Retaining talent: It starts long before they show up (page 2 of 2)

First, the supervisor needs to be told when the new employee is scheduled to arrive. Next, the HR personnel will need to organize an initial meeting where they help the new employee become an official member of the organization. Although there are numerous actions that will need to be completed, such as, gathering the initial documents and entering information into the system, the first HR meeting should not last more than a couple of hours. The remaining areas, listed below, can be discussed anytime during the first week of employment:

- Attendance
- Company mission
- Dress code
- Email and internet usage
- Employee manual
- Grievances / complaints
- Health plan
- Meal breaks
- Parking facilities
- Probationary period
- Overtime rules
- Telephone policies
- Security regulations
- Smoking / No Smoking policy
- Suggestion program

Why not get everything completed while the employee is with the HR personnel? Because it's critically important to have new employees meet their supervisor and see their new work environment. Besides, their supervisor will be conducting their own orientation program. So what should your supervisors do? They need to prepare the new employee's physical work area and make sure they have the right supplies, equipment, and access they need to get the job done. This means having an email account set up, making sure the new employee's phone number is working, and their computer contains all the programs they'll need to complete their job requirements.

The manager also needs to discuss the employee's job description and make sure they understand their major responsibilities. At the same time the supervisor needs to explain what standards the new employee will be evaluated against. This naturally opens a door for explaining the organization's culture - the customs, behaviors, values and traditions that guide the company's day-to-day activities. Why is this so important? Because the success of the entire company depends on how well the employees fit into the system.

Michael Eisner, the former CEO of Disney, once said, "Maintaining Disney's culture was his No. 1 priority." Disney's orientation program was built on preparing new employees for work by explaining why the customer is visiting Disney. When the employees live and breath the Disney culture they play a key role in attracting repeat visitors. Their orientation program is designed to ensure new employees feel empowered to help the guests and make them happy!"

Although the discussions between the manager and the new employee are important there are other things that should also take place. The manager should take the employee on a tour and introduce the newest team member to their colleagues and the person who will be providing help and guidance to new employee as they settle in. The tour should also point out the location of the break room, rest room, emergency exits as well as the location of fire extinguishers or other safety equipment. During the tour the location of the supply cabinets, photocopy machine and fax machine should also be pointed out.

So what happens next? With such a substantial orientation program you'd think everything was covered but there's still one critical action that needs to take place! The new employee needs to be assigned an initial work project that supports the department's mission. The new employee needs to start working on a task that has real value. Unfortunately, this rarely happens and new employees are frequently given manuals to read, policies to review and other "busy work" when they first arrive. Assigning work to a new employee is easier said than done - it takes true dedication on the manger's part to develop challenging initial work assignments that have goals that can be achieved in a short period of time.

Regular and frequent follow-up with the new employee will also be needed during the first week. During these meetings the manager should explain how the employee's duties and responsibilities relate to the company's and department's goals, identify other contribution areas, prioritize the employee's key responsibilities and describe how performance will be evaluated and rated. Managers will also include sufficient time in each meeting to answer any questions the employee has. And why is this orientation process so important? Because a company's long-term success depends on getting the best return from their most important asset, their people!