How comms and HR can collaborate effectively during onboarding and hiring

At the outset of most new jobs, you’ll get many notes and messages from the HR department, guiding you on your newfound employee journey. This invisible yet critical collaboration between HR and communications is a major tone-setter for new employees and can play a major role in employee experience. When the two departments provide support and resources to one another and tie their missions back to the aims of the organization, employer reputation and retention can skyrocket.

The collaborative relationship between HR and comms

In the onboarding process, the communicator and the HR pro play complementary roles. Amber Walcker, communications leader and founder of Amber Walcker Consulting, told Ragan that you should think of HR as the high-level policy maker and comms as the translator.

“HR usually has that connection to the C-suite and the higher levels of the organization,” Walcker said. “If communicators can pick their brains and figure out how to share that information in a way that’s understandable by new employees, that’s a good start.”

Here’s how communicators can help hold up their end of the bargain in collaborating with HR for new employees.

Work with HR to figure out what resources new hires need, then create the resource hub.

Walcker said that this can take a few different forms, but ultimately, communicators should look to package onboarding information in a way that’s easy to consume to help new employees avoid becoming overwhelmed. “Creating something like a one-pager with all the relevant places a new hire needs to know about, customized to their role, is a good example,” she said. “This includes pointing them toward which internal newsletters to subscribe to and any social channels they should learn about.”

The right links to frequently asked questions, pathways to contact necessary departments for new hires, and an overview of the org chart are a few examples of what can lie within a resource hub. Communicators can create a simple one with these elements and let it live on the company’s intranet. It can then be shared frequently with new hires via email and messaging apps for ease of reference.

While comms is the department drafting up the messages new employees read, HR is behind the policies and procedures that make up the bulk of those messages.

Kristi Bayne, director of employee communications, human resources at Baptist Health South Florida shared that at her organization, the key to effective onboarding communication lies within the ability to decipher dense HR directives into a tone that matches the organization’s internal and external branding.

She added that having communicators in lockstep with HR during the policy drafting process (and in her organization’s case, directly woven into the team) allows for fluidity in communications and avoids the red tape that can cause breakdowns in collaboration and smooth handoffs of projects.

“The most valuable part of the HR-comms collaboration is having a true understanding of all the different facets of HR — from benefits and wellness programs to recruiting and talent development — and being able to translate that knowledge into clear, cohesive communications for employees,” she said. 

Define the collaboration between functions.

Set up a defined creative process between the two departments. For instance, if HR needs to share a list of procedures for new hires, they should have set a meeting with comms to ensure that the message is shared in a way that is both welcoming to new people and reflective of the company’s mission and values before comms shares it more widely. “Comms should point new people to specific places at the outset of the employee journey,” Walcker said. “Make sure the employee, their leader, and HR all have the same documents at hand to avoid any confusion.”

Bayne said that at Baptist Health, the HR comms team gets a front-seat view of the entire HR process. This allows them to have a deep knowledge and well-defined process between what the HR department needs to share and how communications can share it.

“Our HR Communications team sits alongside other HR functions, so they’re constantly in the loop on changes, upcoming initiatives or organizational updates,” she said. “In action, this means if there’s a new benefit roll-out or a shift in any program, our team can craft messaging that is timely, well-informed and well-aligned with our warm Baptist Health approach.”

Tie it back to the business.  

HR and comms can help channel new hire excitement by reminding new hires that their work is part of something much larger than themselves. Walcker recommended that communicators lace reminders of a new employee’s role within the larger business to help build cultural ties from the beginning. “More than likely there’s some sort of a value or a mission that is aligned to some sort of policy,” she said. “When an employee sits down to their performance review later on, those values should be front and center.”

Bayne said that on the HR end, message alignment should be present from the first touchpoint with a recruit through the onboarding process. By working together on the messaging recruits and new hires receive, HR and comms can ensure that the core values of the business are ever-present.

“This kind of early, personalized outreach makes a true difference, allowing them to enter their new roles with confidence and a clear sense of belonging,” she said. “Having HR Communications embedded within HR helps us ensure every message is aligned, welcoming and reflective of our core values. This is a critical factor in setting a positive tone for our employees’ entire journey with us.”

The beginning of the employee journey is one of the most important steps every new hire takes. By working in close collaboration and sharing resources, HR and comms can ensure that each new employee that walks through the door has everything they need for successful tenure ahead.

Sean Devlin is an editor at Ragan Communications. In his spare time he enjoys Philly sports and hosting trivia.