New Employee Orientations

Did you know the average American business spends only two percent of their training dollars on new-employee orientations? (source: F. John Reh)

A good new-employee training program helps someone new to an organization get a sense of your culture, norms, and processes so that they can quickly feel like a true contributor. Training your new employees is extremely important. If you typically have high turnover, training new employees will make them more productive. That will make them feel better about their jobs, and they will stick around longer. Here are a few tips to keep in mind when planning your new-employee orientation:

• Make new employees feel at ease by holding the orientation in a comfortable, inviting environment.


• Make sure you allow enough time for them to read the employee manual ahead of time.


• Spice up introductions with open-ended questions.


• Get them acquainted with management. You could have a chart with the company hierarchy and pictures or have management introduce themselves during the orientation.


• Encourage friendships among new employees.


• Share company goals with them. Make sure they know the direction the company is headed.

The beginning of the year is a great time to plan for your new-employee orientations!


Until next time...

Sheryl Tuchman
http://www.tools2succeed.com/