New employee orientation programs and best practices

Employee Orientation

Situational Overview

A large firm with many employees working in different geographical areas must devise communications mechanisms that permit the effective long-distance dissemination of essential information in general. More particularly with respect to employee orientation and training, firms with many employees in diverse locations must be able to deliver new employee orientation presentations and other forms of employee training using the latest available communications media, especially in an economic climate that emphasizes cost reduction by necessity. That requirement entails the process of designing a new employee orientation program capable of being delivered effectively remotely, specific program content that fulfills all of the objectives of traditional employee orientation programs, the anticipation and resolution of all technological barriers and issues, and the adaptation of supervisory oversight to manage orientation by remote delivery. Contemporary human resource managers have been using online media for recruitment for years; more recently, they have discovered that online media, including social networking-types of media, can also be used effectively for employee training (Leader-Chivee, Booz-Allen, & Cowan, 2008)

Designing a New Employee Orientation Program and Specific Program Content

In principle, a remotely-delivered online employee orientation program must incorporate all of the same individual elements as traditional, in-person employee orientation programs. Typically, that includes presentation of an organizational overview, an outline of the organizational mission, vision, and values; interdepartmental relations; legal and ethical-guideline training; and an introduction to the organizational culture and expectations of new employees (Stevens, 2008). More specifically, the organizational overview and outline of the organizational mission, vision, and values must provide a framework for new hires to understand what is expected of them from the perspective of the organization and how their new organization may differ from other organizations and past employers. This element has been identified as one of the most important in preparing new employees for successful careers within any organization and, in some ways, may be even more important than substantive qualifications from the perspective of long-term retention and employee satisfaction (Warech & Tracey, 2004).

Because every organization features unique relationships among and between its various component parts, the online orientation program must provide the same necessary information about the manner in which various responsibilities and areas of authority are handled as traditional in-person employee orientation training programs. An effective online orientation training program must deliver substantive lessons pertaining to applicable legal issue, and in an organization with employees working in different countries, that also requires sufficient variability in those presentations to accommodate different jurisdictional issues based on local law and custom (Robbins & Judge, 2009).

Training Media and Computer Technology Issues

Principally, there are three types of digital communications media typically used for employee training: (1) live two-way "webinar" presentations in which participants log onto presentations in real time and interact through webcams in the same manner as they might in person; (2) recorded versions of presentations in which participants log onto the organizational website to view pre-recorded presentations; and (3) individual self-directed training modules in which employees complete virtual training courses generally consisting of substantive presentation of information followed by self-administered tests in which they must achieve a minimum score to satisfy the requirement and obtain a certification of completion of that training (Robbins & Judge, 2009). While all three types of media can be incorporated effectively into online employee training programs, it is obvious that the real-time two-way "webinars" provide the closest approximation to traditional in-person training and retain the most benefits compared to other forms of training through digital media.

On the other hand, the comparative value of the real-time presentation must be considered in relation to the potential technical issues involved. Specifically, whereas pre-recorded presentations and self-directed learning online training programs can be tested and perfected in advance to ensure there are no technical problems with delivery, that is not necessarily the case with real-time presentations, especially those involving two-way communications. No matter how much preparation and troubleshooting is conducted in advance, live two-way presentations are notoriously susceptible to technical problems that can interfere with planning and lesson delivery. Moreover, the more computer terminals and office locations involved, the greater that potential for difficulties in execution.

Anticipated Problems

Beyond technical delivery-of-training issues, other anticipated potential problems associated with online employee training include lower levels of individual engagement and reduced opportunity for meaningful interpersonal exchanges. In that regard, even the best corporate instructors cannot implement all of the same teaching techniques across digital media that they can in person. Even where real-time two-way presentations allow bi-directional views, the instructor cannot make eye contact with individual employees to gauge interest and engagement, much less to encourage individual participation. Furthermore, online employee training are generally associated with lower levels of compliance and absorption of information, particularly in connection with self-directed learning modules by virtue of the inherent vulnerability of multiple-choice tests to satisfaction by repeated test-taking without necessarily making a good-faith effort to learn the substantive material (Robbins & Judge, 2009).