Orientation: First
Impression... Lasting Impact
Eliminate information overload on the first day.
By Diane Lustenader, SPHR and Mary Ellen Blaha, PHR
After thousands of dollars and a difficult search, you've found the right candidates for your material handling distributorship, and all your troubles are over, right? Wrong. Hoping new employees will hit the ground running without further effort is like expecting to live in a new house comfortably without unpacking.
Orientation is an excellent tool which can improve employee productivity, satisfaction and retention...if it is done correctly. Orientation today is more than filling out required personnel forms. It is a real alignment with company culture and forging a feeling of "membership" in the organization--assimilation, not enrollment.
During the recruitment process, you positioned your company as an employer of choice and marketed its benefits to your candidates; now you have to deliver on that promise. First day impressions have a significant impact. In tight labor markets, your new hires are sure to have other companies contacting them even after they begin at your company. One important goal for an orientation program is to reinforce your new hire's decision to join your firm.
Be sure you don't tell your employees they will be TESTED on the orientation materials! This is a real anxiety builder. A better method is to have "fill in the blanks" worksheets to accompany the orientation. Employees will better remember information they have to write down.
A common error of traditional orientation programs is to pack too much information, from a limited number of contacts, into a short period of time. The stated intention of this "quick start" program is to get people on the job quickly, but in reality, new employees feel like they are "drinking from a fire hose."
Imagine the delight of a new hire employee who receives a welcome kit with a traditional offer letter, along with a celebratory letter from the President, an agenda of assimilation events scheduled over a three month period (not on the first day!), the name of an orientation "buddy," "sponsor" or "peer advisor," a list of items to bring on the first day and a notice of the first day luncheon. Many new hire papers and forms can be sent ahead of time so that the first day is not spent with writer's cramp.
The formal orientation activities may span months, be conducted by cross-functional staff and include such diverse topics as organizational goals, retirement planning, supplier relations and how to mail personal letters. If the orientation has to be squeezed into several consecutive days for off-site employees or groups, be sure to provide breaks about every hour, include some fun and games (scavenger hunt) and remember that adults learn best by participating. Modularize your orientation program as much as practical.
Surveys of new hires show that there is lower initial and long-term turnover in organizations that give employees a taste of their job on the first day, preferably on the first morning. It is best to start the day off in the new hire's department. Following are success strategies that can be customized to your special needs--whether you orient individuals, groups of similar level employees, seasonal staff, relocatees and their families, consultants, temps, merger or acquisition new hires or executives.
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Assimilation-based orientation is an ongoing process involving many employees, not a moment in time. A priority goal is to reduce non-productive time (month 1--65%; month 2--45%; and month 3--35%). Just as important, however, are goals to relieve anxiety, set expectations, encourage socialization and team building, assure early successes and build a feeling of "belonging."
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Preparations
Like any good campaign, success is often determined in its planning. Equipment, a mail box, a work place and a schedule of events need to be ordered and put in place before the new employee starts. If the employee gets a cell phone, beeper, laptop, keys, security card, car, credit cards or other items, they should all be waiting for him. Record his voice mail greeting until he can do it personally.
Send out the welcome package and internal and external announcements of the new hire--press releases where appropriate. Give copies to your new employee.
New hires are thrilled to have a name on the cubicle (or door) and business cards on their first day. It's so easy to make temporary ones on the computer while permanent ones are being printed.
"Insiders' Guide"
Companies with "Insiders' Guides" get rave reviews from their new employees. These guides are often written by buddies or orientation teams. They contain lots of cultural tips and are written in a very informal, fun, conversational tone. These guides are the core of buddy training and are filled with useful tips for success at the company (vs. job training done by the supervisors).
Typical contents of an Insiders' Guide include the "unofficial rules" such as:
- Birthdays, holiday gifts, life milestones--how are they noted and what would be considered "excessive"
- Breaks and smoking practices
- "Care and treatment of visitors"--hotels, limo services, travel agencies with negotiated contracts
- Chain of command and approvals--who okays important business transactions
- Company and industry acronyms, specialized vocabulary and abbreviations
- Community involvement--donations, volunteering
- Corporate culture
- Customer disasters--the war stories of big failures the company never wants to happen again
- Dress code do's and don'ts
- How to gain acceptance from peers, subordinates, supervisors, customers
- How to offer suggestions (or complaints) for best results
- How to order supplies
- Local businesses which offer employee discounts
- Meeting etiquette and ground rules
- "Pet peeves" of managers and executives
- Permitted personal use of company equipment
- Promotions--how to get them
- Restaurant lists
- Shredding--what papers get destroyed
- Rewards--how is a "good job" defined here and how will it be rewarded
- The president's unmarked favorite parking spot
- Where to find forms, mail packages, ship products
- Work hours--any "unspoken rules" about flex time or working overtime
- Writing samples--letters, reports, customer communications
- Other unwritten taboos
Sample Schedule
Day 1
AM -- Department introductions, department tour, lunch, review position description, assign first small project
PM -- HR forms, orientation manuals and videos, recording time worked, essential safety and security training, ergonomic adjustments in work station and meeting with orientation "buddy"
Days 2-5
Review department tour, conduct building tour, remaining safety and emergency evacuation training, voice mail, e-mail and "survival" computer training, harassment and diversity values, job orientation, industry update, rotate to all related departments 30-60 minutes each, first of weekly supervisor and buddy status meetings
Weeks 2-3
Attend cross-functional team meetings, HR benefits and handbook mini-meetings, customer and external meetings, weekly meetings with supervisor and buddy, start brief training sessions on company history, mission, philosophy, products and services, organization, quality program, computer applications, expense reports, performance appraisals, one-year company and department calendars of routine and cyclical business events
Week 4
Formal progress review with supervisor, set six month goals; shift to bi-weekly meetings for next two months and skip-level, one-on-one or open-forum days with company executives
Quarterly
HR group reorientation review of benefits closer to when employees will actually use them, executive presentations
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Family Orientation
Don't forget the families, especially relocating families. Scheduling quarterly family orientations on an evening or Saturday morning is a great way to differentiate your orientation and build closer ties to your employee. Spouses need to understand your health insurance plans (a great opportunity to turn them into educated and critical consumers), retirement plans and other dependent benefits, such as employee assistance programs. The more they know about the company, the more they will want to refer new employees to you.
Families often get very excited to see where mom or dad work. Annual family days or even company videos strengthen the bond between your company and the employee.
Other Best Practices
Orientation story swap. Monthly coffee and donut meeting is hosted by HR for new hires to share anecdotes of their orientation process and lessons learned.
Individual orientation plan. After the first week, provide new hires with a list of items to be mastered during first six months and the names and contact information for employees who can provide the training. Empower the employee to schedule these sessions and check up at monthly meetings. Adults like to have control over their calendars!
Evaluate orientations by surveying current employees, new employees, buddies and supervisors. Ask the tough questions and demand suggestions for improvements for all parties' perspectives.
Make an attractive package. Include graphics, color and adequate "white space" in your orientation materials so employees don't feel overwhelmed with too much information. Make sure everything is up-to-date and avoid "copies of copies." How the materials look is part of the first impression you're trying to create. They reflect on the value and respect you have for your new hires and set a standard for internal communications.
Provide orientation binders or expandable files with dividers to organize the overwhelming amount of data and paper the new employee will surely receive.
Furnish short biographies of department employees to the new employee. This will help them learn who's who faster.
Provide a modest "entertainment" budget to buddies to offset the expense of a few donuts, a lunch and the occasional soda during the orientation program.
Have a photo gallery of employees in each department or a common area (break room). This will reduce the apprehension some new employees may have about matching so many new names and faces. This is really great when you have multiple facilities.
To Sum It Up
Keep your new employee in mind at all times, not just on the first day. Be helpful and accessible, making sure to pace the information, prioritize the "need to know" before the "nice to know" and ask for feedback and questions about your material handling distributorship. |
