Employee Orientation Program Tips From The Pros

New-employee orientation may not be the most important thing you do for new hires, but it certainly is one of the most important. Best-case scenario, your new-employee orientation program further energizes your new hires and affirms their decision to join your organization. Worst-case scenario, your new-employee orientation program leaves your new employees wondering why they accepted your offer in the first place.

To keep your employee orientation on track for a best-case scenario, here are seven tips straight from the pros:

1. Keep them fed.

If your employee orientation is conducted in-house, one of the best ways to get off to a good start is to provide food and beverages at some point during the day. And when we say “at some point,” we really mean to have refreshments available when they arrive. It’s been proven many times over that people focus better when they’re operating on a full stomach, so it’s actually in your best interest to provide some sort snack for them to enjoy.

2. Keep the content focused and relevant.

One of the worst things you can do in employee orientation is to get bogged down with too much information. You don’t want to jump around from subject to subject or include information that is not absolutely essential for new hires. Remember, your employee orientation should serve as more of a summary of your handbook and policies rather than a full reading of all of it.

It’s been argued that the longer an employee orientation program is, the less effective it will be. Outline the necessary information ahead of time, and try not to throw in random information during the presentation.

3. Stay on track by following an agenda.

Just like it’s wise to outline the material you want to cover ahead of time, it’s also a good idea to create, hand out, and stick to an agenda. Your new employees will appreciate knowing what will be covered, and when, and following an agenda will help you stay on topic. It’s helpful to refer to the agenda throughout the presentation and to go over it again at the end, to make sure you covered everything and to address any remaining questions.

4. Keep the content interesting and engaging.

Let’s face it, much of the material you cover during new-employee orientation is boring. It might be important, but make no mistake, it’s boring. You can combat this by injecting fun into your program. Use humor, where appropriate, or incorporate fun games that reinforce the information you want to highlight. The idea is to keep new employees on their toes as much as possible so they’re actively engaged in your presentation.

5. Build breaks into the schedule.

Having to sit through and absorb large amounts of material over the course several of hours can drain a person’s energy and make it difficult to stay focused. You can avoid this (and win favor with your new hires) by scheduling short breaks throughout the employee orientation program allowing participants to stretch, walk around, make a call, get something to eat or drink, or visit the restroom. These short breaks will also help to cut down on the number of interruptions during the program.

6. Create a reference library.

Knowing that all the information you cover in employee orientation will be available later in one place will put new hires’ minds at ease. The more information you cover, the more likely they’ll need to go back and review something. If your employee orientation is hosted online, you can make all handouts, forms, and policies available online for new hires to access as necessary, whether that’s the next day or months later. You should also include any links or videos new employees might want to refer back to at any time after the completion of the orientation program.

7. Compile a list of FAQs.

Another way to supplement your employee-orientation materials is to put together a list of frequently asked questions for your employees to reference as needed. If you present your orientation in an online format, the FAQ page can also be used to address technical problems.

Remember, first impressions (good and bad) are made during employee orientation. If you take the time and effort to inject some life into your employee orientation, your new hires will notice. If your employee orientation program is successful, your new employees will start off on the right foot, knowing they made the right decision coming to work for your organization.