A New Hire Is Only as Good as Your Orientation
A new employee’s first days on the job are crucial! They come into new hire orientation looking to affirm that they made the right decision joining the company. And whether their orientation experience is good or bad, that doesn’t stop them from moving on into their role – ready or not, here they come!
The truth of the matter is every organization should try to ensure that new employees have a good experience. This covers the details to making sure they feel prepared and ready for their role. Too often, the details are lost in translation at the start, which doesn’t bode well for the long-term. One widely accepted industry figure estimates that one third of new employees are back on the job search within the first six months.
Here are three things to keep in mind when thinking of new hire orientation that makes a lasting impression on your new talent:
- First things first. Every company has a distinct culture, but if the goal is to create conformity, the first step is to create an overall impression that’s not only favorable, but desirable. According to Aberdeen Group, quality onboarding programs generate a higher rate of successful assimilation of new hires into company culture, higher time-to-productivity ratios, and an overall higher employee engagement level – all of which are linked to more favorable retention rates.
- No second thoughts. Once employees make it through the hiring process, it’s not uncommon for many to grow wary of their new circumstances. Fortunately, the fastest way to dispel concerns on the job is to keep them from developing to begin with. Culture-driven, new hire orientation programs—often supported by mentors who help new hires learn the ropes—instill a sense of belonging more quickly. Give your people an ally and they’ll act accordingly on your behalf.
- Fair and balanced. Most reports show that providing new employees with a balanced rudimentary knowledge of the organization is a given. Yet when business leaders go a step further to explain how the business makes money and how new hires fit into the overall framework, the bigger picture comes into far sharper focus. It’s an approach that brings financial literacy and corporate strategy together in the same discussion … and puts every employee on the same page.
In our experience, we’ve discovered that sharing a common corporate vision is an essential part of making onboarding programs do what they are supposed to do. If you’re not seeing the kind of results you want, perhaps a change in the way your organization speaks to its employees is in order.
To learn more about outstanding onboarding, join us on July 27th for our webcast, brought to you by HCI. You can register HERE.