Helping new hires adapt to the workflow is a valuable opportunity to not only strengthen teamwork but also minimize the risk of losses caused by newcomers’ insufficient performance. Orientation, as a process designed to convey to new employees the appropriate nuances of the operating environment, begins before the hire begins one’s direct duties.
The best way is to start orientation with job interviews. It is rational to complete the orientation if the employee has learned the necessary information and is able to cope with immediate duties on one’s own. This period is not standardized and cannot be considered universal since different factors should be taken into account.
The complexity of tasks, the experience of the employee, the level of interaction with colleagues, and other criteria can affect the performance at the initial stage of work in a new team. Therefore, orientation may be regarded as completed only if the level of duties performed corresponds to those declared by the organization as necessary to achieve its goals.
The role of learning and development in this process is crucial. New hires get access to educational resources, and while feeling supported by the organization, they improve initial qualifications by participating in training and development projects. Moreover, depending on the direction of the business, different opportunities are provided to specialists.
For instance, routine and mechanical activities can be improved by involving new employees in special professional development programs. By undergoing the necessary training and interacting with experienced colleagues, a person can acquire new knowledge that will not only improve productivity but also enhance the worker’s motivation. Therefore, the importance of learning and development in such a process is high.
Corporate culture has a significant impact on orientation and onboarding. By adopting appropriate labor standards, a new employee learns about organizational values, better understands the mission and vision of their new company, and forms an individual idea of the work process.
If the culture is advanced, orientation and onboarding take place quickly because the worker does not feel pressure and, at the same time, absorbs the right knowledge. In case the organization cannot establish a sustainable culture, the likelihood of quality orientation and onboarding will be low because such practices cannot be successfully addressed in an environment where corporate norms are disregarded.
Therefore, in large companies with a developed culture of interaction with subordinates, employees feel comfortable from the first days and demonstrate high loyalty to the employer, which is a critical prerequisite for team productivity.
For different roles within the company, orientation should be different due to distinctive career prospects, range of responsibilities, and other criteria. For instance, an employee who performs mechanical tasks should have a clear outline of job descriptions, which, however, are limited to the professional spectrum.
At the same time, appropriate career guidance activities are an essential element in maintaining the worker’s motivation and creating a favorable environment for his or her implementation of immediate duties and, consequently, achieving high productivity. For managerial positions, orientation plans should be more flexible because, in addition to leadership functions, extended knowledge is important to acquire for successful performance monitoring.
Nonetheless, this practice works if the available resources allow for interacting with each employee individually. In the case of a large influx of new workers, more flexible approaches to orientation and onboarding should be sought.