New Employee Orientation

We all know how critical first impressions are. They establish a foundation for everything that follows. New staff are forming an impression of you, just as you are of them. It is suggested that new staff receive a thorough orientation to their new job and the organization for which they will be working. In this way they will get a good impression of you, and you will provide them with the initial information and tools they need to be successful.

What follows is a list of activities and/or topics which should help new staff become productive colleagues. Each organization should tailor this list to their own unique situation and to the new staff member, and decide who will take responsibility for each item.

Before new staff member arrives:

• Distribute an announcement to current staff, including a photograph if possible
• Send the new staff member:
  • A welcome letter
  • A job description
  • Instructions for first day and week
  • When & where to arrive, who to ask for
  • Where to park
  • Suggested office attire
  • What to expect for the first few days
  • Orientation to people, job, office, department, and organization
  • What to expect regarding meals, breaks, and time for personal business
  • Initial work responsibilities
  • Required or recommended reading, such as any publications created by your department
  • Other advance preparation

First day of work

Meet with supervisor (and others as appropriate) for office orientation

• Office goals and objectives
• Primary activities
• Relationship to rest of organization
• Office organization
• Office culture
• Service culture
• Confidentiality
• Ethics
• Working with supervisors, colleagues, assistants, and/or volunteers
• Managing office conflicts
• Review and discuss questions about job description and evaluation criteria
• Policies and procedures specific to office, for example
  • Working hours
  • Telephone techniques and etiquette
  • Correspondence styles
  • Staff meetings
  • Budget and accountability
• Get assigned work space
• Meet with colleagues and support staff
  • Brief overview of their responsibilities and assignments
  • How they relate to or support the new staff member
• Meet with assigned support staff (if appropriate *
• Discuss office organization (files, supplies, etc.)
• Handling incoming and outgoing mail
• Office circulation files
• Office resources (directories, dictionaries, style manuals, computer program manuals, staff listing, etc.)
• Using the telephone
• Meet assigned "buddy" for orientation to the environment and for informal help
• Office dress code
• Where to put coat and personal belongings
• Restrooms
• Refreshment area, lounges
• Office supplies
• Copy machines
  • How to use
  • Refilling paper supply
  • Policies about number of copies and making personal copies
• Fax machines
• Calendars
• Coffee/coffee fund, gift fund
• Where to go for lunch & breaks **
• End-of-day routine: lights, telephones, doors, computer, etc.

Within first week of arrival

• Set up work area
• Start work
• Supervisor checks in frequently to clarify expectations and answer questions
• Colleagues check in to answer questions and offer support
• "Buddy" checks in daily to answer questions and offer support
• Meet with department business manager to cover, as appropriate
  • Timecards
  • Vacation/sick/personal leave policies
  • Keys
  • Access to the office on nights and weekends
  • Telephone: access code, personal calls, paying for personal long-distance calls
  • Stamps, parking permits
  • General review of accounting
  • Listing of account numbers
  • Journal vouchers
  • Travel and reimbursement (especially for business travelers)
  • Company credit card
  • Telephone credit card use (saves money over paying the full rate from a hotel room, for instance)
  • Paying bills, making deposits, transferring between accounts
• Meet with company Human Resources Services
  • Complete all necessary paperwork
  • Review company personnel policies and procedures
  • Learn about benefits (health & life insurance, retirement, select benefits, etc.)
  • Learn about company orientation
• Get company ID
• Get company parking permit (if appropriate)
• Meet with MIS personnel for computer assistance
  • Overview of policies & procedures, including confidentiality and piracy
  • Assessment of knowledge of and comfort with computer hardware and software
  • Hardware: turning on, backing up, printing, shutting down, etc.
  • Software: word-processing, data processing, e-mail, etc. as needed
  • Arrange further training and support as needed
• Tour the building and immediate area

Within six months of starting

• Meet key people and offices within the company
• Meet on a regular basis with supervisor to discuss issues, and review job description, expectations, and performance
• "Buddy" checks in on a regular basis to answer questions and offer support
• Attend company’s new staff orientation (provides an overview of company people, departments, policies, and procedures, and includes a tour of the company facilities)
• Have 90-day performance dialogue

Notes:

* It would be valuable to assign a "buddy" to a new staff member, preferably a peer from the office area, of whom the new employee can ask any question without fear of reprisals. A colleague who is relatively new to the organization might be the best choice because they have a fresh perspective and they are familiar with questions a new staff member might have. If a "buddy" is not assigned, someone else should cover these topics.

** Because of financial, personal, and legal implications, a lunch companion should not be a formal part of the schedule if lunch is not a reimbursable expense. The new employee should not feel obligated to eat lunch with staff in the event that they feel they cannot afford it, or if they need the time for personal business. A lunch companion may be offered as a courtesy with brown bagging as one option.