Employee orientation is an event that is conducted by the HR team to make sure that the employees know what is expected of them. The concept of the employee orientation is often mixed up with the concept of employee onboarding – the main difference is the duration of each one of them as the employee orientation involves a single day event that lasts for few hours and is usually conducted during the first week of the job; whereas, the onboarding is an entire program that spans over few weeks or maybe months.

The orientation takes place in classrooms or conference halls where the HR manager provides only general information the new employee needs to know, such as company policies, benefits, insurance, industry regulations, etc.

This event helps reduce employee turnover as the orientation shows that the organization values the employee, and provides them with necessary resources needed for them to do their jobs. However, the employee orientation session is not sufficient to consider that the new employee now fully understands the given information, but ongoing assistance from their managers and colleagues is needed.

Purpose

Every company that wishes to be seen as a professional and desirable workplace, should make the employee orientation session mandatory for every new employee. It should be a constant segment of the onboarding program and must be held to retain long-term work relationships.

It creates a positive impression for the employees and indicates that the company is sensitive to the employees’ needs. During the orientation, questions are often voiced by the new recruits and answered by the managers/mentors who often clear major misunderstandings and fill the gaps for a productive work style.

Importance

To summarize, the employee orientation is essential for:

  1. Creating good first impressions of the company;
  2. Understanding the expectations of the company and the manager;
  3. Understanding the benefits of working with the company (days-off, insurances, etc.);
  4. Engaging the new employees.