Successful New Hire Orientation Agenda for An Efficient Employee Onboarding

The newly joined employees need to be made comfortable and welcomed as they step into the company. A new hire orientation can be a great way to engage the employees innovatively as they step into the company. The program is framed to keep the new employees educated on their roles and responsibilities by highlighting the company values that complement the company goals. A good orientation program can be a great tool in carving the employees into the workplace.

What Is The Difference Between Orientation and Onboarding?

There is always quite a lot of confusion regarding the terms orientation and onboarding related to new employees. Companies tend to combine the two terms as a single term most of the time. However, the terms orientation and onboarding are different, and each stands for its purpose.

Orientation for New Hires in The Company

The orientation in a company is an essential process to present the new hires about the work and the company culture of the working environment. The employee orientation process is to give them an overview of the team and their role in the company. Moreover, it is vital to keep them updated on the policies of the company. The program covers the signing of necessary papers and answering the queries of the employees.

Onboarding The New Hires into The Organization

Onboarding of the new employees enables the employees to combine with the organization. The HR onboarding process  comes with the necessary details and company tools required for the employees to take up the work in the organization. The possession should be planned strategically, and it can go on for about a year. The onboarding experience ensures that the employees can handle the work in their beginning days, leading to employee retention.

Differentiating The Distinct Elements of Orientation and Onboarding

The orientation process can be considered as one of the initial steps of the onboarding process. Moreover, orientation is a single event conducted within a few days or a week. However, the onboarding process can take up to a year that channelizes the working progress of the employees. The orientation would be the introduction of the working atmosphere, and the onboarding process would be a monitoring of the employees' initial journey in the organization.

What Is The Importance of A New Hire Orientation?

The employee orientation program plays a vital role in marking the new beginning in the organization. An uncomfortable and cramped environment with an unconnected beginning can be a setback for the employees to continue to work in the organization during the employee onboarding process. So, it is essential to keep the orientation interactive and engaging, thereby ensuring the employees with confidence and trust in the company systems. Ensure to make them feel valuable, enriching the company to reach heights. Moreover, giving a clear picture of the businesses and the code of business conduct can help them understand the business update in the company.

What Are The Elements That Comprise A New Hire Orientation Program?

The essence of a successful orientation program is the organization and how it distinguishes itself by instilling a sense of security in new hires. In general, the orientation program has some specifications to be handled throughout the program. The necessary details that need to be addressed in the new hire orientation programs are as follows:

Conveying The History of The Company

As the employees are new to the company, they must be unaware of the company structure and its glorious history. Ensure that you create a significant impact by mentioning the lauds of the company and highlighting the positive aspects that brought the company to its present stature. The organization's history should strongly convince the employees that they have made the right choice in choosing to work in your organization. It would be beneficial if you could convey to them some of the events that changed the organization's trajectory. Moreover, along with the company history, it is vital to make sure that the employees are educated on the values and mission of the company.

Detailing about The Company Policies

The critical aspect of the orientation program is to ensure that the new employees are informed about the policies and procedures that govern the organization. Several policies and company processes are mandatory for almost all organizations. However, some of the procedures can vary for each organization. Some of the necessary policies that can be addressed in the orientation program include:

• Workplace safety policy ensuring the safety precautions taken for all the machinery and other working models
• Harassment and Discrimination policy for the personal safety of the employees
• Equal Employment Opportunity policy ensures that all employees are provided with the same opportunity
• Disciplinary policies that state the decorum of the company that needs to be maintained at all costs

Your organization's policies and procedures are to be addressed in the handbook and conveyed to the new hires on their orientation. Ensure to give them the hard and soft copies of the handbook. Moreover, it is essential to get the employees signed in an acknowledgment stating that they have accepted and reviewed the entire handbook.

Introducing The New Employees to The Senior Officials

After giving them a brief about the organization's history, they should be introduced to the higher and senior officials of the workplace. It is a two-way street as both the employees and the executive leaders can introduce themselves and engage in an effective conversation. The senior officials can use this opportunity to impact the organization for the new employees. Moreover, the orientation program can have a speech scheduled by one of the most distinguished executives to increase confidence and highlight the career opportunities for the new hires. If an individual is onboarding, a welcome video can be compiled to set an effective tone to start the new journey and an positive onboarding experience.

Giving A Tour of The Various Departments

The new employees might be out of the place on their first day. So, giving them a tour around the various departments and their functions would be a great way of kick starting their new journey. The managers of each department can address the new employees and give them insights into the department. It can be pretty helpful for them as it comes directly from the managers. You can have the entire group of new joinees, or a few groups split accordingly so that the detailed view of a department can be portrayed very well to all the individuals.

Informing about The Procedures Related to Payroll

The employees should be informed about the payroll procedure at the initial stage of their effective onboarding process. Informing them through the orientation process can significantly help both the managers and the employees. The employees must fill out all the forms related to tax. The employees should be updated about the working hours and how their pay is calculated and maintained accurately. It is also essential that the employees be informed about the benefits and other details associated with the payroll department.

Having A Question and Answer Session

As a new hire, the individual would be posed with so many questions and seek answers. Firstly, you can prepare all the necessary and frequently asked questions from the previous orientation programs, compile them together and answer all those questions to the employees. Once you are done with the frequently asked questions, you can allow them to speak out. So, having a question and answer session would be a great tool in bringing out unanswered queries. Moreover, you can take these questions and compile them with the frequently asked questions.

Following Effective Tips for A Successful Orientation

The orientation's effectiveness depends on how well you proceed through the program and instill confidence and faith in the employees' ability to work with the company. So, it is essential to garner specific ways to help in the program's success. Some of the practical tips to create a proper orientation program are as follows:

Creating A Checklist for The Program

The checklist can be an efficient tool to proceed forward with the program. It is essential to note that the employee orientation checklist should comprise the entire process and procedure of the program. You can jot down the necessary pointers to address the new employees with this onboarding checklist. Moreover, the checklist can help you keep track so that you would not go out of the program and stay within the fixed agenda.

Spreading Out The Entire Program

The orientation program can be short and crisp within a day or two, and it can also be elaborate, lasting for a week. So, never try to bring all the programs into a single day as it would look a lot suffocating for the employees to take in on their first day at work. It can result in them forgetting about the most crucial part of the program. So, having an elaborate orientation program can help them gather information regarding the workplace in their own time and space.

Garnering Patience and Minimizing Surprises

The new employees will be settling down, and giving them ample time to get themselves acquainted with the company is necessary. It would help not rush them with a heavy workload on their first week. Moreover, it is essential to inform them of all the intricate details of the working environment so as not to be alarmed over time.

Keeping It Simple and Engaging

The new employees can be pretty nervous and intimidated to work in a new environment, so the program mustn't be bombarded with heavy sessions. The prime motto should be to keep the employees comfortable, so the program schedule should revolve around this motto. Moreover, you can bring in some fun elements to keep them engaging and relieve the stress of being in a new place.

Utilizing The Essential Tools and Software

Conducting the orientation would require you to keep the new employees informed about all the software and technologies used in the organization. The software for logging, logging out, other related software, and their demonstration are to be explained to them in detail. You can also convey the whole networking system that holds the organization together.

What Are Some of The Employee Orientation Activities?

Each company can choose to have its type of activity to conduct the initial orientation of the new employees. You can allocate time separately for having an activity to get out of their comfort zone. Some of the practical activities and orientation tasks that can be incorporated into the program are listed below.

Beginning with A Welcome Gift

A warm welcome by giving them a gift or company swag that represents the company can be off to a great start. You can also provide them with gift cards to fetch them offers in certain restaurants or cafes. Moreover, the gifts can be a mark that wishes them in starting this new venture with your company. You can also create a basket filled with company goods and the employee handbook, ensuring that they have become a part of the company right from the start and no longer an outsider.

Pairing Up with A Mentor

Mentor programs are always an effective way to get the new hires on board, and allocating time during orientation would be a better choice. So, pairing them up with mentors can make them feel at ease in the workplace. It is necessary to ensure that the mentors are paired so that both their thought processes are aligned together. You can work on this process in detail by asking them to fill out questionnaires that help find the right mentor and mentee match. Mentoring programs, especially a peer to peer mentoring program, can help the new employees move along with the company at the earliest.

Setting Up The Workstation

The new employees would be just as excited as they are nervous about their first day or week at work. So, their workstations must be set up efficiently with all the necessary things arranged appropriately. Moreover, you can also decorate the workstation by having a welcome banner or placing a few desk decorations that can enlighten the space. It could make the new hire feel more welcomed and valued in the workplace. In the case of a remote working environment, you can ensure that you provide an efficient workstation for your remote employees and an option for remote orientation.

Offering Technical Advice

Most of the new employees are not tech wizards updated with all the latest technology, which is pretty understandable. So, you can keep them posted about the company's technology and impart knowledge about technology in general. Moreover, you can also arrange them for a training session to understand the system and its functions. These sessions could give them confidence that the organization can be a great learning platform.

Initiating The Introduction through Icebreakers

The new employee introduction can be progressed innovatively. You can use this opportunity to break the ice to make all the employees comfortable with each other. So, you can introduce each of them by clubbing it with the icebreaker session, helping the employees build a relationship with their colleagues in the company. Ensure to choose effective games that can bond the employees and create a closer connection. At the end of the icebreaker, each employee can introduce themselves and any other personal information.

Hosting A Team Lunch Welcome Party

Seating together and having a meal can have a tremendous and effective impact that is relatively unexplored. The social setting can help the new employees navigate their way out of their comfort zone and engage with their colleagues. If you want to go one step further, you can even organize a small cooking session (for example, by ordering an easy-to-cook meal kit) to let your whole team interact with each other. You can also have a small welcome party at the premises by calling the caterers and arranging for a compact and comfortable lunch setting. If you are a large group, you can hold multiple small lunch meetings that can help the new hires engage with each one individually.

Bringing Together The Elements That Make The New Hire Orientation

The new hires in a working environment would always feel out of place, and it is the company's responsibility to ensure their comfort. The company and the team should come up with a compelling orientation program plan that can instill the employees in the company's values and make them feel cherished. The orientation should have an effective process that can help engage and enlighten the employees to embark on this new journey in the organization. The goal is that the employee can feel a sense of connection to the organization at the completion of orientation.