Everything is about accelerated growth lately, from startups to new employees racing to the top of the career ladder. Everything is moving faster, with more demands, so if you want new employees to be running out of the gate then you need to understand the orientation benefits for new employees, as well as how to set up those programs.
Employee Orientation – An Introduction to the Company
Starting up a new job can be an anxious time for new employees. There’s a lot to absorb, they don’t know anyone personally yet, and they’re excited. They’re also eager to find out how they fit into the organization so they can hit the ground running and make a real difference.
Most new employees are eager to please. Before they jump in though, they need to understand the culture and how they fit into your business. It’s important that they know your expectations as well as what it takes to succeed.
This is where the employee orientation benefits come into play.
How Orientation Benefits Business
A good employee orientation benefits your organization by educating the employees, putting them in the best position for success. They get to get onboard the business faster, allowing them to contribute to the organization asap. Other than that, new employee orientation benefits your business in several other ways.
1. You’ll Grab and Retain Quality Talent
There’s a huge battle going in a lot of industries to poach and retain top talent, especially out of Silicon Valley. Nearly 60% of HR professionals think this will continue to rage on, branching into other industries as well. Once upon a time it only took money to grab quality talent, but as companies battle for the top spots and coolest places to work, they’re winning people over with better perks.
In some cases, it’s the intangible goods that keep the talent around; strong culture, good orientation, more freedom to work how they want to work, additional time off, and strong working relationships with management. With a solid orientation program, you can build a strong foundation of intangible goods that will keep employees sticking around longer.
2. Early Engagement Reinforces Success
The objective of orientation programs for new employees is engagement. You want the new hire to feel valued, and feel like they’re a member of the team – not just as employee number 36 joining the ranks. One research study from Gallup, the State of the American Workplace, found that regardless of cultural differences in jobs, the one thing that mattered most to the outcome of a new prospect was the level of engagement. Putting your new employees through engaging orientation processes encourages engagement at multiple levels and greatly increases the odds of success.
A study by Gallup, the State of the American Workplace, found that regardless of cultural differences in companies, the main deciding factor on how an employee would work out was their level of engagement.
So, putting your new employees through an engaging orientation process can multiply their level of engagement, increasing the odds of success.
One of the trendiest orientation practices is an employee “welcome kit,” consisting of different goodies to make the employee feel at home.
3. Boosts Business Growth
Engagement is a big deal when it comes to retaining talented employees so you can benefit from their presence. According to Gallup, employees who were more engaged in their jobs – including through stellar orientation – had 174% high earnings per share than their competitors. That’s a significant step beyond competition.
4. Earn the Trust of Your Employees
A lot of employees burn the bridges of new hires before they even get them started by skimping on orientation. The first day can be daunting when an employee has no clue what to do, where to go, who to talk to, or how to do their jobs.
A strong orientation program doesn’t just inform new hires about their role in the company, it educates them about organizational practices. It can only lead to more success when a new hire gets the opportunity to meet the leadership team and make rounds to meet other employees. Remember, the company leadership is the people who will be helping new hires set goals. They’re more likely to align themselves with those goals when they come from someone they trust and are familiar with.
5. Stronger Connections with Employees
You don’t just need trust among leadership with a new hire for them to success. Engagement and trust with other employees is paramount to their success. A great deal of the research from Gallup indicated that the most successful, engaged employees are the ones who have forged strong connections with their co-workers.
You can reinforce this during orientation by assigning new hires to one or more mentors, or have them buddy-up with someone on their first day. This person should serve as a sounding board for ideas and questions, a resource for company information, and to ensure the new employee settles in comfortably.
6. Improved Communication
One of the best ways orientation benefits a business is by improving company communications. A new job can be intimidating when you enter a business with a lot of employees. It’s difficult to know who to talk to, and who handles what. Operational procedures aside, who should a new hire go to about concerns or to share feedback about their new role? Perhaps they have ideas for process improvements but don’t know who to turn to.
A strong orientation program provides the structure of communication and lets new hires know where to take their ideas, and who to talk to. This relieves a tremendous amount of pressure and uncertainty for a new employee. It fosters the kind of environment that a new hire will thrive in.
7. Major Decrease in Turnover
It’s often said that employees don’t quit jobs, they quit managers. A lack of orientation leaves a new hire struggling to find their place among coworkers. They’ll also have a more difficult time meshing with leadership roles if they don’t know what to expect or how to deliver on those expectations.
When employees quit, it negatively impacts your bottom line. It costs a considerable investment in time and money to bring on and train new employees. With solid orientation, you can greatly reduce turnover and know whether or not an employee is a good fit right from the start.
Conclusion
Always keep in mind, however, that the signs of how orientation benefits your business aren’t really all that clear straight from day one.
The best approach to employee orientation is to get the ball rolling during the recruitment process. Orientation should begin well before the employee starts.
‘If you’re a high-tech organization that has a cool brand and that uses social media and talks about innovation when you’re advertising to attract new associates, that’s great,” says Erin Perry, director of client solutions at Pinstripe. “But if on a new hire’s first day you hand them 15 different forms to fill out, your employment brand message has just died.”
When you start orientation early, by the time the employee comes in for the interview they already know a tremendous amount about the company. By their first day, all the paperwork is already completed and they ready to hit the ground running.
