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Orientation.docxExample of an Orientation Program for New Employees
by Miranda Brookins
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/example-orientation-program-new-employees-10762.html
The Houston Chronicle
No publication date
New employees to your company can be welcomed with an orientation program that makes them feel at ease and like they're a part of the team. Orientation programs vary depending on the industry, the management style and the overall company culture. Your orientation program can provide employees with a proper introduction to your
Tour Facility
New employees need to become acquainted with their new workplace immediately. Take them on a tour of the office, pointing out essential locations such as human resources, their manager's office, bathrooms, break rooms, the printing area, technology support and the company eatery.
Introduce to Co-Workers
While touring the facility, you can introduce new employee to fellow co-workers. Schedule a formal meeting with the members of the direct team or department the employee will work in for more in-depth introductions.
Review Employee Handbook and Paperwork
An employee handbook contains a company's rules and regulations. It also covers information on company benefits, pay dates, paid-time off, lunch and other work breaks, state and federal employment laws and acts and more. Rather than read each page, highlight the most important sections and have the employee read it during his first week and contact you if he has additional questions. Provide the employee with a signature page that outlines that he has read and understands what's outlined in the handbook.
Review Goals and Job Expectations
A new employee cannot achieve optimal levels of productivity and efficiency with a company if she's not presented with his goals and how they fit with the overall needs of the company or her job expectations. This information should be discussed during new employee orientation, so that an employee can get clarification on any points she's unsure of.
Provide Training and Shadowing
Although an employee may have experience in your industry, he still needs training to learn how your company, specifically, operates within the industry. Training can range from attending seminars, tackling computer-based programs or shadowing an employee who does the same or a similar job as the new employee.
Assign a Mentor
Arriving fresh-faced to a company isn't always a comforting situation for employees, and many times, they seek an informal mentor to help guide them through their first couple of weeks with the company. Take the first step and assign new employees a mentor they can go to with questions or for encouragement.
Schedule a Lunch
Enjoying lunch with a select group of co-workers gives new employees a more relaxed way to meet colleagues and learn more about them and the company. While new hires are often introduced to co-workers in passing, you can arrange a lunch during their first week where a new hire can sit with his manager and high-performing members of the team he's joining. Employees can share common interests, discuss the company culture and answer any questions the new employee has, all while enjoying a meal outside of the office.
Set an Evaluation Period
Employee evaluations benefit both employers and employees by giving each an opportunity to discuss how an employee is performing in his role and what he may need to be more successful. Evaluations also give employees an opportunity to give their employers feedback on their experiences with the company. During orientation, inform employees about your company's evaluation process so they're aware of how their performance is reviewed. Rather than waiting a year to provide your initial feedback, set up a 30-, 60- or 90-day review period for new employees. This will give you a chance to see how they're settling into their roles and responsibilities within the company before an annual review.
Stages of Orientation
by Natasha Gilani
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/stages-orientation-13917.html
The Houston Chronicle
No publication date
Orientation typically refers to the process of induction of new employees in a firm or the introduction of existing employees to new technologies, procedures, coworkers or environment. This initiation activity must be comprehensive and provide complete information about the physical workplace, procedures, policies and expected performance, together with information about working hours, benefits, breaks, payroll arrangements and other routine matters.
Stage 1: General Introduction
The human resources department typically administers this preliminary, general introduction stage. This stage typically has two parts: the first about the employing firm itself and the second about the specific job. In the first part, new recruits are introduced to the firm, its aims, objectives, culture, organizational structure, strategic plan, customers/market and history. The second part entails recruits often being given a tour of the firm's facilities, introduced to procedures, policies and job-specific information (such as employee activities, services, incentives, benefits, employee relations, fair employment practices and overtime provisions). The general introduction stage can be a one-day program or take longer, depending upon the size of the firm and the number of employees undergoing orientation.
Stage 2: Specific Orientation
Specific orientation follows the general introduction stage. In this stage, an employee is given job- or task-specific orientation typically by her immediate supervisor. Information about a particular department, its facilities (lunchroom, lavatory, coatroom) and employees, general information about breaks, absences, parking facilities and personal phone call/email/Internet policy, and standards of performance and essential job functions are made clear. Some organizations assign "buddies," who are existing employees, to new recruits to facilitate this process. This stage can also include instructions on safety precautions and job health, safe use of protective devices and equipment, fire protection procedures and smoking regulations, states Courtney Price in her book "Group Practice Personnel Policies Manual."
Stage 3: Follow-up
Perhaps the most important orientation stage is the follow-up stage. In this stage a supervisor meets with an employee to inquire about issues and questions raised. The follow-up stage is important because it allows management to measure the effectiveness of the orientation program, address unanswered employee queries and cover topics the general and specific orientation stages overlooked. The follow-up stage typically ensues one week to one month after employee induction.
Importance of a Well-Designed Orientation Program
A well-designed, methodical orientation program lays the foundation for an employee's career, provides information that helps employees adapt faster, encourages confidence, reduces ambiguity, improves employee retention, encourages communication and contributes to a more productive and effective workforce, says S. Nyambegera in the book "Human Resource Management." Furthermore, well-designed orientation programs reduce anxiety, stress and establish realistic job expectations.
Employee Orientation: Keeping New Employees on Board
Updated January 05, 2017
https://www.thebalance.com/employee-orientation-keeping-new-employees-on-board-1919035
Website: The Balance
Orienting employees to their workplaces and their jobs is one of the most neglected functions in many organizations. An employee handbook and piles of paperwork are not sufficient anymore when it comes to welcoming a new employee to your organization.
The most frequent complaints about new employee orientationare that it is overwhelming, boring, or that the new employee is left to sink or swim. Employees feel as if the organization dumped too much information on them which they were supposed to understand and implement in much too short of a time period.
The result is often a confused new employee who is not as productive as he could be. He is also more likely to leave the organization within a year. This is costly to both the employer and the employee. Multiply this by the number of employees that you hire each year and the cost of turnover becomes significant.
With an ongoing labor crunch, developing an effective employee orientation experience continues to be crucial. It is critical that new hire programs are carefully planned to educate the employee about the organization's values and history and about who is who in the organization.
A well thought out orientation program, whether it lasts one day or six months, will help not only in the retention of employees but also in the increases in employee productivity. Organizations that have good orientation programs get new people up to speed faster, have better alignment between what the employees do and what the organization needs them to do, and have lower turnover rates.
Purposes of Orientation
Employers have to realize that orientation isn't just a nice gesture put on by the organization. It serves as an important element of the new employee welcome and organization integration.
· To Reduce Startup Costs: Proper orientation can help the employee get up to speed much more quickly, thereby reducing the costs associated with learning the job.
· To Reduce Anxiety: Any employee, when put into a new, strange situation, will experience anxiety that can impede his or her ability to learn to do the job. Proper orientation helps to reduce anxiety that results from entering into an unknown situation and helps provide guidelines for behavior and conduct, so the employee doesn't have to experience the stress of guessing.
· To Reduce Employee Turnover: Employee turnoverincreases as employees feel they are not valued or are put in positions where they can't possibly do their jobs. Orientation shows that the organization values the employee, and helps provide the tools necessary for succeeding in the job.
· To Save Time for the Supervisor: Simply put, the better the initial orientation, the less likely that supervisors and coworkers will have to spend time teaching the employee. You can effectively and efficiently cover all of the things about the company, the departments, the work environment, and the culture during orientation. The manager and coworkers will then need to only reinforce these concepts.
· To Develop Realistic Job Expectations, Positive Attitudes and Job Satisfaction: It is important that employees learn as soon as possible what is expected of them, and what to expect from others, in addition to learning about the values and attitudes of the organization.
While people can learn from experience, they will make many mistakes that are unnecessary and potentially damaging. The main reasons orientation programs fail: The program was not planned; the employee was unaware of the job requirements; the employee does not feel welcome.
Employee orientation is important—orientation provides a lot of benefits, and you can use feedback from
participating employees to make your orientations even better.
All new employees should complete a new employment orientation program that is designed to assist them in adjusting to their jobs and work environment and to instill a positive work attitude and motivation at the onset.
A thoughtful new employee orientation program can reduce turnover and save an organization thousands of dollars. One reason people change jobs is because they never feel welcome or part of the organization they join.
What Do You Need to Include in Your New Employee Orientation Process?
The most important principle to convey during an orientation is your commitment to continuous improvement and continual learning. That way, new employees become comfortable with asking questions to obtain the information that they need to learn, problem solve and make decisions.
A well-thought-out orientation process takes energy, time and commitment, however, it usually pays off for the individual employee, the department, and the organization. One such example is Mecklenburg County's (North Carolina) success in revamping its employee orientation program.
The employer wanted to live up to its credo of employees being the organization's greatest resource. In 1996, as part of a larger initiative to redesign services to meet customer needs, the Mecklenburg County Human Resources Department staff made a smart decision. They viewed new employees as part of their customer base and asked their customers what they wanted.
Employees were asked what they wanted and needed from orientation. They were also asked what they liked and didn't like about orientation. New employees were asked what they wanted to know about the organization. Additionally, the organization's senior managers were asked what they believed was important for employees to learn when joining the county payroll.
Using feedback collected from employees, Mecklenburg's HR training staff first realized that meeting employees' needs required more than a half day training session. Trusting employee feedback, the trainers crafted a one-day orientation that gave employees what they said they wanted and what senior management believed employees needed to know.
Essentially, the orientation mix now includes the less exciting topics such as W-2s and various policies and procedures, but it also includes details that let the employee know something about the organization.
Need more on how to plan an employee orientation that's beneficial and fun?
Key New Employee Orientation Planning Questions
Human Resource professionals and line managers first need to consider key new employee orientation planning questions before implementing or revamping a current program. These are the key questions to ask.
· What things do new employees need to know about this work environment that would make them more comfortable?
· What impression and impact do you want to have on a new employee's first day?
· What key policies and procedures must employees be aware of on the first day to avoid mistakes on the second day? Concentrate on vital issues.
· What special things (desk, work area, equipment, special instructions) can you provide to make new employees feel comfortable, welcome and secure?
· What positive experience can you provide for the new employee that she could discuss with her family at the end of the first day of work? The experience should be something to make the new employee feel valued by the organization.
· How can you help the new employee's supervisor be available to the new employee on the first day to provide personal attention and to convey a clear message that the new employee is an important addition to the work team?
How to Put Your Best Foot Forward for a New Employee
Since first impressions are crucial, here are some tips for putting your best foot forward.
· Begin the process before the new person starts work. Send an agenda to the new associate with the offer letter so that the employee knows what to expect. Stay in touch after he or she has accepted the position to answer questions. Make sure the new person's work area is ready for the first day of work.
· Make sure that key coworkers know the employee is starting and encourage them to come to say "hello" before orientation begins. A new employee welcome letter with an agenda allows coworkers to stay in touch with the new employee and her schedule.
· Assign a mentor or buddy, to show the new person around, make introductions, and start training. Let the mentor have sufficient notice so that they can make preparations. The mentoring relationship should continue for 90 days and may continue much longer if the pair makes a great connection. Many relationships go on for years and may even turn into a sponsorship.
· Start with the basics. People become productive sooner if they are firmly grounded in the basic knowledge they need to understand their job. Focus on the why, when, where, and how of the position before expecting them to handle assignments or big projects. Don't overwhelm them with too much information.
· Provide samples about how to complete forms and the person's job description with the orientation packet.
· Have some fun. Concentrate only on the very important topics of the handbook. Play some games—this can help people learn. Games include Photo Match: after the tour. Each employee is provided photos of other employees and a list of names. The object is to match the name with the face. Signature Hunt: While employees are touring the facility, provide them with a piece of paper with the names of several associates they will be meeting. They are then asked to obtain the signatures of the people they meet. The employee who obtains the most signatures from a variety of new coworkers gets a prize. Other games that pertain to what the employee learned during orientation are also effective assurances that orientation is successful.
· Provide a list of FAQs with a contact person, and phone number or extension.
· Plan to take the new employee to lunch, or ask others to join the new employee in the lunchroom or in a conference room with other members of the department. The first day on the job is not the day to leave the new employee alone during lunch. This is a good time for the supervisor to take the employee to lunch, include other coworkers, and make sure the employee is at ease. It's also an excellent environment in which employees can get to know each other and the new coworker.
· Keep the new person's family in mind. A new job means an adjustment for the entire family, especially if they have relocated. Do what you can to ease the transition and help them feel comfortable in the community.
· Ask for feedback. Find out from former new hires how they perceived the orientation process, and don't be afraid to make changes based on those recommendations. You can send an evaluation two to four weeks after the employee has started, and ask: Now that you have been with the company awhile, did the new employee orientation meet your needs? After the employee has worked for you for awhile he finds out what he should have learned but did not at the orientation. At Mecklenburg County, after their redesign process, one of the trainers, Allyson Birbiglia said, "We recognize that we have to continuously improve orientation to meet the changing needs of our customers. What works now may not serve our employees well next month or next year."
An effective orientation program—or the lack of one—will make a significant difference in how quickly a new employee becomes productive and has other long-term impacts for your organization. The end of the first day, the end of the first week, the end of each day in your employment, is just as important as the beginning.
Help your employees feel that you want them to come back the next day, and the next, and the next.
What Are the Benefits of New Employee Orientation Programs?
by Leigh Richards
Retrieved April 5, 2017 from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/benefits-new-employee-orientation-programs-1281.html
The Houston Chronicle
No publication date
Employee orientation is the process of introducing employees to their new jobs and work environments. Orientation provides an opportunity for new employees to become acclimated to their new company, department, colleagues and work expectations. Effective orientations provide many benefits for employers and employees, and can ensure a smooth transition into the new workplace for all involved.
Employee orientation benefits the organization by providing an opportunity to introduce employees to the fundamentals of the company and their jobs from an administrative standpoint. Employees benefit from learning the important rules and details of the job and position. During orientation employers will verify any licenses or certifications required for the job--driver's license, teaching credential, broker's license. Employees will complete necessary paperwork, receive and review the employee handbook, learn about and sign up for benefits and learn about some very fundamental elements of the new position--parking arrangements, where the cafeteria and restrooms are.
Fewer Mistakes, Faster Productivity
The benefits of orientation are clear and visible to both the new employee and the organization, says Jean Barbazette of The Training Clinic. The organization benefits from such factors as reduced turnover or improved productivity as a few of the benefits of a systematic orientation. Employees benefit from feeling valued and "fitting in" to the new job more easily and quickly. And, she says, fewer mistakes are made by the new employees who are more relaxed.
Rules of Engagement
The greatest benefit to effective orientation, says Lin Grensing-Pophal, author of "Human Resource Essentials", is the ability for the organization to acclimate the new employee to the culture of the organization. Many cultural norms are subtle and unstated. Employee orientation can offer an opportunity for new employees to meet and interact with role models who can serve as coaches and mentors during the orientation process.
Why a Successful New Employee Orientation Program is Vital for Business
January 18, 2013
http://www.acloche.com/blog/why-a-successful-new-employee-orientation-program-is-vital-for-business/
Website and Author: Acloche
Implementing New Employee Orientation Programs is a benefit for you, your company and your employees. Orientation programs offer a plethora of advantages and the opportunity to go over a variety of important key points, many of which are neglected in typical business practice.
If you have not yet implemented a New Employee Orientation Program into your business practices, then Quarter One is a perfect time to see how well the program will work within your company environment. Here are a few benefits that you may want to contemplate when considering implementing an orientation program:
· New employees often feel high levels of stress and anxiety when entering a new environment with new expectations and responsibilities piled on top of them. An orientation program helps familiarize new employees with their surroundings and expectations, establishing a sense of feeling comfortable and accustomed. These newfound feelings typically allow the employee to be confident and positive towards their work and environment leading to a greater probability for success.
· New employees often have a laundry list of questions concerning their new environment and work responsibilities. New employee orientation offers an opportunity to answer many of these questions thoroughly. It also avoids taking valuable time out of mangers, supervisors and co-workers schedules to answer new employees’ questions.
· New employees in a new work environment, especially an industrial environment, pose the possibility of risks and dangers which can correlate into increased costs. By providing orientation to outline the dangers of the workplace, these costs and risks are significantly reduced.
However, in order to insure that your business reaps the full benefits of an orientation program, you must also insure that your program is both sufficient and successful. Providing a successful and beneficial orientation program for your employees is two-fold.
First, you must dedicate a portion of the orientation process to cover the general policies and procedures of your company, including compensations, benefits, employee rights and general employee responsibilities.+
The second part of your orientation process should be specific to the new employee’s position including the company’s expectations for the position and any specific policies and procedures.
Each new employee, regardless of rank within the company, should be involved in a new employee orientation process that includes a warm welcome. Follow a few guidelines outlined below to help increase your employee retention rate while also providing a positive work environment for employees from the start.
· Do not forget to include introductions during orientation. It is important for new employees to feel comfortable and acquainted with co-workers, making introductions to those they will work with an essential part of orientation.
· Do not overload and overwhelm new employees with a ton of information all at once. Stretch the orientation process over a couple of days to allow new employees to process and retain the information you are expecting them to learn.
· Always begin the orientation process with most relevant and important information. New employees are likely to be more attentive on their first day of work, allowing you to cover the most important issues with full attention and enthusiasm.
Following these suggestions and guidelines will help lead you to a successful new employee orientation program that is beneficial for you, your business and your staff
First Minutes Are Critical in New-Employee Orientation
HBS Working Knowledge , CONTRIBUTOR
APR 1, 2013
Forbes
Employee orientation programs are much more successful when they are less about the company and more about the employee, according to new research by Daniel M. Cable, Francesca Gino, and Bradley R. Staats. Gino discusses the research in this story by Carmen Nobel, which first appeared on the HBS Working Knowledge website .
The first few minutes of new employee orientation, if done right, can lead to happier and more productive workers and, ultimately, increased customer satisfaction. Unfortunately, a lot of companies do it wrong.
In many firms, employee orientation focuses solely on corporate culture and identity of the new workplace. There's a lecture about the firm's history and another about standard operating procedures. There's a packet of information from human resources, emblazoned with the firm's logo, and maybe a coffee mug to match.
The underlying message: Welcome. You should be proud to work here. Please fit in accordingly.
But research suggests that employee orientation ought to be less about the company and more about the employee. In their paper "Breaking Them In or Eliciting Their Best? Reframing Socialization around Newcomers' Self-expression," published in the March 2013 Administrative Science Quarterly, a research team finds that shifting the focus to an employee's personal identity leads to an increase in both employee retention and customer satisfaction.
"Organizations will talk about recruiting from outside the company because they need new ideas and new blood, but then there is this tendency to shut off the new and basically transfer the corporate culture over to the new employee," says Francesca Gino, an associate professor at Harvard Business School who cowrote the paper with Daniel M. Cable of London Business School and Bradley R. Staats (HBS MBA '02, DBA '09) of the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School. "It was interesting for us to think about how part of your identity seems to go away as you go through that process."
Previous studies have shown that employees are especially productive and happy when employers encourage them to use their individual signature strengths on the job, but historically those studies did not consider the employee onboarding process, Gino says. The researchers hypothesized that companies would see positive performance results by emphasizing employee individuality from day one, testing their hypothesis through a series of field and lab experiments.
For starters, they conducted a field study at Wipro, a major business process outsourcing company based in Bangalore, India, that provides telephone and chat support for its global customers. Traditionally, Wipro's orientation for call center employees consisted of an informational session about the company, followed by several weeks of training in which new call agents) must demonstrate proficiency in English, as well as an aptitude for following standard procedures during customer calls.
Individuality was not just discounted; in some ways it was expressly discouraged. "As a service role, the job can be stressful, not only because employees must help frustrated customers with their problems, but because Indian call center employees are often expected to 'de-Indianize' many elements of their behavior—for example, by adopting a Western accent and attitude," the paper explains.
Wipro was dealing with a big dropout dilemma; more than half of its call center employees quit only a few months after training. "Wipro presented us with the problem of figuring out whether there was anything we could do to reduce turnover," Gino says. "We thought it was the perfect environment to test whether we could make a difference just by changing something minor in the onboarding process."
Identity experiments
In the field experiment, the researchers divided batches of new call agents into an individual identity group, an organizational identity group, and a control group. The control group went through the traditional process, focused on firm awareness and skills training. The two identity groups received the same training as the control group, but also an additional hour-long presentation, which varied according to the group.
For the individual identity condition, a senior leader at Wipro spent 15 minutes discussing ways in which working at the company would enable the newcomers to express their individuality. Next, the new call agents completed an exercise ranking the individual strengths they would exhibit if stranded on a life raft at sea; they also spent time considering how their responses might differ from their colleagues'. Then, the agents answered a series of questions about their individual strengths such as, "What is unique about you that leads to your happiest times and best performance at work?" Finally, the agents shared their strengths with their future office mates.
At the end of the session, employees in the individual identity group received fleece sweatshirts embroidered with their individual names, along with a name badge. They were asked to wear them for the duration of employee training.
For the organizational condition, new employees spent 15 minutes listening to a senior Wipro leader and a "star performer" at the company talk about why Wipro was a singular place to work. Next, the newcomers spent 15 minutes writing answers to questions such as, "What did you hear about Wipro today that you would be proud to tell your family about?" Finally, the group members discussed their answers with each other.
At the end of the session, employees in the organizational identity group received fleece sweatshirts embroidered with the company name, along with a badge. They were asked to wear them for the duration of employee training.
Seven months later, the researchers looked into whether the orientation changes affected how long the newcomers/agents chose to stay with the company. "Considering we just changed one hour on the first day of orientation, the results were amazing," Gino says.
The turnover rate in the control group was 47.2 percent higher than that of the individual identity group, and 16.2 percent higher than that of the organizational identity group. And turnover was 26.7 percent higher in the organizational identity condition than in the individual identity condition. Additionally, employees in the individual identity group had garnered higher customer satisfaction scores during the seven months than those in the control group.
To further study the reasons behind the findings, the researchers conducted a similar experiment in the controlled environment of a university lab. They recruited 175 college students for a three-hour study, conducted over two consecutive days. The students were told at the start that they would be working on a series of tasks, including data entry. All participants completed day one of the study (receiving $35 for their trouble). They were given the choice of whether to return on the second day (in which case they'd receive an additional $15).
As with the field experiment, some participants were placed in a control group, others engaged in activities that stressed individuality (creating personalized nametags, for example), and some focused on the identity of the organization (such as creating a logo for the research lab).
After the experiments, participants filled out a short questionnaire about their experience in the lab, indicating their level of agreement with statements such as, "Within this research team, I felt like a distinctive person." These were meant to measure what the researchers call "authentic self-expression."
Lab participants in the individuality group reported higher levels of authentic self-expression than those in the organizational group. Individuality group participants also performed better and faster on data-entry tasks than those in the other groups. Furthermore, those in the individuality group were much more likely to return to the lab on the second day, indicating that the opportunity for self-expression is indeed directly related to employee retention.
Lessons for businesses
For employers, the implications of the findings are pretty clear: "Given that the standard, organization-focused approach of employee socialization is so common, it would benefit managers to think about an alternative approach where there's more room for newcomers' self-expression, Gino says. "This is a pivotal stage of the employee/employer relationship, and there are ways to emphasize people's individuality so they can bring it out into their jobs. To Wipro's credit, after seeing the results of the study, the company redesigned its employee orientation process such that personal identity socialization is a part of it."
