How to Make Your New-Employee Orientation Program More Successful

Onboarding and employee orientation helps new hires adjust to the expectations and demands of their new jobs so they can quickly become productive, contributing members of the organization. Although it may seem that all employee orientation programs are created equal, this is not the case. Here are some suggestions for getting the most out of your employee orientation program.

Make it Engaging

Many organizations fail to run a successful employee orientation program simply because their program is not engaging. Nobody wants to show up for employee orientation and sit in a room all day while someone drones on and on about boring materials recited from a manual. Even the most excited new hires will only be able to pay attention for a limited amount of time before tuning out.
If you want your new hires to retain the information you provide during the orientation, you have to make the program an engaging experience. You can do this by implementing videos, games, question-and-answer segments, quizzes, and anything else you can think of to stimulate interaction and hold their interest.

Keep it Consistent

One of the biggest problems that occurs in the employee orientation and training process is that the information and training are not consistent. This creates a great deal of confusion and sets your new employees up for failure, which can lead to a high rate of employee turnover. To avoid this domino effect, it’s important that you invest time to make sure that everything from the employee manual to the mentoring process is consistent and symbiotic.

For example, you don’t want your employee handbook to say that your employees can only take a 30-minute lunch break only to have a trainer turn around and tell them they can take an hour lunch on slow days. Whether lunch is 30 minutes or an hour isn’t the point—the point is that sending mixed messages will lead to negative (and potentially costly) results.

Onboarding and employee orientation helps new hires adjust to the expectations and demands of their new jobs so they can quickly become productive, contributing members of the organization. Although it may seem that all employee orientation programs are created equal, this is not the case. Here are some suggestions for getting the most out of your employee orientation program.

Make it Engaging

Many organizations fail to run a successful employee orientation program simply because their program is not engaging. Nobody wants to show up for employee orientation and sit in a room all day while someone drones on and on about boring materials recited from a manual. Even the most excited new hires will only be able to pay attention for a limited amount of time before tuning out.

If you want your new hires to retain the information you provide during the orientation, you have to make the program an engaging experience. You can do this by implementing videos, games, question-and-answer segments, quizzes, and anything else you can think of to stimulate interaction and hold their interest. Keep it Consistent One of the biggest problems that occurs in the employee orientation and training process is that the information and training are not consistent. This creates a great deal of confusion and sets your new employees up for failure, which can lead to a high rate of employee turnover. To avoid this domino effect, it’s important that you invest time to make sure that everything from the employee manual to the mentoring process is consistent and symbiotic.

For example, you don’t want your employee handbook to say that your employees can only take a 30-minute lunch break only to have a trainer turn around and tell them they can take an hour lunch on slow days. Whether lunch is 30 minutes or an hour isn’t the point—the point is that sending mixed messages will lead to negative (and potentially costly) results.

Build in Breaks

Again, it’s important that your new hires pay attention and remain engaged during the employee orientation process so they actually retain all the new information you’re feeding them. To ward off daydreaming, you might want to consider scheduling regular breaks throughout the employee orientation program. Breaks offer new hires the opportunity to use the restroom, grab a snack, or make a phone call if necessary. If your orientation is offered in person, they can also use this time to socialize with their new co-workers. Additionally, by offering scheduled breaks throughout the employee orientation, you will cut out some future interruptions. Request Feedback Perhaps the most powerful tool you have at your disposal is the feedback on your employee orientation program. Employee reviews offer a great deal of insight into what is working with the program and where you are falling short. You may even want to consider requesting that employees fill out a second review after spending some time on the job in order to gain additional insight as to whether or not your training prepared them for their job. Sometimes employees walk out of orientation thinking they have all the information they need to do their job, only to discover gaping holes in the material once they’re out on their own. If you request feedback, seriously consider and learn from what your employees have to say.

It’s no secret that the faster new hires feel welcome and prepared for their jobs, the faster they are able to successfully contribute to the organization’s overall goals. Employee orientation is the perfect time to prepare new hires for their jobs by providing valuable information and the chance to review a number of policies and procedures quickly. Again, it’s important that your new hires pay attention and remain engaged during the employee orientation process so they actually retain all the new information you’re feeding them. To ward off daydreaming, you might want to consider scheduling regular breaks throughout the employee orientation program. Breaks offer new hires the opportunity to use the restroom, grab a snack, or make a phone call if necessary. If your orientation is offered in person, they can also use this time to socialize with their new co-workers. Additionally, by offering scheduled breaks throughout the employee orientation, you will cut out some future interruptions.

Request Feedback

Perhaps the most powerful tool you have at your disposal is the feedback on your employee orientation program. Employee reviews offer a great deal of insight into what is working with the program and where you are falling short. You may even want to consider requesting that employees fill out a second review after spending some time on the job in order to gain additional insight as to whether or not your training prepared them for their job. Sometimes employees walk out of orientation thinking they have all the information they need to do their job, only to discover gaping holes in the material once they’re out on their own. If you request feedback, seriously consider and learn from what your employees have to say.

It’s no secret that the faster new hires feel welcome and prepared for their jobs, the faster they are able to successfully contribute to the organization’s overall goals. Employee orientation is the perfect time to prepare new hires for their jobs by providing valuable information and the chance to review a number of policies and procedures quickly.