New Job Orientation: Start Your New Job with Confidence

As a new hire in a new company, you must be familiar with the new work environment. This is what you have in your new job orientation. It aids you in building the proper connection with other team members and understanding the operational procedures of a new company thoroughly. 

This article addresses new job orientation, focusing on a key question. Why is the new hire orientation an important process? Thus, we will primarily address the purpose of employee orientation, as a vital component of your new hire journey with a company.

What is Job Orientation in HR?

Your capacity to come to speed and achieve optimum productivity depends on how you can get accustomed to the new workplace activities and routine on time. However, in reality, many employees have difficulties acclimatising to their new job because of the lack of proper guidance during their onboarding process. Many employees find it overwhelming trying to decode their job roles and responsibilities.

Your new job (new hire) orientation starts on day one on the job (also referred to as onboarding day). The meaning of your job orientation is to provide an introductory process to your new job and company.

Once you complete your employee orientation activities, you should have obtained enough insights on the company as a business organisation with key objectives and a key identity. Additionally, once your orientation concludes, you should have obtained enough information on new hire expectations, and path forward.

Thus, your new hire orientation process should equip you with concise and accurate information to set the connection to the workplace and to start building confidence.

Job Orientation’s Meaning for a New Employee

As a new hire, one of the tools that set you on the path of success and productivity is a comprehensive job orientation. It enables you to understand the business objectives company as well as its positioning on the market. Therefore, new employee orientation is an important step that enhances your ability to fully understand your job and deliver the job expectations.

Also, new job orientation integrates you properly into the company’s operational system by connecting you with the company’s working ethics. Thus, it has a role in making you feel welcome and comfortable within the organisation from the first day. 

As a new hire, new job orientation aids you in overcoming any confusion about the new role. During the job orientation process, you will experience workplace tours, meeting other co-workers and the management team, company presentation, introduction to the company’s guidelines, and safe procedures and work ethics.

Mature Work Orientation Meaning

In a mature work orientation, you find a model designed to offer you the information you need to function effectively in a new role in an organisation.

Moreover, a mature work orientation will help you overcome any new starter challenges, because it simplifies your integration into your new work environment. In addition, it is a planned introduction of new employees to their jobs, team members, and the company. 

In a mature work orientation, you can expect three kinds of shared information, which are:

• General information about the daily work routine and schedule.
• Review of the company’s history, Values, Culture, founders, objectives, operations, products. And the contribution of the new employee’s job roles and responsibilities to the company’s needs.
• A comprehensive presentation of work rules and employee rewards and benefits.

Thus, a mature work orientation exposes you to every aspect of the company and assists you in knowing the critical deliverables expected from you. Also, a mature work orientation entertains your feedback about how you feel about the work. Usually, the feedback assists your employer in improving on the areas that need to be improved.

Onboarding Vs Orientation: The Key Difference You Must Know About

Your new job orientation is one of the key components of a staff onboarding process. But it is not a synonymous with a comprehensive and well-designed onboarding. Just think for example, about a new manager onboarding. How unrealistic would it be to think that after a limited orientation event, or limited series of events, the manager is ready to lead, strategise and make decisions?

We regard the new employee orientation as an introductory phase of a strategic onboarding process. Orientation refers to your very first experiences as a new hire on the job. But it is only an episode in the larger context of becoming fully integrated, confident and productive at work. While orientation usually lasts a week or two, your employee onboarding process can last from three months up to a full year.

For a more in-depth discussion about what does onboarding actually mean for a new job, we highly recommend you to read our separate article.

The latter should also provide you with extensive new employee training, as well as relationship building (social benefits of onboarding). Moreover, feedback collection through onboarding surveys is a crucial element.

4 Essential Benefits of The New Employee Orientation

The following are the benefits of partaking in the workplace orientation as a new hire.

New Hire Orientation Reduces Stress and Anxiety

You could be nervous as new staff member joining a company on the first day. After all, you do not know what lies ahead. A well-planned orientation will help to reduce anxiety by providing you with clarity about the company’s objectives, roles, and responsibilities.

New Hire Orientation Enhances Commitment to the Company

One of the goals of orientation training for new employees is to make new hires feel welcome, appreciated, and needed right from day 1. This increases your commitment and loyalty to the company.

New Hire Orientation Leads to Increased productivity and Decreased Mistakes

You get to speed faster when you are appropriately orientated during your first days at work. Also, it enables you to avoid unnecessary errors. This particularly relevant as you gain a better role clarity and a clearer onboarding journey map.

Reduced Employee Turnover

The orientation period encourages you to gain a sense of belonging in the company. This translates into long-term commitment, thereby helping your employer to have you for a more extended period.

5 Steps For Improving Your New Job Orientation

The primary purpose of job orientation is to prepare you to get acquainted with your new work environment. You must be ready to absorb essential information in the process.

The following job orientation tips will ensure you getting the best out of your orientation experience.

Having the Job Orientation Programme Schedule Ready

It reassuring to know that your employer has planned for your arrival. It means that there is thought and consideration put into your arrival. You know for sure that you will not arrive at the office with no one having a clue about you. Or even worse, no one even caring to step up in case your arrival was not communicated in advance.

Since the is no standard of how long your orientation should be, the same applies to the scope of the planning. But generally, as a rule of thumb, you should know at least the complete schedule for the first orientation day. And during orientation day you can expect receiving the remainder of the orientation schedule, as well as a preliminary onboarding timeline.

You can also expect to receive an orientation checklist to keep track of the progress of your journey.

Enhanced Training

When you just start a new job, there is a lot to learn about. Not just about the company, but also about the industry, the role and so on. But simply reading piles of documents, handbooks and company history is not really engaging. What if everything is delivered in a more stimulating format? One idea is showcasing all this information with multimedia content.

Another method is using gamification. Onboarding gamification can make your job start more fun and exciting. Gamification can be a strategy beneficiary not just for onboarding as a long-term process, but also during orientation.

Orientation Must Provide an Insight into Job Expectations

It is mandatory for you as a new hire to obtain a clear image of job expectations. You need to understand how your employer defines and measures success. This can shape your actions and your sense of prioritising some actions over others. Thus, having clear job expectations aids you in developing strategies that will enhance your performance on the job.

Introduction to Workflow and Projects

When you are offered the project’s background information, you will be eager to learn about the project and the software to aid your capacity to deliver. 

Don’t Forget About Social Impact of Orientation Programmes

The impact of orientation programmes does not stop at role clarity, and schedule clarifications. A well-thought new hire orientation programme also serves a social role. It will help you feel welcome by introducing you to your co-workers and other individuals within the organisation. If you don’t create meaningful connections up front, you risk losing the opportunity for establishing a sense of belonging at work. And even worse, you can risk feeling disengaged and being tempted to pursue other job opportunities.

New Job Orientation: Conclusions

As an employee, when you have a sense of purpose connected to your job, you are assured of a long-term commitment to your employer. The basis for this is to experience a great new employee orientation on your first day at work. The orientation at work framework can be responsible for the fulfillment and happiness you will derive from working in a company. In addition, a great job orientation aids you in settling down in a workplace, harnessing your potential, and contributing to the company’s overall growth.

Thus, new employee orientation is an essential step in the onboarding of new employees in an organisation. In this context, an employee onboarding software like introdus has a vital role in making the process exciting for newly employed workers. The introdus platform will simplify the learning process and inspire a positive impression of your job.

Furthermore, you can easily retrieve documentation on every detail about your job role and responsibilities. Moreover, it provides you with the chance of giving your feedback to the relevant stakeholders in the firm.