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Employee Induction: Day One is a Key
Experience
A new employee's first day is a key experience for
both the employee and the company they work for.
It's like meeting a person for the first time. A first impression sets a
tone for a relationship and can have a big impact on the way it
develops.
It's commonly believed that employee orientation can affect how long
workers stay with a company and how productive they are.
An employee orientation program is therefore partly about providing key
information, and partly about making an employee feel welcome and
positive about the job they have just taken on.
They need to be given broad but clear information on their role, the
resources they have available, the internal systems of the company, the
mission and goals of the company and company policy on key areas such as
health and safety.
However, the way this information is presented will affect employee
attitudes, in the same way that a handshake can set the tone for a
meeting.
On the first day, the employee is probably feeling a mixture of
excitement, curiosity and anxiety. They're likely to be pretty hyped up,
in fact.
So sitting on a hard chair in front of a long, boring orientation video
is likely to be a particularly uncomfortable experience for them.
Nerves are likely to limit the amount of information they can take in.
At the same time, if they feel they are missing things, their anxiety
will only heighten.
It's important not to overwhelm them with information. The information
should be in digestible quantities and clearly presented.
Orientation is also about reassuring a new starter. One of the best ways
to do that is have a workstation fully set up for them and to have
meaningful work for them to do on their first day.
It's important to sketch in work goals for new starters. They should be
introduced to positive members of their team, so they know they'll have
help in reaching those goals. If they are assigned a mentor, they can
more easily work through any unease they may be feeling.
That way, when leave work, they'll be more likely to think, 'I can fit
in here. I can be useful.'
That's important because research indicates that good orientation can
lift employee retention by 25 percent.
And of course there are some key things not to do - the sort of things
that will make the employee wonder if they have made the right choice in
accepting the job, rather than focusing on how they can get the best
start.
For example, leave new starters parked in a corner while other team
members rush about, discussing where to put them - that's bound to make
a bad impression.
Assigning a mentor who is heavily overworked or disgruntled is another
way to get a new starter off on the wrong foot.
Having new starters wade through a hefty and poorly written employee
handbook is another way to demoralize them. As is assigning them work
that is incidental to their new role, and does no more than keep them
shuffling papers for the first day.
Avoiding such pitfalls and providing a positive initial work experience
can set the tone for a long and productive work relationship.
Useful websites include:
humanresources.about.com
Business Bureau (UK)
http://www.hronline.com/
http://www.hrinz.org.nz/
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