I am on the cusp of my six month “anniversary†with my current employer, and I got to attend an orientation session earlier this week.
If I had to describe that experience with one word, it would be “amazing.â€
Seeing our VPs of HR and Operations go out to meet the new employees, field questions, and provide some background on values and expectations was inspiring for me. As an in-between employee (both in HR and a new employee), they wanted to know my take on the experience. My response was something dripping praise, but it basically boiled down to “keep it up.â€
Since I started, I have been tracking our turnover rates. There are some trends that I am interested in observing as this new element to the hiring process begins.
Take it from someone who will tell it to you straight. Do an orientation with new employees. If you want it to be more useful, wait until they\’ve been there for a few weeks (or do it in two parts). That way you can ask about problems/issues before the person begins to feel powerless, and hopefully you can rectify them in some way. It makes a big difference to people when they feel appreciated. I’m walking proof of that.
But whatever you do, just do something. As a semi-new employee, I left the meeting with the desire to do something amazing for my organization. Wouldn\’t you want your employees to want the same thing?
I agree with you Ben. It is so important not only to welcome new employees during an orientation, it also lessens their anxiety because it gives them detailed information about how the company works from the inside. Up until that point, they only know what they have read, heard, or been told in the interview. I have also seen it happen many times that the “newbies” tend to bond in the orientation session and that bond can often carry over many years with the organization. Nice job!
I love the follow-up orientation. At the former place, we did a 90 day follow up to see if everything was as expected and if the training was useful. You get a lot of good information out of the follow-up orientations plus the new employees feel like the company actually cares about them and their opinion.