Ontario Municipal Human Resources Association

On a new employee’s first day, everything feels unfamiliar - the faces, systems, culture, and expectations. Onboarding is the opening chapter of an employee’s relationship with an organization. When designed thoughtfully and well structured, it builds confidence, establishes trust, and fosters a sense of belonging; when rushed or fragmented, uncertainty can linger well beyond the initial weeks, impacting efficiency and productivity.

For many, it can be surprisingly difficult to remember what those first few months truly felt like. Once we become fluent in our organization’s processes, relationships, and unwritten rules, the complexity fades into the background. Yet for a new employee, the early challenge is rarely about motivation or capability; it is about connecting the dots. Understanding how information flows, how decisions are made, and where to go for answers takes time and guidance, regardless of experience.

In municipal environments, these challenges are often amplified by multiple divisions, varied work locations, unionized structures, and deeply embedded institutional knowledge that requires time and guidance for new employees to access and understand. This is where the role of an ambassador becomes not only beneficial, but essential.

An ambassador is more than a mentor or a friendly welcome; they guide new employees through the organization’s rhythm, priorities, and expectations. Ambassadors translate culture into lived experience and provide context that cannot always be captured in formal training. Strong ambassadors reduce cognitive overload, shorten the learning curve, and help employees move from absorbing information to applying it with confidence. A strong ambassador maintains presence and provides a trusted point of contact, giving employees confidence to ask questions they may hesitate to raise elsewhere.

In Practice: An Ambassador in Action at Acclaim Ability Management Inc. 

In our organization, new employees are introduced early to a long tenured team member, Melissa Kolk, Manager of Executive Operations and Administration, who serves as a natural ambassador. With more than a decade of experience and deep familiarity with the organization’s culture, people, and systems, she becomes a consistent starting point for new hires.

Beyond onboarding, this ambassador role fosters meaningful early connection. New employees receive a thoughtful welcome gift, reinforcing inclusion, and Melissa helps facilitate early relationship building opportunities, such as scheduling lunches with organizational leaders, reinforcing accessibility and a culture of openness.

This early ambassador connection helps employees understand how work flows, how priorities are managed, and where to go for support. Rather than navigating complexity alone, new employees have a trusted guide who helps them connect the dots and build confidence.

One employee recently shared how impactful this early connection was during their onboarding experience:

“I’ve been actively employed since I was 14 years old, and this was something I had never experienced before at sign-on. The welcome made me feel truly valued and included from day one.”

Write a Strong First Chapter 

A strong onboarding experience balances clarity, connection, and confidence and moves beyond information transfer to help employees orient themselves within the organization. Organizations can focus on a few intentional practices:

1. Identify and equip ambassadors intentionally. 

Select employees who naturally model organizational values and engagement, and empower them to serve as guides for new hires. Their experience builds trust and practical understanding, helping employees navigate systems, relationships, and organizational norms more confidently.

2. Create early, consistent connection. 

Small but intentional gestures can significantly shape early belonging and reinforce inclusion. Pair new employees with a consistent point of contact to reduce uncertainty and support early integration.

3. Design onboarding for how people actually work 

Structured conversations should focus not only on tasks, but on how work flows, how teams collaborate, and how employees organize themselves for effectiveness, particularly when navigating multiple departments or locations.

4. Use structured check-ins and feedback to continuously strengthen integration. 

Regular touchpoints, such as  30-60-90 day check-ins, allow organizations to reinforce clarity, identify barriers, and continuously improve the onboarding experience based on real employee feedback.

5. Ensure leadership visibility and accessibility. 

Early connection with leadership reinforces trust and demonstrates that support, growth, and success are actively encouraged, even within highly structured or unionized environments and teams with long tenured employees.

Onboarding is not simply an administrative requirement; it is the foundation of the employee experience. When organizations intentionally support employees in navigating their first chapter through strong ambassador relationships, clarity of expectations, and meaningful connection, they create a workforce that is confident, engaged, and positioned to succeed.

The way the first chapter is written shapes the story that follows.

Written by: Lisa Horvath, Director of Operations and Melissa Kolk, Manager of Executive Operations and Administration