What is new employee orientation?
New employee orientation is the first step in integrating new hires into your workforce. Orientation is intended to equip new hires with the skills they need to be successful in their position as the first step in facilitating a smooth transition to your workplace. The creation of new hire orientation should emphasize and complement your company’s ethos.
Why It’s Important to Have a Great Orientation?
Setting the tone for your employees’ experience at your business is a fantastic new-hire orientation. You should concentrate on developing a successful new employee orientation to:
Help brand-new hires feel at home
The first time a new employee interacts with your team as an official member is during orientation. It’s crucial to greet them in a welcoming atmosphere because they might be anxious about starting a new job.
Prepare new hires for the position for which they were recruited
No matter how skilled a new employee is, you need to help them succeed in your business. Making sure your new hire orientation is tailored to the particular position you’ve hired for can help ensure they receive the information and tools they need to do their jobs.
Have all necessary governmental and corporate legal standards
Mandatory paperwork completion should be a part of new employee orientation. Both federal documents like their W-2 and documents specific to the company, like the employee handbook, fall under this category.
Encourage involvement
Early involvement can be increased by orientation programs that make new hires feel at home in their workplace, leading to happier, more effective employees.
Reduce turnover
A new hire who goes through an orientation that helps them get ready for their new role and makes them feel valued by the business is more likely to stick around.
What to Go Over in New Hire Orientation
The company, the sector, and the particular roles you’ve hired for will all influence the new hire orientation program you create. Programs for general orientation frequently address the following information.
1. Company Background
Reiterate the employee’s decision to join your firm by outlining the history of your business. Highlight any significant occurrences that altered the company’s course as well as the goal and core values of your organization.
2. A Brief Overview of Executive Executives
Introduce new employees to the organization’s executive leaders and managers. Schedule your most well-known executives as speakers during new hire orientation, if at all feasible. If you are integrating new hires one at a time, you might want to think about having senior leaders record a welcome video.
3. Rules and regulations
The training for new employees must encompass several policies and procedures. While some processes are company-specific, others are governed by federal law. Following are a few policies and processes that may be covered during your orientation:
- Details on your business’s dedication to its equitable employment opportunity (EEO) policies
- Policy against harassment
- Security and safety measures
- Discipline procedures
- PTO (paid time off) regulations
- Other crucial regulations for the business
Your employee handbook ought to include details of all rules. Ensure that your employee handbook is distributed to each employee in physical copy and digital form. Each new employee should sign a form acknowledging that they have received and read the handbook after the orientation is over.
4. Payment Methods
W-4 and other tax papers must be completed by new employees. Employees should be briefed by your payroll department or HR on how time is tracked within the company and their responsibilities for keeping accurate pay records. This contains any data about timekeeping.
5. Information unique to a Department or Division
If your company has a variety of job titles, ask the managers of each division to talk with new hires. You can divide the group into smaller groups and arrange for new employees to meet with the department head, or you can have each manager address the group as a whole.
6. Frequently Asked Queries (FAQs)
Make a list of inquiries based on inquiries made during earlier orientation classes. Typically, these are unrelated inquiries that can make new employees feel more at ease or prepared during their first few weeks on the job.
7. Any Other Questions?
Once you’ve covered everything you had planned to, check with the new employees to see if they have any questions not covered by the FAQs. Add new inquiries as they come up to the FAQ section of upcoming meetings.
Finally, every new employee in a company needs to be given access to a core of knowledge. However, elements will differ based on the position’s level, duties, and previous expertise of the new hire.