Strategy #5: Make orientation special

Ask anyone to recount the highlights of their experience with a company, and it’s not likely that new employee orientation will make the top 10. That’s too bad, since orientation sets the tone for their subsequent experience. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Here are several examples of how organizations make orientation special:
At Medtronics, new employees are given a medallion upon which is engraved company’s mission statement. Is there something special (other than a policy and procedure manual) that you can give to your new people as a way of making them feel special to be a part of your team?

At several of my client organizations, members of the Spark Plug group “adopt” new employees. They make it a point to take new people out to lunch, walk them around and introduce them to their new colleagues, and generally make them feel wanted and welcome.

Employee orientation at Griffin Hospital now lasts one full week, including a retreat to learn about, and internalize, the Planetree philosophy of empowering and patient-centered healthcare.

How exciting (or boring) is your orientation program? What more can you do to send a clear message that you’re glad to have these new people with you, and that you want them to stay with you? What physical items could help you reinforce that message?

“The first forty hours of on-the-job experience make an indelible cultural imprint on employees. It frames their understanding of the company and its business. For this reason, loyalty leaders devote enormous attention to the design of employees’ first forty hours, including details that other leaders might consider trivial. Most senior executives in high-loyalty firms find the time to get involved personally, not only in the selection of newcomers but also in their orientation and training. When you pick employees carefully, you can afford to invest more in training and in creating the ideal initial career experience.”

Frederick F. Reichheld: Loyalty Rules! How Today’s
Leaders Build Lasting Relationships

Next >