An employee orientation program is important for both the newbie and the organization itself. Not only does it assist new hires in adapting to their new environment and team, but it also assists an employer in demonstrating its value by providing the new hire a strong start to their job.

Orientation programs are frequently overlooked by organizations while they wait for training programs to begin. Whereas orientation has another value set up and is very different from training as follows:

Orientation programs are designed to familiarize workers with the organization, inform them of regulations, and put them at ease. Training programs usually concentrate on the technicalities of carrying out the job that makes up an employee’s employment.

The majority of organizations begin their employee orientation program by welcoming new workers to the team and outlining the company’s fundamental principles and procedures. Expectations should be well defined, and new employees should be eager to join the team and contribute. To get started on mapping out the orientation process to get the most for your investment, use the steps below:

A Step-by-step Guide for an Effective Employee Orientation Program

Step1. Figure out what you want to accomplish.

It’s tempting to keep things simple when you have so much to accomplish. Orientation’s aims, on the other hand, go beyond finding out where, who, and when lunch will be served.

Orientation objectives:

For an employee, this means learning about the company’s culture, norms, values, understanding duties, responsibilities, and opportunities. It also means feeling accepted and respected as an employee and developing strong working relationships with coworkers.

For an employer, this means:

Lowering employee turnover, increasing overall productivity and performance, adding value, integrating with teams, and learning to lead. Spread the word about the brand and represent it ethically.

Step 2: Plan the Orientation Program

Without a proper strategy, achieving all of the above goals will be difficult. Here are frequent high-priority to-dos for orientation programs:

1. Make the new hire’s job and responsibilities, perks clear.
2. Give an overview of the company’s culture (mission, vision, and values).
3. Inform your staff on fundamental policies about safety, health, and other issues.
4. Provide the necessary tools, keys, and permissions to complete the task.
5. Assist the employee in completing the onboarding papers.
6. Introduce your new team member to the rest of the team, supervisor, manager by giving them a tour of the workplace. You can also invite them to a casual lunch.
7. Appoint a mentor to assist your new hire during the orientation process.

Step3: Make the repeatable content available online.

Create an online orientation program that automates the repeatable parts of the orientation. It is beneficial to move a portion of the orientation training online to make the process easier. For example, you may build an online welcome course for new hires that will aid in their adaptation, minimize the effort of senior managers, and reduce training expenditures. The course modules can include the company’s history, aim, vision, culture, policies, organizational structure, leadership team, information about products and services, clients, and basic IT training required for the job. A welcome course should incorporate an evaluation in addition to the learning content.

Step4: Create the orientation program with the assistance of an LMS.

You can also develop the orientation program effectively with the help of LMS (Learning management system). You can develop it in-house if you have enough resources, or outsource it to a suitable LMS vendor. With the help of an LMS like Accord Software, the new hire can get training wherever and whenever they require it. Interacting gamification elements like badges and leadership boards can also be inculcated in the orientation program with the help of the LMS, which helps the employee feel motivated from day one.

Step5: Evaluate the orientation program.

To evaluate the orientation process, it is necessary to collect feedback from the employee and gain insight from their direct supervisors and team leaders. To understand how the new member gelled into the new environment and how soon target completion can be expected.

Conclusion:

Employee orientation isn’t just a formality. It’s a truly effective way to reduce employee stress and make them productive faster. With the help of LMS, designing the orientation process can get easier, it can be intuitive, autopiloted, and results can be analyzed while motivating the new employee to the fullest while maintaining brand consistency.