Whether you are moving to a new city, trying out a new adventure, or resuming your education after a break, there’s always a need to adjust either to your environment or the situation. This also applies when a new employee starts a new job.
Most large and successful companies organize employee orientation after hiring new employees. This helps to educate the employees about the structure and running of the company and allows them to adjust to their new jobs faster.
The importance of new employee orientation to businesses – small or large, cannot be overemphasized. It not only benefits the employee but the business or company as a whole.
As a result of the busy schedules and massive workload, some startup founders tend to forget and eventually fail to incorporate employee orientation into their hiring process. On the other hand, some others feel that it isn’t a priority for an early-stage startup or growing business. However, this ideology is incorrect.
Startups tend to grow faster, achieve set goals, and experience better productivity when the employees are well informed.
To understand how this works, you must first understand what employee orientation is and how to go about it.
What Is New Employee Orientation?
New employee orientation refers to the process where newly hired employees are educated on their job roles, workspace and environment, and the company’s mission and vision. It also informs them of the policies guiding the company’s affairs, the company’s expectations of them, and what they should expect.
Employee orientations are training programs organized to help employees get familiarized with their work environment, colleagues, and the company.
It provides the basic training and preparation new employees need to work with and face challenges from taking on new roles and working with their new team. This orientation is a one-time occasion put in place to help the employee as well as the company.
If carried out effectively, this process can positively influence employee satisfaction, productivity, and ultimately, business growth.
What Purpose Does New Employee Orientation Serve in Your Startup?
The primary purpose of employee orientation in your startup is to welcome and initiate newly hired employees. Employee orientation is usually carried out during the first few days or weeks of employment, and in addition to welcoming new employees, it is organized to
- Help them understand your startup’s vision, mission, expectations, and policies.
- Educate them about their job roles and responsibilities.
- Provide necessary information on employee benefits (such as retirement benefits, holidays).
- Introduce and connect new employees to their teams and departments.
- Address concerns and answer questions they might have.
- Familiarize the employees with your startup through tours.
- Assign them to mentors for further guidance (if need be).
- Educate new hires and get them to read and sign the necessary paperwork (a non-disclosure agreement/NDA).
Employee orientations are aimed at helping new employees fit in comfortably to their new workplace and roles. As a startup founder, depending on the development stage of your startup, you can either organize this training yourself or assign it to the HR department. You can also implement an employee training team or organization to help plan the process.
How to Train New Employees in Your Startup
Having understood the purpose of employee orientation, how do you go about it? If you haven’t worked with an organization before or experienced this training, you may find it difficult to organize one in your startup.
However, an employment orientation is one that you can easily set up when needed. Developing an effective employee orientation program is essential for good startup management. Here are some of the basic steps in employee orientation.
Setup and prepare for the employee orientation
New hire signing paperwork.| Photo Credit: Unsplash
All preparations for the employee orientation program need to be made before the employment process to avoid confusion. A date should be selected for the program, and the office and work tools required by the new hires must be put in place.
The necessary information and documents to be shared with the new employees should be determined and organized. Also, a new hire checklist should be created as distributed to the different department heads or managers.
After new employees have been selected, emails can be sent to welcome and inform them about the scheduled orientation.
Select trainers and ambassadors for the program
After planning and preparing for the employee orientation program, choosing the right trainers and ambassadors for the session is necessary. These individuals should impart vital knowledge and skills that will help employees fit in and function properly. The trainers will be responsible for addressing the concerns and questions of the new hires.
Provide funding and resources
The plans and preparations made can only become a reality when funds and resources are made available. Training new hires is essential to your startup’s success and growth, and to achieve this, the necessary funds, time, and tools required for the orientation must be provided. Your new employees will be most effective when you teach them how to be and provide a means.
Train new hires
Training during new employee orientation comprises a wide range of activities. It may include online or physical training, hands-on practicals, or micro-training.
Determine the best way to train new hires effectively and work by it. Each topic should be covered extensively to foster understanding, and trainers should give room for questions and interactions during the sessions.
Get feedback
As a startup founder and company, it is crucial to express commitment to the concerns and growth of your employees. Create a feedback and feedback implementation system during and after the orientation. You can do this through questionnaires, email and in-person check-ins or surveys, and more. The feedback system helps you assess new employees’ understanding during the orientation and their progress, concerns, and comfortability after resuming work.
Why Is New Employee Orientation Important?
Well-planned and effective employee orientation can positively affect your startup in diverse ways. It lays a firm foundation for the new hire’s career in your startup.
New employee orientation is important to your startup because
- It increases employee retention.
- It helps employees to settle in faster, develop confidence, and build healthy working relationships with the team.
- It provides new employees with all the information they need to know to be comfortable, effective, and productive.
- It fosters your startup’s growth through increased productivity and employee retention.
- Employee orientation builds communication between managers, supervisors, or startup founders and the new employees.
- It helps to reduce new employee turnover resulting from unmet expectations or misunderstandings.
A poorly organized employee orientation program may leave your startup with lacking positions, increased turnover rates, and loss of revenue. Recognizing the importance of this program will prompt you to take defined steps to create and organize an effective employee orientation.
Conclusion
When carried out correctly, new employee orientation improves employee retention, reduces turnover rate, and increases productivity. Its benefits to your employees and startup are numerous.
Understanding the purpose, importance, and process involved in new employee orientation is vital. Inadequate training or complete absence of it can immensely deter your startup’s growth. So, if you do not have the know-how or time to, you can hire an employee training company to help you draw up a plan for and organize the training.
Make conscious efforts to promote your business to the next level through new employee orientation.
References
Bamboohr: What is Employee Orientation
Hr.oregonstate.edu: Why is Orientation Important?
Edgepointlearning: How to Train Your New Employees Effectively
Vantagecircleblog: Workplace Orientation: What Does it Mean and its Purpose
About AbstractOps
Are you an early stage CEO of a startup? AbstractOps handles and automates your HR, finance, and legal ops so you can focus on get your new employees properly trained.If you need help with new employee orientation, send us an email at [email protected].
