New hire welcome
Make new teammates feel part of the team on day one. A public welcome, a few warm replies and a thank-you after their first month.
Why it works
First impressions of a company's culture stick. A new hire who sees from day one that people here notice each other settles in faster and feels safer asking for help.
The team benefits too: a public welcome tells everyone who joined, what they do and how to work with them.
How to run it
- Post the welcome on day one. Share it in the team or company channel: name, role and one personal detail the new hire is happy to share.
- Invite the team to reply. Ask colleagues to send karma and say what they look forward to working on together.
- Introduce key people. Name two or three teammates the new hire can go to with questions.
- Thank them after the first week or month. Recognize their first contribution, however small. It shows their work is already noticed.
Message templates
Day 1 welcome
Please welcome [Name], who joins us today as [Role]! [Name] comes from [background] and loves [personal detail]. Reply with some karma and one thing you're looking forward to working on together. Let's make [Name]'s first day a good one!
First-month thank-you
One month in! Karma to [Name] for [first contribution]. Great to have you on the team.
How Karma helps
With Karma, every welcome reply becomes karma tied to a company value, so the new hire sees the culture in action from day one. It also makes their first contributions visible to the whole team. Learn more about peer recognition in Karma.
How to measure
After the first month, check in Culture analytics:
- whether the new hire received karma from several people, not just their manager;
- whether they sent their first karma within the first few weeks;
- how many people replied to the welcome.
Free FigJam template
Use our Icebreaker Template for the new hire's first meeting with the team.
Common mistakes
- Only the manager says hello. Invite the team to reply, it makes a big difference.
- No context in the welcome. Add the role and what the person will work on.
- Forgetting the follow-up. The first-month thank-you is often what people remember most.
Frequently asked questions
What if the new hire doesn't like public attention?
Ask them before posting what they'd like to share. You can keep the welcome short and skip personal details.
Should we do this for interns and contractors too?
Yes. Anyone joining the team benefits from a warm start.
Karma for Web
Karma for Slack
Karma for MS Teams
Karma for Telegram