New Employee Orientation

It is the process of introducing new hires to their jobs, colleagues, and the organization. It's about who you are as a company, about how new hires fit in, and about why they are important.

A proposed framework for designing a new employee orientation program is called ROPES, an acronym for Realistic Orientation Programs for new Employee Stress, it was John Wanous who came up with the term 'ROPES' in 1992 since newcomers need to 'learn the ropes.'

Onboarding vs. new employee orientation

A word on the difference between onboarding and new employee orientation is in order since one can easily be confused with the other.

The onboarding period starts as soon as a candidate signs the offer letter – and hence becomes a future employee. It ends when the employee can autonomously do the job they were hired to do.

New employee orientation, on the other hand, focuses on newcomers during their first day/week. As such, NEO is (an essential) part of the onboarding process.

In other words, when it comes to onboarding vs. new employee orientation, the former involves a (much) longer process than the latter. Both, however, have the same goal; to familiarize new hires with the organization, the people, and the job.

Benefits of new employee orientation,

• Reducing stress and anxiety. This is probably the number one benefit of new employee orientation. No matter how well you've prepared candidates during the recruitment process, they'll still be nervous on their first day.
• A well-organized orientation helps to reduce that stress and provides clarity about what's on the agenda for people's first day and beyond.
• Increase commitment to the organization. A proper orientation will make new hires feel welcome, appreciated, and needed right from the start. This will increase their commitment.
• Increase productivity, decrease mistakes. When done well, new employee orientation will help employees get up to speed faster. It will also help in avoiding (unnecessary) mistakes.
• Reduce turnover. As a result of the three benefits just mentioned, employee turnover should go down; employee orientation shows people the organization cares and provides them with the tools they need to do their job well.
• Contributing to a positive relationship and communication between the new hire, their colleagues, and manager.

In organizations, a core of information exists that you need to share with every new employee, therefore the orientation generally contains information in areas such as

• Safety
• The work environment
• The new job description
• Benefits and benefits eligibility
• The employee's new manager and co-workers
• Company culture
• Company history
• The organization charts

Apart from this custom module are created and applied that is relevant for the new employee to work in the new company based on the requirement.