Employee orientation is a part of the employee onboarding process where the new employees meet with their teams and are made to attend a seminar that introduces them to the company culture, scope, future agendas, etc. The orientations are supposed to be light-hearted and a friendly gesture where the company subtly but directly tells the employee of their roles and duties in the organization.
A new employee on their first day feels anxious, doubtful, and uncomfortable and orientations are meant to diminish such feelings of their new talent and make them comfortable. An HR makes sure that the new employee has been introduced to their team members and is clear about their job profile and responsibilities.
Purpose of Employee Orientation
Here are the top five purposes of orientation for new employees:
- To Get Familiar with The Company
As part of orientation, new employees are given a company tour. This helps them to get a clear idea of the company and how it operates that in turn will help them in their work along the way.
During an orientation, apart from briefing the employee about the company, they can share informal information such as nearest coffee shop to the workplace, delicious food to be ordered, monthly fun activities that employees enjoy, etc.
- To Understand Company Policies
Every firm has a code of conduct that is expected to be followed by every employee. Now, an employee orientation program helps in introducing new employees to the specific policies of the company.
- To know Job Responsibilities
Another purpose of orientation is it helps new employees to have a better understanding of their roles and responsibilities. They get to know what exactly is expected of them in the long run, which will further help them to put their best foot forward from the very beginning.
Without proper orientation, new employees often find themselves isolated in the organization. However, with employee orientation, new hires get along well with their team members and colleagues.
- To Bring Out the Best in Them
Providing orientation also helps in preparing new employees to be successful at their jobs. This is certainly because employee orientation will ensure that all employee expectations are set and roles are clearly defined from the start of employment.
How to Give Employee Orientation to New Employees?
Your new employee orientation checklist doc must include the following steps:
- Give them an office tour
- Introduce them to their reporting managers and team members
- Provide them with all the required tools
- Inform them of their schedule
- Give a rough idea of their initial projects and duties
- Give them the employee handbook
- Listen to their doubts and answer all their questions
How can HROne Employee onboarding software and Workforce Management Software Simplify Employee Orientation?
Although orientation is one of the most important tasks for every business, it is not always smooth. Sometimes orientation can be downright painful for managers. This is when HR and workforce management software comes into the picture.
HR and workforce management software provides orientation process improvement by:
- Cutting down orientation paperwork and manual entry of new employee data into the system. Such systems help managers to access and complete the documentation of new employees in no time.
- Providing accurate tracking and reporting of orientation activities. HR and workforce management systems also store orientation-related information in one location, which can be accessed by everyone at will.
- Improving orientation effectiveness with feedback options that allow new employees to provide direct input into the orientation process via mobile devices or computers in real-time.
In simpler words, managers will have everything they need for orientation readily available on the go rather than relying on folders or binders during orientation sessions.
There are a host of other features that HR and workforce management software offers to improve orientation for organizations.
With the right software, it will be easier for managers to help new employees feel welcome with their fellow co-workers during orientation.
Also Read: How To Conduct Induction For New Joiners?