The Lost Art Of Effective School Employee Orientation

Simply having an employee orientation program for your school district does not mean that you are providing any real value to your new employees. Traditional orientation styles in which an HR rep or school administrator gets up and talks for hours about policies and procedures are becoming less common as more and more school districts are moving toward more modern models and styles.

With all of the advances in technology, and the ease with which we can access new means of communication, traditional in-person school orientation programs are past their prime, but school employee orientation remains a vital way to disseminate information to new employees and welcome them to your school district. As school superintendents and administrators are looking for new ways to make their school employee orientation more effective and engaging, we’re going to offer some pointers to help you make sure your employee orientation program doesn’t fall into the trap of being outdated, boring, and ineffective.

Design a Plan and Stick to it

Just as the best teachers take the time to write well-thought-out lesson plans, the best school orientation programs begin with a clear and well-thought-out plan. Begin by identifying your main goal or goals for the orientation, then create an outline of the materials you’ll need to include in order to accomplish each goal. This tip applies whether your orientation is presented in person or online—regardless of the mode of delivery, organization and flow are paramount to success.

Be Prepared

At least a couple of days (if not weeks) before your school employee orientation begins, you’ll want to collect all your materials and review them thoroughly. Ask yourself these questions:

• Does the material feel too lengthy? If so, have you included unnecessary or irrelevant information that could be better communicated at another time or through another platform?

• Does the material engage the employees? If not, try to inject questions, visual aids, interactive exercise, or anything else you can think of to engage your employees and keep their attention.

• If you were a new employee, would you feel prepared for the school year after reviewing these materials? This is one of the most important questions you can ask yourself. Try to put yourself in their shoes and determine if the materials are actually helpful and informative. If not, think about what needs to be changed in order to optimize the effectiveness of the entire orientation presentation.

Use Online or Software-Based Programs

Advances in technology have made it simple to conduct school employee orientation through an online portal or computer software. There are several benefits to this method including:

• Employees can work at their own pace.

• Employees are actively engaged.

• Employees can go through orientation at any time from any location.

• Orientation materials are easily updated and changed to fit your needs.

It’s become increasingly common for school districts to offer orientation in multiple formats. For example, employees who want to come in for an in-person orientation session can do so if they’re available on the specific date at the set time, but others can choose to access the online version instead. Having an online or software-based orientation program is a great tool to have in your arsenal for a number of reasons, including convenience, unexpected illnesses, or personal emergencies.

At one time the in-person orientation set (and often exceeded) the bar. However, that’s not always the case now, as online orientation programs allow you to better measure the strength and effectiveness of your school employee orientation materials. With an online platform you can incorporate quiz questions at the conclusion of each section and/or a test at the end of the entire presentation to make sure that the employees are paying attention to, understanding, and retaining the materials. You may also consider including a survey or evaluation at the end of the orientation presentation to collect feedback about the best and worst points of the orientation so you can tailor the material for better success in the future.

The “right” school employee orientation model is the one that works best for your unique school district, but there are techniques you can incorporate and ideas you can implement to make sure your presentation is informative, engaging, and effective.