Onboarding Bingo: Make New Hire Training Fun

The first week at a new job is a firehose of information, names, acronyms, and unwritten rules. New hires are simultaneously trying to learn the product, remember where the bathrooms are, figure out the lunch culture, and appear competent in meetings about processes they don't fully understand yet. Onboarding bingo turns that chaos into a game.

First Week Onboarding Bingo Squares

The Logistics Milestones

• Got all your logins working — Usually takes three business days.
• Found the best bathroom in the office
• Figured out the coffee machine
• Got added to the right Slack channels
• Attended a meeting you weren't sure you should be in
• Sent an email to the wrong person — Tradition.

The People Milestones

• Remembered someone's name correctly after meeting them once
• Couldn't remember someone's name and avoided using it for a full day
• Met someone who has been here longer than you've been alive
• Found your work best friend — The person who answers "is this normal?" questions.
• Had lunch with a teammate
• Got introduced to someone who has already left the company

The Training Gauntlet

• Completed mandatory compliance training
• Sat through a presentation about the company's history
• Learned an acronym used constantly and never explained
• Got a demo of a tool being replaced next quarter
• "You'll learn more as you go" used to end an explanation

The Culture Discovery

• Found the unwritten seating rules
• Discovered the actual working hours vs. the stated ones
• Found the snack situation
• Learned which Slack channels are actually active
• Figured out who you actually go to for help vs. who you're supposed to
• Spotted the hierarchy via seating location

For HR Teams: Strategic Use of Onboarding Bingo

Include squares that direct attention toward your culture and values without a lecture:

• "Spotted our core values in action"
• "Someone went out of their way to help you without being asked"
• "Found a resource in the wiki that answered your question"

These squares prime new hires to look for the things you want them to notice. That's the power of gamification — they're now actively searching for evidence of a healthy culture.

Running It Across a Full Cohort

If your company onboards multiple new hires at once, bingo becomes a cohort bonding tool. Share a BingWow room link in the new hire Slack channel on day one. Let the cohort race each other to bingo across the first week. A small prize (branded swag, lunch with a manager) turns it into a memorable first-week experience that new hires actually talk about.

Start with our onboarding bingo cards or build a custom card tailored to your company's specific onboarding experience.