An Orientation Program For New Employees
Mar 31, 2013 Employee orientation programs are much more successful when they are less about the company and more about the employee, according to new research. Onboarding and Employee Orientation Program; Employee Orientation Program Guidelines For Effective New Employee Orientation. Employee orientation, as. Apr 01, 2013 Employee orientation programs are much more successful when they are less about the company and more about the employee, according to new.
Picture this scenario, which plays out every day in organizations. Your company’s new employee orientation program has slick, pre-printed handouts. The program’s savvy, friendly presenter uses good visuals such as overhead transparencies and a white marker board. Participants receive a guided tour of the facility.
The hundred page is safely tucked under their arms. Yet the average employee feels bewildered, overwhelmed, and far from welcomed. Not your intention at all! What’s missing?
How can you take your program from simply orienting to integrating your new hire? Remember They Are Human Many new hires question their decision to change companies by the end of their first day. Their anxieties are fueled by mistakes that companies often make during that first-day new employee orientation program.
These common mistakes include:. Overwhelming the new hire with facts, figures, names and faces packed into one eight-hour day. A company’s positive first impressions can cement the deal for a newly recruited employee.
Those positive strokes can also speed integration and productivity. Research shows that good orientation programs can by 25%. The Ideal Orientation Dr. John Sullivan, head of the Human Resource Management Program at San Francisco State University, concludes that several elements contribute to a.
The best new employee orientation:. Targets goals and meets them,. Makes the first day a celebration,. Involves family as well as coworkers,. Makes new hires productive on the first day,.
Is not boring, rushed or ineffective, and. Uses feedback to continuously improve. Make Employees Say During NEO: I Am Welcomed, Therefore, I Belong Most organizations are great at celebrating the departure of a beloved coworker. Why are we often so awful? Think about arranging a party to welcome the new employee. Celebrations produce enthusiasm.
Have you experienced starting a new job only to have your coworkers and supervisor ignore you during the first week? If so, you understand the effectiveness of even a little enthusiasm. Some simple celebration methods might include a letter of welcome signed by the CEO, a company t-shirt signed by all department members, and a cake with candles on the employee’s first day. Involve families in the celebration.
Schedule a welcome luncheon or dinner for spouses and families during the employee’s first month. Old-fashioned welcome wagons were once used to deliver goodies to new members of a community. You can establish your own welcome wagon.
Freebies that aid the new hire in his job will reinforce the belief that company employees are glad he is there and want him to succeed. As an example, a map showing nearby eateries is helpful and appreciated. (An invitation to lunch from coworkers each day during the employee’s first week is even more welcoming.) Go one step further than providing a map of the facility and the parking lot. Provide your new person with a photo of himself in the parking lot, in front of the company sign.
Visuals have great impact. Prepare for Instant Productivity Employers frequently overlook the most fundamental question of the new recruit. He wants to know how his work impacts his department, and ultimately, the company. Your new employee orientation should include an overview of each department’s function.
Orientation Program For New Employees
Include information about what specifically goes into each department (inputs) and what comes out (products). Provide examples of how these functions relate to the employee’s job. Spend some time during the new employee orientation allowing each person to examine how his new job and its responsibilities fit in. Discuss the expected contributions and how they will help the company. Be sure to point out how new employees can offer feedback for making improvements. Examine your new employee orientation program from the perspective of the new employees. Anticipate their anxieties, as well as their questions.
Provide a glossary of company acronyms, buzzwords and FAQ’s so they don’t have to ask the most basic questions. Distribute a Help Source card that provides the names and email addresses of people who are pre-designated for questions. You may also want to to assist with questions and the new employee orientation process during the employee’s first month. Manage the Integration Ideally, the new hire’s immediate will participate in part of the new employee orientation. A fun way to incorporate the supervisor is in the style of the old Newlywed Game.
The supervisor has to guess how he thinks his new employee will answer questions. If answers match, points are awarded for prizes. For an effective new employee orientation process, many companies expect the supervisor to provide the departmental, and work-specific orientation.
The Human Resources department handles the company overview, the handbooks, the benefits, and other basic information. But, then, the supervisor takes over. On the first day, a new employee should meet with his new supervisor. The meeting should include a plan for specific training. Both the supervisor and the new employee are encouraged to share their expectations for the job, including fears or reservations each may have. The manager keeps the meeting positive and adjourns with the new hire started on a meaningful assignment. Avoid the mistake of allowing the new employee to sit idle.
(In some organizations, the Human Resources group helps with the design of a checklist, which assists supervisors to provide a thorough orientation.) Evaluate the Success of the New Employee Orientation Good ask for participant evaluations. At the end of your new employee orientation, offer a brief, five-question survey focused on the presentation.
Follow up with a survey that focuses on content in ten days or so. Encourage feedback about what information the new employee would have liked to have received during the new employee orientation program.
Find out what information was overload or unneeded. Incorporate the suggestions to improve your new employee orientation program. First impressions of your organization, both good and bad, are made the first day. Decide the objectives of your new employee orientation program. Meet those objectives honestly and positively. Successful integration will happen only if your new employee decides he has made a wise decision to join your organization. Your effective new employee orientation can help make or break that decision.
The best orientation I have ever known was instituted at Edgewood Tool and Manufacturing. Every manager who hired a new employee was required to write a 120-day orientation for the new employee.
It involved one action a day. Actions included meeting the Director of Quality, calling on a customer and having lunch with the CEO.
You can bet that new employee was thoroughly welcomed and integrated into the organization after 120 different orientation events.