the same way. Some people want detailed instructions. Others want the outcome and freedom to figure it out. Some want regular check-ins. Others want space. 

This is where tools like Extended DISC® can be incredibly valuable. 

When managers understand a new employee’s behavioural style, they gain insights into: 

  • How they prefer to learn 
  • How they communicate 
  • What motivates them 
  • What may cause stress or frustration 
  • What signs to look for when they’re struggling 
  • How to adapt coaching and support during those critical first few months 

It’s not about putting people in boxes. It’s about helping managers lead people more effectively, sooner. 

Make Onboarding Human Again 

Compliance matters. Employment agreements matter. Policies matter. Health & Safety matters. But none of those things create belonging. 

The businesses seeing the strongest retention aren’t necessarily the ones with the fanciest onboarding systems. They’re the ones that make people feel expected, prepared for, connected, and valued. Because at the end of the day, onboarding isn’t just about protecting the business. It’s about giving people a reason to stay. 

How Spice Can Help 

At Spice, we help businesses create onboarding experiences that go beyond paperwork and process. 

From practical onboarding frameworks and manager guidance, through to Extended DISC® insights that help leaders understand how each new team member learns, communicates and develops best, we help businesses build onboarding journeys that actually stick. 

Because when people feel connected, clear, and supported from the start, everybody wins. 

And that’s how you truly Add Spice! 

Kickstarting Culture: How Thriving NZ Businesses Start the Year Strong

The first quarter of the year is one of the most revealing times in any workplace. People return with fresh energy, new ideas and, occasionally, a quiet hope that the year ahead might feel calmer, clearer and a little more human than the one before. As leaders, we get a small but powerful window to shape that hope into something real.

Thriving workplaces do not stumble into a strong culture. They create it deliberately, especially in Q1 while habits are still re-forming and priorities are still flexible. This is the moment where clarity counts, leadership matters and small decisions can have a big ripple effect.

Here is what successful businesses do early in the year to create a culture that feels aligned, energised and genuinely ready for the work ahead.

Reconnect with who you are as a business

Q1 is the perfect time to pause and reconnect with your purpose. Teams return with slightly different expectations, fresh perspectives and sometimes even new roles or responsibilities. Before diving straight into deliverables, it pays to re-anchor everyone in the why.

Our Acentia Purpose, Vision and Strategy Workshop helps organisations reset this foundation with intention. They open space for the meaningful conversations that often get squeezed out once the year speeds up. When people understand the direction of travel, they move faster and with far less friction.

Bring your values back to life

Values quietly drift unless you pull them back into the spotlight. The first quarter is when workplaces decide, often unconsciously, what will be tolerated and what will be championed over the next twelve months.

This is the ideal time to turn values into visible, practical behaviours. Not decorative statements. Not vague aspirations. Actual habits people can recognise in themselves and others.

Our Acentia Values Workshop helps teams define those behaviours in plain language, making values easier to live, reference and reinforce.

Refresh the Employee Handbook or Survival Guide

If values set the tone, then your Employee Handbook holds the instructions for how that tone becomes reality. A lot changes over a year and the handbook is usually the last thing anyone updates.

Q1 is the perfect time to review it with fresh eyes. Are expectations clear. Are policies aligned with your culture. Does it help new people understand who you are, not just what they must comply with.

A well written handbook or survival guide strengthens consistency, speeds up onboarding and removes the guesswork that can often undermine culture.

Build leadership capability early

A universal truth in business is that your culture is only as strong as your leaders. Not just senior leaders, but everyday leaders who influence the team’s everyday experience at work.

Investing in leadership capability early in the year sets your leaders up for success. Leaders who feel equipped communicate better, give clearer direction and handle tricky situations with more confidence.

Our Acentia Leadership Capability Workshop focuses on practical people leadership. It gives leaders the tools to set expectations, communicate clearly, build trust and have meaningful conversations. A strong start for leaders means a strong start for your culture.

Set your organisational training and development plan

If culture shows up in behaviours, then capability is what enables people to live those behaviours well. That is why thriving workplaces build their training and development plan at the start of the year, not halfway through it.

A strong plan outlines:
• The skills your business needs to grow
• Where your people want to develop
• Which teams need targeted support
• The leadership and soft skills that lift connection and performance

Planning this in Q1 allows teams to prioritise, budget and schedule development before the busy season hits. It also tells your people that growth is a valued part of the job, not something reserved for when time magically appears.

Reset working rhythms and expectations

After the holiday break, teams naturally slip into new rhythms. Some healthy, some less so! Q1 is your chance to reset meeting habits, communication rhythms, accountability expectations and feedback patterns before they harden into unhelpful routines.

Clear expectations feel supportive, not restrictive. They make it easier for people to collaborate, speak up and work at a sustainable pace.

This is also the time to re-establish your feedback rhythm. Regular one to ones, honest conversations and simple check in habits reinforce culture through the everyday, not the dramatic.

The mindset shift that sets thriving workplaces apart

Thriving workplaces do not treat culture as an annual clean up job. They approach it like strategy. Start early, build intentionally and revisit often.

Q1 is one of the few moments in the year where you get a natural reset. If you invest in alignment, capability, clarity and documentation now, you will save yourself countless hours of untangling issues in the months ahead.

Culture is not an accident. It is a choice made repeatedly, especially in the first quarter.

Time to Add Spice

At Spice we help organisations create cultures that are lived, not laminated. If you want to kickstart 2026 with a workplace that feels aligned, capable and energised, our Acentia Workshops, customised Employee Handbooks and organisational training plans will help you Add Spice!