HR Solutions: Employee orientations first stpe to productive employees

Lynne Haggerman is president/owner of Haggerman & Associates, a firm providing outplacement, retained search and management consulting/training on human resource issues.

Educating newly hired associates regarding job duties and company policies and procedures is critical to ensure the success of both the employees and the organization.

Focus on four primary areas to be confident of your new staff orientations:

Company perspective. Make the orientation a public relations effort. Review your business mission, culture, products, services and customer base. Provide information on the formal history of the corporation and recurrent major happenings, as well as special events. Compare the features and advantages of the enterprise over each competitor.

Address policies regarding benefits, raises, performance evaluations and career paths available for those seeking promotions. Comment on distinct department procedures and specific job duties based upon job descriptions. Prepare the trainees for the problems and challenges that await them.

Encourage participants to share how previous work experiences relate to their current jobs. Determine the unique goals, desires, expectations and motivations of the individuals. Assimilate the new hires into the work force as soon as possible.

New employee perspective. New team members will be focusing on their own needs, so the questions that concern them must be discussed. How do associates gain acceptance? How will rewards be administered? What does it take to get ahead? How does everyone fit into the total picture? How much security is present?

Although the formal job description is available, what is really expected? What is the boss really like? What does the organization really do? The employee manual is handy, but what are the real rules?

Process. Decide all topics to cover in training with a justification as to why each is important. "We've always done it this way" is not an acceptable answer. Select who will conduct each section of the orientation.

Develop a checklist of topics with time schedules, leaving a place for the trainers and trainees to initial, signifying the material was covered and understood.

Choose the training techniques to utilize such as role playing, small group discussions, story telling, games and lectures. Develop the content and handouts.

Prepare all materials and work areas in advance. Obtain a written evaluation of the orientation after the workers have been on the job for at least two to four weeks. By that time, they will be able to accurately comment on training strengths and weaknesses.

Critical day one. The two business days associates remember the most are the first day and last day of employment. Be sure to make a good first impression.

If possible, allow the new hires to mainly watch, without much pressure to learn. They are probably having a hard enough time recalling where the break room is, let alone the 50 detailed steps to complete one of several key job duties. Provide precise, written documentation if observation is not an option in your corporation.

Let everyone convey what made him/her decide to work for the business. Arrange for the staff members to have at least one extremely positive experience to share with family and friends. Assign a real project to get their feet wet.

The supervisor needs to be available so the new workers understand they are valued.

Appoint personal sponsors so the new laborers feel welcome. Sponsors should be good employees who are still fairly new, because they will remember what it is like to be new kids on the block.

Does your business have a party on the day an individual leaves? Which day is most important: the first or last? Have the party on day one. A new staff member is a celebration.

Keeping people productive and on the job for as long as possible is critical to company success. Start taking proactive steps during the orientation and you can prevent headaches due to errors and unhappy or lost customers.