6 Tips on How to Provide a Job Orientation Your Employees Embrace

June 9, 2017

 

iCIMS Staff

3 min read

If your company doesn’t have a formal job orientation program to onboard new hires, create one. Now.

A study conducted by Equifax found that over half of people who left a job in the last year did so in the first year of their position, and the bulk of those leave within the first six months. With the high cost associated with finding and hiring new people, greater training and onboarding needs to be provided to reduce turnover. A new hire orientation program should be closely aligned to your organization’s culture, mission, employment brand, business initiatives and goals. The best programs begin the moment an offer is extended and ends when they are considered a fully-functioning employee. A well-managed program impacts the company’s bottom line, so let’s break it down with a new hire orientation checklist:

1. Invest in an automated employee onboarding software.

The onboarding software should be dedicated to the end-to-end talent acquisition lifecycle, allowing recruiters and hiring managers to quickly and easily manage tasks, keep everyone on track with task reminders and deadlines, and measure new hire activity, internal processes and employee turnover. It also allows you to extend a personal welcome and helps you save time and improve management of electronic files to eliminate paperwork.

2. Start the onboarding process before day one.

The faster a new hire feels welcome and prepared for their new job, the faster that employee will be able to contribute to the company’s overall success. Rather than spending hours filling out paperwork on their first day, it is wise to push all necessary documents and forms, such as I-9 and E-Verify, out to the new hire through the company onboarding portal prior to their start date, enabling them to be more prepared and engaged when they finally begin their new role.

3. Create a program for all new employees.

New hire training programs are not one-size-fits-all, but there are certain elements that every job orientation should include:

An overview of the company’s values, mission, and culture

• General company-wide policies and procedures, including appropriate dress code, parking details, etc.
• Key business processes and systems in place
•  Introductions and overviews to various departments and an overview of the organizational chart
• Information about benefits, including healthcare, 401k, etc.
• Office tours
• Training on any technologies that will be used

4. Personalize the training program.

Roles across various departments require different levels of training. To ensure your new hire feels 100 percent comfortable in their new role and ready to contribute, their manager should have materials ready for them including process documents, their specific goals and how they fit into the overarching company strategy, a customized learning plan and objectives, and meetings with important-to-know people, such as their mentor and fellow team members.

5. Keep it fun and relevant.

Although onboarding is a very important component of an organization, keeping it fun and engaging will help to ensure that the information is retained and that employees are excited about their new role. New hire breakfasts or socials, scavenger hunts, and group exercises can help break the ice, contribute to a positive onboarding experience, and aid in the assimilation process. But ensure that your teambuilding activities are relevant and reflect the culture that your company promotes.

6. Set milestones.

Be clear in your new hire’s goals and objectives, and set milestones and check-ins to confirm that they are on the right track and receiving the resources and training they need to be successful.

As a result of creating or updating your new hire orientation and onboarding program, you will notice greater new hire engagement, enhanced HR productivity, better retention rates, improved task management, and saved time and money.