Welcome and Orientation: Getting New Hires Off on the Right Foot

There are a couple of things that can go wrong when an employee first joins a company. One is that the employee does not receive a proper welcome. For example, if they arrive and they don’t have the necessary equipment, then they’ll feel that they are not valued (and they may also think the company doesn’t care about doing things the right way).

Also, if the new employee isn’t properly integrated into the work processes, they may not get much work done in the first few months. That has an immediate cost: you are paying for an unproductive employee. It also can have a longer term cost: the employee feels that the company doesn’t care about productivity. You can avoid these problems by putting in place solid orientation and onboarding processes.

It’s useful to make a distinction between onboarding and orientation (one of these things is not like the other). Orientation is mainly about the mechanics of getting a new employee started. It includes getting their required employee paperwork done, giving them appropriate passwords and security badges, making sure they know the basic rules (start time, break time, end time, etc), and of course, the location of the restrooms! Most of this is usually handled in their first day or two on the job.

Onboarding is mainly about helping people feel like part of the team so they can become a productive member of that team. It includes introductions, some tasks to get started, some longer term objectives, any necessary training, and possibly a buddy who will help them get acclimatized in the first couple of months. In this article, we’ll focus on the socialization side of onboarding and leave the ‘becoming productive’ side to a future article.

Most managers would say HR is responsible for orientation and onboarding. The reality is that both HR and the manager have big roles to play. HR is responsible for taking new hires through their new employee paperwork and enrolling them in everything from I-9, payroll, and benefits to their 401(k) retirement plans. It is your job, as the manager, to ensure that your new hire is properly onboarded to your team. Get to know them as a person and valuable contributor. In real life, there is more to them than their resumes! This is a great time to discover all the hidden treasures in your new hire.

While you, no doubt, agree--in theory--that clarity and two-way communication are good things; it can be hard to fit into a busy schedule. Does it really matter if we skip or delay those onboarding conversations? What happens when the onboarding process goes wrong?

Costly turnover can result from poor onboarding, so it’s important to cross the t’s and dot the i’s! In fact, if the onboarding process is poor, hourly workers will leave a company roughly four months after joining, while salaried employees will leave after just eighteen months, on average.

Given the cost of poor onboarding, do managers ever get it wrong? You betcha. How many jobs have you started where you experienced technical issues on the first day? How often have you had trouble accessing shared folders, cloud workspaces, and company directories as a new employee? Remember how frustrating that was? 

A poor orientation and onboarding process is a common and costly problem. If you take some simple actions, you can avoid that problem. Let’s start by spending a moment explaining how you can make sure that orientation is on track.

There is a good chance that the mechanics of orientation (e.g. filling in HR forms, getting a PC) will be beautifully coordinated by HR. If it’s not, whose fault is that? Well, we won’t get far by assigning blame. A better question is “Who suffers?” Your employee, your team, and you suffer if orientation doesn’t go well. It’s your job as a manager to understand what happens in the orientation program. Ask HR to explain the process they follow. If there are any gaps, then it’s up to you to fill them.

There is a results-oriented side to onboarding (knowing what you need to achieve) and a social side (you are a valued member of a team). Once the new team member has arrived and completed the basic orientation, it is time to bring out the welcome wagon. Be careful to not run anyone over because, you know, safety and all that. First, make sure you know how they want to be addressed (ie. first name, middle name, nickname). If there is any doubt, find out if they should be addressed as “he,” “she” or something else. Make sure you can pronounce their name. Don’t hesitate to say, “Just give me a minute to write this out phonetically” and get them to help you get it right. 

Second, pick an appropriate way to formally announce the arrival of your new team member. For example, you could assemble everyone in your department for introductions and welcomes, or have a remote welcome meeting if your team works remotely. A great ice breaker activity is to have each person share a funny story about their first day or week on your team. This will go a long way in helping your new hire connect and feel less anxious in their new environment.

Third, introduce them to a buddy or mentor. The buddy/mentor is simply someone who they can go to who will help them get settled. It’s kind of like telling the new hire, “If you’ve got a question that you’re not comfortable asking me, then ask your buddy.” The buddy/mentor can be anyone in your department who has been around long enough to know the ropes and enjoys helping a new hire.

This article is an excerpt from HR.com’s book, HR Fundamentals for Non HR Managers, which is part of the reading material for the course, HR for Non HR Managers. This course was developed to enhance a manager’s partnership with HR, improve team performance and avoid headaches in complying with national, regional, and local labor laws, or as we like to put it, “the stuff that your HR department wishes you knew or wishes you were doing as a manager”.
 

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