10 Employee Onboarding Video Examples (+ How to Create One with AI)

By
Amy Vidor
Learning and Development Evangelist at Synthesia

Create onboarding videos that scale across teams and roles

Only 12% of employees strongly agree that their company does a great job with onboarding. That's not particularly inspiring for those running onboarding programs.

But I'm also not surprised. Onboarding is tough to get right.

Think about your own experiences going through onboarding. More than likely you're changing companies every four years or so, which means repeatedly relearning the basics: where's the bathroom and how do you request PTO.

Effective onboarding is both universal and specific. It communicates the same message to all new employees about the company and culture, while reflecting the specificity and nuance of someone's previous experience, role, and location.

What is an onboarding video?

An onboarding video is a short, focused video designed to help a new employee achieve one goal. That could be to learn essential information, follow a process, or get energized about the company.

While formats vary, every employee onboarding video should be built around a clear objective.

Orientation vs. onboarding

Orientation is usually a fixed period of time, like the first day or first week. It welcomes new hires to an organization and covers the basics.

Onboarding is the broader process, which can last up to a year. It is about time to competency and productivity as new hires learn their role and ramp up.

10 examples of employee onboarding videos

There are plenty of lists of employee onboarding videos out there. I want to give you something more useful: real examples organized by type, based on my own experience running L&D programs and the use cases we see from Synthesia customers.

Finding good examples is harder than it sounds. Most companies don't share their onboarding content publicly (fair enough, it's their secret sauce). So some of the examples you see here may feel a little outdated or generic. That's fine. The goal is for you to be inspired to create something that authentically reflects your organization.

Welcome videos

Welcome videos do just that — they welcome new hires. When I think about welcoming new hires, I often think about personal touch points: greeting people in an office lobby or over a coffee Zoom call. If you're considering making a video the first time an employee hears from the company after the hiring process, you want to convey the same level of enthusiasm and engagement as you would in person.

First impressions matter.

You might think about introducing your team, or having a leader share a bit more about the company and what excites them. Here are some ideas to consider.

1. HubSpot

A welcome video can also be shared with candidates, by the way. Take this video HubSpot made, a genius piece of storytelling featuring photos of their founders and hand-drawn art to give it that human touch. They share their mission and introduce their team, having fun while doing it. By the end of the video, which new hires and candidates could both appreciate, you know their core value "use good judgment" and their benefits policies (hello, unlimited books).

2. Missouri State University

Missouri State University offers a more traditional approach to a welcome video, using narration over b-roll and some upbeat music to showcase the university's campuses, academics, and student life. With an audience of faculty and staff, they introduce things that everyone can relate to. Most importantly, their president talks about fulfillment for employees, grounded in the university's educational mission.

Company culture

You could make the argument that all onboarding videos are culture videos. And you'd be right.

Sometimes a company culture video is explicitly that, covering a mission or values. In other cases, it is about how employees treat each other and build community. These videos are examples of that diversity.

3. Atlassian

Culture is a thing that can't be manufactured," Mike Cannon-Brookes, co-founder and co-CEO of Atlassian, says in this video, before passing the baton to other employees to describe in their own unfiltered words. There are some carefully chosen shots of how their culture shows up in collaboration and events like Twilight Cinema.

4. Microsoft

Microsoft takes a different approach with this video highlighting how women are shaping the future of technology. Note the tone difference, as the video brings together employees to generate genuine dialogue.

5. Spotify

The last type of video I want to highlight in this section are office tours. In this Spotify video, the camera glides around the New York office, zooming in on the quirky decor, coffee bar, plant life, and fun seating. There's no narration, but there are lots of textures and sounds.

Career development and internal mobility

Onboarding isn't just about welcoming new employees. It's about showing them how you will support their career development and foster internal mobility.

6. Patagonia

I'll preface this by saying I'm a long-time Patagonia customer, and this video only reaffirmed my status. In 2022, Patagonia's founder declared that all future profits would be invested in fighting climate change, noting that "Earth is our only shareholder." This video feels completely on brand. By following one employee's journey from sewing technician to manager, spliced with footage of her surfing and camping, Patagonia shows rather than tells what their culture looks like on a production floor.

7. Adobe

If you're looking for a more corporate example to emulate, watch this one from Adobe highlighting their two-year Sales Academy. That's right, two years. This isn't a lightweight investment, and it shows. Senior leaders and program alumni share their perspectives on the program.

Role-specific onboarding

Role onboarding is where the universal meets the specific. Every new hire needs to understand the company, but they also need to understand their team, their tools, and what success looks like in their particular role.

8. Accenture

One of the best things about these videos is that they require minimal production. This one by Accenture looks like it was shot in one take with a cell phone and then captioned.

9. Lego

Of course, if you have a production crew at your disposal, you can film well-lit productions like Lego's video. It uses the same principle as Accenture, asking employees questions about their role while filming in the office.

Compliance and safety training

The least exciting part of onboarding is the one that matters most. Usually that includes everything from filling out paperwork to setting up your computer and completing compliance training. If your workplace includes controlled environments, it may also include safety training.

10. Synthesia

At Synthesia, we practice what we preach. Our People team uses video to deliver important messages about getting started and compliance training. The video begins by telling new hires they'll know exactly what to do on Day 1. It's sent before the employee's first day so they know what to expect. (If you're looking to reduce the number of emails your People and HR team fields about what to expect from orientation and onboarding, this is a great solution.)

How to create an employee onboarding video with AI

I've already shared one way to make employee onboarding videos: using a structured template. Another way to get started is using our AI Assistant and existing onboarding materials to shape the output.

Step 1: Upload your materials and define the outcome.

Upload the PowerPoint file and input the outcome you want. An easy way to frame this is to complete this sentence:

After watching this video, [role] should be able to [complete a specific task] in [context], without [common errors or support].

Step 2: Generate a first draft.

Get up and stretch your legs while you wait (trust me, it boosts your creativity). Then, when your draft is ready, pick an avatar to narrate your video.

Step 3: Review each scene.

Next, go through each scene. Refine for clarity and adjust the tone and visuals to match your audience and outcome.

Step 4: Publish and share.

Consider piloting during an upcoming orientation session to gather real-time feedback. Note where people have questions so you can incorporate that into your next draft.

Step 5: Iterate.

Make any changes based on what you observed. Once you're confident in the video, publish it to a central hub like your LMS, intranet, or help center so new hires can always find the current version. If you're working across regions, prioritize localization early.

How to measure onboarding video success

Earlier, I recommended completing this sentence before building any video: After watching this video, [role] should be able to [complete a specific task] in [context], without [common errors or support]. That sentence is your measurement baseline. Without it, you're producing content without a way to know if it worked.

Conclusion

Onboarding isn't just an HR concern. Delays in ramping new hires, poor early experiences, and early attrition all have real costs: slower productivity, additional burden on managers, and turnover after you've already invested in talent acquisition. Measurement is how you make that case and keep improving.

Amy Vidor

Amy Vidor, PhD is a Learning & Development Evangelist at Synthesia, where she researches learning trends and helps organizations apply AI at scale. With 15 years of experience, she has advised companies, governments, and universities on skills.