DECIEM and Thrive win Gold
“Onboarding, The DECIEM Way” recognised for its manager-led approach to enhancing company culture through rapid global growth at the Brandon Hall Group HCM Excellence Awards for Best New Hire Onboarding Programme
DECIEM, The Abnormal Beauty Company, and its learning platform partner Thrive Learning have been awarded Gold in the Talent Acquisition category at the Brandon Hall Group HCM Excellence Awards 2026, recognised for Best New Hire Onboarding Programme. The award celebrates “Onboarding, The DECIEM Way”, a manager-led onboarding experience built on the Thrive learning platform.
The Brandon Hall Group HCM Excellence Awards recognise organisations that successfully develop and deploy programmes, strategies, technologies and solutions that deliver measurable business results and advance excellence in human capital management.
A culture worth promoting
Driven by worldwide demand for its disruptive flagship brand, The Ordinary, DECIEM has experienced rapid global expansion across retail, manufacturing, and corporate operations. As a business built on doing things differently defined by its "people-first" ethos, transparency, and human connection DECIEM recognized that scaling required an onboarding strategy that could meet the modern needs of today's dynamic workforce without losing its human heart. Rather than relying on legacy HR checklists, DECIEM needed an agile onboarding program capable of delivering a consistent cultural baseline across regions while empowering new hires to thrive from day one.
A global review of the existing onboarding experience confirmed the opportunity. The process was fragmented and inconsistent across regions, because of quick growth and expansion led by the company’s success. This meant that new hires didn’t feel fully prepared for their roles, and hiring managers DECIEM wanted to keep new hires connected and part of the family, sooner rather than later.
From HR checklist to manager-led blended experience
The insight that reshaped the programme was that new hires weren’t the only ones who needed support. Hiring managers, who shape the day-to-day experience most directly, had been left without structure or tools of their own. “Onboarding, The DECIEM Way” was built around this shift: replacing a traditional HR orientation with a 90-day, manager-led journey hosted on Thrive, giving managers ownership of the new-hire experience from day one.
The programme blends a consistent global culture with local flexibility, adapting delivery for DECIEM’s different teams around the world while keeping every new hire connected to the same core identity. Thrive worked as a hands-on delivery partner throughout, supporting the platform build so the programme launched smoothly and on schedule.
Measurable impact
Since launch, new hires have reported stronger feelings of inclusion and belonging, reinforcing DECIEM’s ambition to keep its culture intact as the business scales.
“Building on what makes DECIEM different has always mattered to us, and we knew that started with how we welcome people into the business. This programme puts our managers at the heart of that experience, and the impact on how quickly new hires feel part of the team has been remarkable. This recognition is a real credit to everyone across the business who helped bring it to life.”
Mary Priorello, Global Director Learning & Development, DECIEM
"We've been partnering with DECIEM for over seven years, and it's an honour to continue to be trusted with initiatives like this that clearly support their growing business. What they've built has created an unrivalled experience for their people, and the results speak for themselves. This award is a brilliant reflection of what's possible when culture and technology work hand in hand."
Cassie Gasson, Co-CEO, Thrive Learning