So what can we do better?
Well, picture your first day. Think about what you would have done differently if the choice was yours. Was it an amazing day? Why or why not?
This Orientation overhaul begins with everyone in the organization. Even non-managers can play a part. That new person is joining your functional area so make them feel at home! Imagine how good that will make them feel and how good you will feel by doing it. Decorate their cube, get them a gift, do something because while it make take a few minutes out of your day, it is a moment that they will most definitely remember.
Don’t throw the book at them in Orientation. Give them a long term plan that STARTS with Orientation. Give them expectations for the first 90 days and then track their progress. Meet regularly, if not daily, to make sure they are adjusting to culture and know where to get the best tacos in town. At the very least, check in a few days after Orientation and go over, in brief, everything that was already covered just to make sure. A new employee might not want to be the first person to stand up and say, I lost track of what was happening.
Be there for them when they arrive on Day 1 and then be there for them at any break in the day. Get them things…sodas, water, coffee…whatever. What is to stop you from emailing them in advance of Day 1 and maybe say something like “Hey what is your favorite coffee?” or “Do you have a particular snack you like?”. What will it take you, an additional 30 seconds at Dunkin Donuts to get the coffee for them?
Grab them away from the building and take them somewhere for lunch. Hell bring the whole team while you are at it. Why not? The more you can open up your arms and embrace them the more the will get back in that car at the end of the day and feel amazing about what happened. Further, they will come back on Day 2 feeling like they made the RIGHT decisions.
Make Orientation fun and rewarding for everyone. Do some silly games or something totally irreverent that the new employees are not expecting. Reward the employees who are PERFORMING the Orientation. Incentivize them to be awesome and go after employees who you know will deliver an energizing performance. Get rid of the deck-readers…in fact get rid of the decks! Make it immersive and participatory.
Some easy google searching has shown me that there are lots of companies out there who have constructed unique and very innovative activities for Orientation (like here and here). Have they nailed it? I don’t know exactly, but what IS obvious is that they are making efforts to match the Orientation experience to the culture and that leads to retention and they are proving it and stealing your employees.
-Nate
PS
This could have been an article about tracking employees from Orientation through their career (a la ATS system) but it’s not and maybe some day I will write that.
This is also not an article about Orientation for employees that became employees through acquisition. I will write that one later.