Orientation of New Staff

Introduction

The orientation of new staff involves familiarising newly appointed employees to the work environment of the organisation. This process is incredibly important to help employees become immediately effective, to build an understanding of how the organisation works and to manage expectations.

Why

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This toolkit is of interest for your organisation when you:

• hire new employees and need a structured orientation process to support the integration of new staff members
• experience high staff turnover and need to improve the orientation process to increase job satisfaction

What you can expect

In six steps this toolkit assists you in orienting your new team members to the organisation. Here you’ll find a step-by-step guide, tools, examples and other resources for creating and implementing an orientation system for new staff.

Step 1: Identification of Owner

• Nominate someone in the team who can take on the responsibility of the induction and orientation process. Induction and orientation is an important step in Human Resource Management (HRM) and usually falls under the responsibility of the person responsible for all HR related matters.
• If the organisation does not have a HR-dedicated person, it is important to nominate someone in the team who can take on that responsibility. It is crucial to have a single point of contact to oversee the introduction processes and coordinate with managers and employees whenever required.

This video of the University of Ghana gives a general introduction to new employee orientation:

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Step 2: Needs Assessment

• Review the practices on how to onboard a new staff member, what topics are covered, and who usually handles which parts of the process. If an organisation does not yet have a formal induction and orientation process, it still likely has some informal practices on how to onboard a new staff member.
• Match the existing practices with the standard elements of induction, using the Induction and Orientation Checklist to identify gaps. Also think about needs unique to the organisation that need to be addressed in onboarding.

Step 3: Onboarding checklist

• Create a checklist for the entire induction and orientation process, including general information that will be the same for all new recruits, as well as job-specific information that is relevant to each role differently. 
• Have standard checklists for different positions in the organisation.

Watch this video to learn about ten best practices when onboarding new employees:

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Step 4: Process Set-up

• Write an outline to be followed for recruitment and employment of new staff. The outline should cover everything, so that even if a person who usually takes care of the orientation is unexpectedly unavailable, the processes can continue. While the processes might be the same for all employees, the content of the induction and orientation will differ according to each position’s specific needs and requirements.
• Create a calendar schedule to give structure to new employee’s first weeks and ensure that responsible parties do their orientations in a timely manner.
• Making an introduction video for new staff can be a great idea. Watch the video below, made by the NGO Brooke East Africa, to get inspiration. 

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Step 5: Training

• Train those people responsible for different parts of the orientation on their duties, when necessary. The HR person will be coordinating the orientation program, but not be executing each part of it. For example, all job-specific information may be given by the direct manager; information about payroll, leave and attendance might be given by the administration, instructions on tracking work may be given by a team member.
• This can be organised in a general staff training or by sitting down with each staff member seperately, depending on the size of the organisation.

Step 6: Evaluation

• Monitor the orientation process regularly to assess if it meets the needs of the new employees.
• Ask for feedback at the end of the orientation process, and information from turnover statistics and exit interviews, particularly from those who leave within the first 12 months of employment..
• Evaluate and adjust your program regularly based on the feedback.

Key To Success

• Employee orientation is not just a tick box exercise. Staff needs to take new developments within the organsation into account and update the process.
• Personal and motivational orientation processes are important. Do not just put employees in a room to show them a video or only give them reading materials about the organisation, but share the mission and vision of your organisation in an engaging way.
• Dosed information for employees on the first day(s) make it easier for the new employee. It is better to spread the orientation across several weeks or even months.

Challenges

• Organisations may feel pressured to complete the induction and orientation program in one or two days due to lack of time and resources.