New Hire Onboarding

When the shift to remote work during COVID-19 left new hires feeling disconnected from the Apple experience, we launched a high-touch onboarding program to bridge the gap. Designed for new employees joining Apple Cloud Services (ACS), the program prioritized building community, fostering early connection points, and making it easy to access the right support at the right time. The result: new hires felt valued and genuinely welcomed.

Note: Details have been adapted for confidentiality.

ACS New Hire Onboarding Plan

Fostering Community and Connection from Day One

At the height of the pandemic, new hires were onboarding remotely and were very disconnected from the Apple magic and from one another. To help bridge that gap, we created a high-touch, community-driven onboarding experience for all new employees joining Apple Cloud Services (ACS). Our goal was to reduce friction, reinforce culture, and make sure new hires felt welcomed, supported, and connected from day one no matter where they worked.

Core Components of the Program

1. Partnership with HR for Real-Time Onboarding Visibility

We work closely with HR to receive timely lists of new hires joining the ACS org. This allows us to proactively enroll them in onboarding experiences and ensure nothing falls through the cracks.

2. Welcome Email Checklist for Managers

Hiring managers play a vital role in setting the tone. As part of onboarding readiness, managers receive a New Hire Welcome Checklist that includes:

A customizable welcome email template
Key first-day logistics
Links to team-specific resources and tools
Reminders to schedule 1:1s and team introductions
This ensures every new hire starts with a warm, informed welcome

3. Auto-Enrolled Slack Channel

All new hires are automatically added to a dedicated ACS New Hires Slack channel, a space designed for real-time support and peer connection. The channel is moderated by our team, but organically evolved into a self-sustaining community where “old new hires” help onboard the “new new hires.”

4. Welcome Meetings and Social Mixers

To create consistent and meaningful human touchpoints, new hires are auto-enrolled in:

A Monday Welcome Meeting led by our team to orient them to ACS, set expectations, and answer live questions.
Friday Social Mixer (or “virtual happy hour,” as we sometimes affectionately called it) was a casual, end-of-week session designed to strengthen connection, spotlight helpful resources, and ensure new hires felt seen, celebrated, and supported as they wrapped up their first week.

Long-Term Benefits

This onboarding approach builds organizational cohesion, accelerates new hire confidence, and strengthens our internal culture. What began as a response to remote work has since evolved into a scalable, enduring model that brings warmth and clarity to every new hire experience.

Success Metrics

To ensure the program delivers on its goals, we track a mix of quantitative and qualitative indicators:

New Hire Survey (sent ~30 days post-start): Measures satisfaction with onboarding experience, clarity of role, resource accessibility, and sense of belonging.
Participation Rates in welcome meetings, mixers, and Slack engagement.
Manager Feedback: Short pulse surveys to assess how well the onboarding resources support them in welcoming and ramping up their new hire.
Peer Support Engagement: Organic peer-to-peer support and interaction in Slack (e.g., questions answered by previous new hires).
Time to Productivity (optional/if feasible): Gather data from managers or systems to estimate ramp-up time and identify friction points.

These insights inform quarterly refinements and help ensure our new hire onboarding experience evolves with the needs of the organization.

Note

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