From Job Offer to Day One: Setting Up New Hires for Success With Elizabeth Mashakas

HOST: Hello everyone, and thank you for joining us for the 19th episode of Talking Talent. It's hard to believe we have almost done 20 of these. The goal is to try to do these once a month in 2025. We didn't quite meet that in 2024 for a number of reasons, but we have some cool topics and great guests lined up for 2025.

HOST: We're closing the year with a topic I'm really interested in, and we have a great guest to discuss it. The holidays are almost here, and hopefully we'll get this out before the end of the year so you can listen over the next few weeks with your families. If you enjoyed this episode, please tell your friends and co-workers who appreciate conversations about people, talent, and HR. You can subscribe on Spotify or Apple Music, or listen on the Cordia Resources website or the Cherry Bekaert website.

HOST: I'm excited about today's topic and my guest, Elizabeth Mashakas. Elizabeth, thank you for joining me.

ELIZABETH MASHAKAS: Thank you so much for having me, and happy holidays.

HOST: Happy holidays. We're recording this on December 23. Elizabeth is currently the Senior Vice President of Talent Acquisition at Blue Halo. Blue Halo is an innovative manufacturer transforming the future of global defense. I took some of that from the website. Blue Halo is involved in many initiatives, and I think you'll explain that better than I can. How did I do with that description? Anything you'd like to add from a high level?

ELIZABETH MASHAKAS: Just a little. We consider ourselves a defense technology company, and we have what we call purpose-built solutions. We founded Blue Halo to be a protective ring around everything we care about most in the face of peer conflict. Think "Blue Halo": products that put invisible defensive barriers around locations, individuals, or warfighting equipment. We're there to make sure the people we love most come home safely.

HOST: It's hard to distill all that into a few words. I've had the privilege to work with Blue Halo in the past and see the growth and changes, so there's a lot exciting on the horizon.

HOST: Today's topic is one I think is vastly underrated in HR and talent. I first learned about it from Joey Coleman, who wrote Never Lose an Employee Again, which covers many facets of the employee experience starting with recruitment. I recommend the book to anyone interested in candidate experience and employee engagement.

HOST: The specific topic today is what he calls the affirm phase—A-F-F-I-R-M—the affirmation phase of the employee experience. It's the critical time between when a candidate accepts or signs a job offer and their first day of work. This is often missed when people discuss recruiting and onboarding as separate processes. Elizabeth, from a macro level, tell us about your experience with this over your career and how Blue Halo differentiates itself in this regard.

ELIZABETH MASHAKAS: This area has been a true differentiator between companies, and it's often not done well. It's not because no one cares; it's because it's a gray area. The hiring process is done, the recruiter has sent the offer letter, but the person is not an employee yet. Often, no one takes care of them.

ELIZABETH MASHAKAS: At Blue Halo, we treated this as a key differentiator in the employee lifecycle. I carved out a specific role we call program resource managers or staffing managers. These team members do nothing but keep new hires warm while they wait to join the company.

ELIZABETH MASHAKAS: Is this the responsibility of talent acquisition or HR? I don't think either is better; it's often best when both are involved. Most companies can't carve out a pool of people who only do this, so it's a shared responsibility.

ELIZABETH MASHAKAS: Think about what happens: most people give two weeks' notice and start within two weeks. Even in that time a lot can happen. Candidates fall out all the time. What I always tell recruiters is to put a reminder on their calendar for folks starting on certain dates and touch base the second week before they start to make sure they've received everything they need. Usually HR is already in contact with pre-onboarding paperwork and IT is often in touch, but talent acquisition remains the person the candidate knows and associates with. A quick email or call in that second week can make a big difference in whether the person starts and how their first day goes.

HOST: There's a lot of opportunity for trust to fall by the wayside. You develop a good relationship during interviews, you meet the hiring manager and team, and everyone is busy. If you leave this to someone who only intermittently checks in, new hires can end up scrambling on day one. It's not just about logging into a computer or completing I-9 and W-4 forms; it's about ensuring day one isn't chaotic.

HOST: In your experience, should the hiring manager be involved during those few weeks? Hiring managers have many responsibilities and may be as prepared as possible, but is it case-by-case? Should they also be involved?

ELIZABETH MASHAKAS: Hiring managers are often overprescribed and have full-time jobs. During the typical two-week period, they may not be able to engage much beyond hiring. The real need for hiring manager involvement comes when the period between offer and start is longer than two weeks.

ELIZABETH MASHAKAS: Examples include relocations, finishing a critical project, waiting on bonus payouts, or clearance crossovers. For extended periods, the hiring manager has the biggest impact. Candidates are often drawn to the work and projects. When the hiring manager reaches out during an extended pre-start period with updates about the project and where the person will fit, it reassures the new hire and helps them hit the ground running.

HOST: That makes sense. Different company sizes and industries have varying capacities to support this. What's Blue Halo's current headcount?

ELIZABETH MASHAKAS: We're at about 2,400 right now, and we have two acquisitions that will likely get us to just below 4,000 by this time next year, if not sooner. We're mid-sized in our space—not small, but not one of the largest.

HOST: In smaller companies, such as a 200-person organization in government contracting, resources are limited and clearance requirements can complicate onboarding. What recommendations do you have for HR or talent acquisition leaders in companies that can't afford a dedicated staffing manager?

ELIZABETH MASHAKAS: This is an important time frame even for small companies. If you only bring in 10 people a year, find someone in the company with some bandwidth—an admin or another employee—who can take on a bit of hand-holding. Typically the two-week turnaround doesn't require much time, but that personal touch can make all the difference in whether the hire starts.

ELIZABETH MASHAKAS: It takes a village. In smaller companies, you wear more hats. It may not be one person, but a collaboration among a company admin, the recruiter, and HR. Make sure everyone understands the responsibility and importance of outreach—an email or phone call. In small organizations, hires are highly impactful, and losing one can set you back weeks or months.

ELIZABETH MASHAKAS: Seasonality matters too. At the end of the year, people accept offers in late November or early December and start mid-January. They're not onsite for a week before the holidays, so that pre-start engagement is even more important.

HOST: Take me back to earlier in your career. How did you get to the point where you could implement these practices at Blue Halo? Any lessons or specific examples from early in your career?

ELIZABETH MASHAKAS: Working in some of the largest companies taught me that process and compliance are important. Over time, I've realized we're dealing with people who have choices. Even after accepting an offer, candidates still have choices about where to work.

ELIZABETH MASHAKAS: One size does not fit all. It really is case by case. People remember how you made them feel. Use the village approach—get multiple people involved to affirm the new hire that they made the right decision. Periodic touch points outside the pre-onboarding paperwork make a huge difference in how someone feels about joining a company.

ELIZABETH MASHAKAS: Processes and compliance matter, but always remember you're dealing with people who have choices. That perspective shaped how I approach each hire.

HOST: Has the shift to virtual onboarding since COVID changed how you approach this? New hires often start remotely, with equipment shipped to their homes rather than being handed a laptop onsite. Has that been positive or negative?

ELIZABETH MASHAKAS: It has become a positive. Initially, everyone was figuring out the new norm. We moved from brick-and-mortar onboarding—where you get a badge, credentials, and a laptop onsite—to shipping everything to new hires. Initially, shipments lacked user-friendly instructions and required a lot of handholding.

ELIZABETH MASHAKAS: You can be highly technical and still struggle with setting up a home office, laptop, and printer. That reality wasn't always considered, and some new hires needed more support than expected.