Article by Barbara O'Toole
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. Include information about what specifically goes in to 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 fits 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 assign a departmental "mentor" 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 supervisor 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 training programs 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 receive 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.
Now that you know how to orient and integrate your employee sucessfully, read about how to avoid turning off your new employee.
