Employee Orientation And Onboarding

Salt Lake City UT

30 March, 2022

2:44 PM

Description

Press release from The University of Utah: March 25, 2022 Have you ever walked into a room and immediately felt unwelcome? Perhaps it was due to the way the people in the room looked, how they were dressed, how they were speaking, or some other intangible feeling that signified right away you were the outlier? If so, how likely were you to want to stay in that place? Creating an environment at work that is welcoming is an ongoing challenge, not something that can be done once and left alone. Goals change, roles change and creating and maintaining a workplace environment that helps people feel they belong is work that is never complete. A session discussing onboarding and orientation was just one of the topics discussed for the U's first Collective Day of Action. Held on March 22, 2022, it brought together students, staff, faculty and other community members to identify ways to address racism, bias, and discrimination—specifically experienced by members of the Black community. Below are key takeaways from the Day of Collection Action session titled, "Employee Orientation and Onboarding," facilitated by Mary Anne Berzins, special assistant to the dean of the College of Mines and Earth Sciences. Orientation v. onboarding A common analogy used when considering onboarding and orientation is the entire experience is a pie—but orientation is a slice of that pie. Orientation is focused on things employees need to know immediately, such as policy, procedure, safety, benefits, and other operational items like where to park and where to find a quick bite to eat on a lunch break. Onboarding, on the other hand, is more about a connection to the culture of an organization and creating relationships with others on the team and throughout the organization. It starts from the moment you make initial contact with a potential hire and is a pivotal aspect of employee engagement. One of the hardest things about joining a new organization is understanding the culture and your place within it. And people of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community and others often face an uphill battle to find their place in a business or institution. An opportunity for improvement A mere 12% of U.S. employees say their organization does a good job of onboarding, according to a recent survey by Gallup. And that number is even lower for members of often-marginalized groups. A positive onboarding experience results in higher retention rates and better employee engagement. Employees who feel welcomed and have a positive onboarding and orientation process are better able to connect to purpose right away, according to the Gallup survey. Take action Onboarding and orientation happen at both the university and unit levels. For the university level, think of messages from leadership and documentation about how to sign up for benefits that is universal for all new U employees. (Some resources around that can be found here.) And drilling down to the unit level there are other items like making time for new hires to meet department directors, setting an appointment for regular check-ins to address any questions or concerns and other team-building activities that can be as simple as getting lunch or chatting over a cup of coffee. At both levels, equity, diversity and inclusion efforts should be a prominent part of onboarding and orientation. Some ideas for ways to include EDI that were discussed during the session include the following: Friday Forum Other efforts to help improve orientation and onboarding include: This press release was produced by The University of Utah. The views expressed here are the author's own.