Fumbling the Employee Orientation

Orienting new employees to their responsibilities and the organization is often a hasty follow-up to the selection.

I've heard monster stories from employees who were escorted to a desk and then abandoned without a clue as to what was expected and who handles what. On the other side of the scale are those excruciatingly boring orientation programs conducted by a dinosaur or a fast-talker in which the new person is overwhelmed with the trivial as well as the important.

Small companies have an advantage when it comes to employee orientation. When there aren't many employees, information about who does what and how can come quickly and naturally in the course of work. For larger outfits, however, fumbling the employee orientation can produce a real drag on productivity and ruin what should be one of the most positive moments in the professional relationship.

Some tips for conducting an effective orientation are:

• Don't swamp the person with too much information. Ease the person into the subjects and be prepared to address the relevant "frequently asked questions." Have those answers in writing so the person has something to carry away but avoid droning through the list.
• Give practical "micro" information. For example, a list of important names/titles/phone numbers/email addresses can be immeasurably valuable to a new person and yet it is surprising how often it is overlooked. Ask yourself, "What will this person need to know in the course of the workday?"
• Remember how easy it is to forget names. Don't just rattle them off and expect the person to remember.
• Watch your language. Make sure an explanation of industry-specific acronyms is available so when people slip into jargon, the employee won't be confused.
• Set aside sufficient time for the person to get to meet co-workers. Be wary of simply assigning the new person to one of the office veterans in a buddy system arrangement since that may transfer the veteran's bad habits to a new generation.
• Set up appointments so the new person can meet with key co-workers. Don't leave it to the new employee to make those appointments.
• Give the new employee a list of responsibility-specific questions that he or she should ask key people in the one-on-one meetings. Make it clear that the person is expected to interview the veterans and that you'll meet later to talk about the information that was obtained.
• Check back with the person after the first week and again after the second. Each time, note that you want to hear any "dumb" questions they may still have since you know how easy it is for organizations to assume that complicated things are obvious.
• Don't condescend. You want to avoid placing the person in embarrassing situations and yet not talk down to the person. Explain that you'll probably be giving a lot of basics as well as unusual information and that they should bear with you.