New employee orientation's impact on employee satisfaction and retention

¶ … New Employee Orientation on Employee Satisfaction and Retention

One of the most integral parts of successful and efficient business production is associated with employee satisfaction. Employee satisfaction can be achieved through a systematic and successful delivery of employee training and orientation. "Starting a new job with a new employer is difficult not only for the new employee but also for the employing organization. This is true regardless of the new employee's position in the organization."

Beeler) Successful hew hire orientation programs can make or break the smooth transition of an employee into a new environment. "No new employee, no matter what the extent of previous experience and training, can be expected to perform well on a new job without considerable preparation. Workers must sense that they have been fully prepared to do the full job for which they have been hired."

Grant 17)

It is clear from the literature that without a certain level of confidence and knowledge on the part of the employee about their job description, their benefits, the dynamic of their work environment and a certain level of camaraderie between employees, employees may choose not to remain in their positions. Sometimes employees will even opt for lower pay or worse benefits in order to secure these other things. The holistic dynamic of the work place plays a very important role in job satisfaction.

New employees can be a potential threat to business; without proper orientation and training, they can interrupt day-to-day operations and impair the quantity and quality of services. Through no fault of their own, new employees also may damage the professional image of the organization.

Beeler)

Due to the considerable risk that is involved and the potential benefits of building a successful initial relationship between the new hire, the team she or he will be a part of, and the job he or she will perform is imperative. The resources used to establish the success of any person new to his or her job are considerable and when utilized successfully can begin the process of building great employees yet, when utilized ineffectively can stagnate not only individual employees but can put a firm at risk for overall business failure. Realistic and practical communication with a new employee is crucial and must begin from the very first day.

Research associated with past and present trends in new hire orientation is therefore essential within the dynamic of every business. Finding best practices, retiring old ineffective models and implementing new ones can be a product of a successful research base. The most crucial factor associated with new hire orientation is of course one of the most crucial human resource issues of all time, long-term employee retention. The purpose of the proposed study will be to begin the groundwork for the establishment of a mainstream general system of successful employee orientation that can be tailored to meet the needs of many businesses.

In theory the process of successful new hire orientation will ensure, early competence at tasks, general employee satisfaction, and will also ensure improved long-term retention of valuable employees.

General employee satisfaction will be ascertained through a quarterly review system and will be based upon a score of ten or greater on a self-report satisfaction survey. Early task competence will be evaluated based on the observation of new hire productivity within the first ninety days of employment with the firm and will be secondarily addressed on the satisfaction survey as a question regarding his or her personal feelings of task confidence within the first thirty days of initial employment. Long-term employee retention will be ascertained by a data analysis of employees in the study group having attained a retention period of longer than two years from time of hire. The proposed study will evaluate a group of new hires entering the firm over a six-month period and will follow them for eight quarters or two years of employment. The data will then be submitted to the director of human resources for evaluation and implementation of other needed changes.

In summary the proposed case study will evaluate an implemented a new hire orientation program in an attempt to establish best practices to ensure, early task confidence, general employee satisfaction and long-term employee retention.

Literature Review

In a 1993 survey of a very large number of businesses and organizations, published in 1995 a group of researchers attempted to ascertain the level to which companies are now providing training and learning opportunities to their employees.

It seems that there is a growing trend among organizations to offer training and orientation that better meet the needs of employees. Though it may seem that this is along time coming the research points out that until recently people were expected to remain in one position much longer and enter the workforce at a younger age. The trend for more and more specialized education is growing and as these researchers point out the need for appropriate data about what works and what does not is growing with it.

Frazis, Herz and Horrigan)

In a 1998 article research from 1996, pertaining to employee retention rates within correctional institutions many important factors associated with employee retention are outlined. Though this data is specific to correctional institutions many of the maxims associated with the findings are universal to all work environments. "During 1996, 23,745 correctional officers quit their jobs at 52 adult correctional agencies - reflecting a national annual turnover rate of 12.9%. While there are many reasons why employees separate from their agencies, a primary cause is dissatisfaction with some aspect of the job."

Dennis) Employee dissatisfaction is the number one reason why all employees voluntarily give up their positions in any company. Dennis then goes on to discuss the issues addressed within the study:

The specific factors influencing job satisfaction, as well as the correlation between the management traits of prison administrators and the level of job satisfaction and staff turnover, were examined during a recent research effort conducted by the Kentucky Department of Corrections (DOC).

(Dennis)

Then he continues by outlining the research format and purpose: "Questionnaires were distributed to the entire population of 2,426 full-time, permanent employees based in the 11 prisons operated by the Kentucky DOC. A total of 1,330 questionnaires were completed, reflecting an overall return rate of 55%." (Dennis) summary of the results of the research demonstrates the empirical purpose of the study and offers some guidance for where the organization intends to put the research to work within the system.

The results of the survey reiterated a long-held tenet of management theory: that those employees who feel more empowered are more satisfied with their jobs, and thus, are more inclined to stay with the organization. From those results, researchers can make recommendations on how to better empower employees and increase overall job satisfaction.

(Dennis)

The purpose of Dennis' research being much the same as the goal of this particular proposal, the development of best practices that will empower the employee and offer him or her a work environment that will ensure retention.

In an 2000 article assessing the role of organization socialization in new employee orientation Klein and Weaver address issues that have been linked to employee retention:

Organizational socialization is the process by which employees learn about and adapt to new jobs, roles, and the culture of the workplace (Fisher, 1986; Van Maanen & Schein, 1979). Organizational socialization has been linked to a number of important organizational outcomes including increased organizational commitment, job involvement, role orientation, and tenure (Allen & Meyer, 1990a; Bauer, Morrison, & Callister, 1998; Fisher, 1986). Although socialization is an ongoing process, the focus of the current study is on the socialization of new hires, which is when adjustment issues are most intense and problematic and when employees are most susceptible to the organization's influence (Berlew & Hall, 1966; Jones, 1983; Van Maanen & Schein, 1979).

Klein and Weaver 47)

The practical application of the study applied the principals of a new orientation program which included the following principals:

The stated goals of the particular orientation program examined in this study were to help new employees (a) feel more a part of the organization, (b) learn more about the organization's language, traditions, mission, history, and structure, and - better understand the organization's basic workplace principles. The outline of the program was as follows: (a) an introduction and overview during which a notebook containing various informational resources was distributed, (b) a videotaped welcome from the organization's president, - a game/exercise aimed at familiarizing employees with the organization's traditions and language, (d) a videotape and discussion covering the mission, history, and structure of the organization, and (e) a lecture/discussion of the organization's basic workplace principles.

(Klein and Weaver 47)

What Klein and Weaver found is that the impact of the orientation program was significant on the factors addressed by the study and the outcomes are a part of a very small body of knowledge on the subject. The authors call for much further assessment of the significance of orientation on new hires.

Another study conducted in 1995 assessed the issue of realistic self-regulatory coping orientation on new hires. The study addresses the idea that self-regualtory coping borrowing from stress inoculation programs would assist new hires in coping with the stress and shock that is nearly always assocaiated with entering a new job. The study attempts to show a correlation between this sort of orientation and employee success and retention.

The present study investigates the relative efficacy of a realistic orientation and a realistic orientation combined with self-regulatory coping training. Techniques borrowed from the stress inoculation literature (Meichenbaum & Novaco, 1986) were applied to coping orientation. Stress inoculation, initially a three phase (problem conceptualization, skills training, & skills application) skills training approach to anxiety management, has been expanded into a more general training paradigm, which has been applied to problems such as police officer anger, alcohol abuse, rape trauma, and patient surgery preparation (Meichenbaum & Cameron, 1983). Self-regulatory activity, one of the focal points of stress inoculation training (Janis, 1958, 1983), involves ongoing self-statements, images, and feelings (Meichenbaum & Cameron, 1983).

(Waung)

The outcomes of the experiment are important in that the findings were conclusive that the type of training offered had a reverse of the desired effect upon new hires. "Consistent with Meglino et al.'s (1988) explanation for the early turnover of the reduction preview group, exposure to self-regulatory coping resulted in higher perceptions of negative information. "

Waung)

Waung actually found that the exposure to the possibility of negative circumstances was more alarming to the new hire and caused a greater sense of fear. The employees found themselves looking for the negative and therefore concentrating on their concerns rather than implementing positive work practices and socializing effectively with peers. This particular study is a good example of outmoded or ineffective practices working against an organization with a goal of greater retention of employees.

In a rather radical move by a county organization detailed in a 1998 article tactics were tried that drastically altered the way in which the county oriented new hires. Prior to this time the organization offered a rather mundane set of orientation procedures that included mostly general information and the filling out of paperwork, while offering a few specialized orientation sessions for certain jobs. What the county did was survey employees about what they thought would be helpful in an orientation program.

Employees were asked what they wanted and needed from orientation. They also were asked what they liked and didn't like about orientation. New employees were asked what they wanted to know about the organization. Additionally, the organization's senior management members were asked what they believed was important for employees to learn when joining the county payroll.

The result of these assessments was the decision to radically alter how Mecklenburg County's new employees would be greeted and oriented to their new organization.

Method

The proposal will analyze the empirical data in a test group of new hires from a six-month period. The new hires will be offered an orientation program that will be detailed later in this section. The new hires will then be evaluated based on the several factors associated with job retention which have been outlined above, early task success, general job satisfaction and then overall retention of longer than two years.

This proposal will develop an orientation plan borrowing from the Duke university new orientation model, including a clear pre-orientation, arrival and a long-term component. Pre-orientation phase included the pre-hire interview and the contact information "Employees' first impressions of a department are formed during the hiring process. Department's must ensure that their interactions during this period are positive and consistent." (Duke) The arrival phase is the most integral as it actually includes a rather long daily task associated orientation process that includes activities for the first day:

Greet the employee and introduce the employee to co-workers and work areas

Introduce the employee to their www.hr.duke.edu/orientation/next_buddy.htm" "buddy"

Review the information provided in the department's orientation packet

Review the job responsibilities

Review the first week schedule of activities

Assign the first project and schedule a feedback session

Activities for the first two weeks:

Review the department function, mission, vision and culture

Insure the employee understands the relationship between their job, the department and the institution

Explain the employees work relationship with others in the department

Review current, 90 day, 6-month and 1 year department priorities

Describe customer service expectations

Introduce Duke's guiding principles

Explain applicable department policies, work rules, work schedules and time away from work procedures

Insure the employee is trained on safety and emergency procedures

Schedule technical training as necessary

Review pay policies and schedule (Duke)

Activities to be completed in the first month after hire:

Meet regularly with the employee to answer questions and insure that they are becoming acclimated to the department and position responsibilities

Discuss the guiding principles and how they employee has seen them "in action" within the department

Insure the new-hire has signed up for benefits

Encourage the employee to visit special Duke locations and events

Discuss/support community service initiatives

Establish performance goals with the new employee (Duke)

With the implementation of the second phase of the orientation process taking place over a longer period of time new employees will be offered a more positive social situation that should ensure the employee finds success within the social as well as task success situations of the new job. The process will also offer more opportunities for information gathering and a less stressful association with a timed information gathering process.

The long-term phase of the process will be tailored to meet the needs of assessment of learning goals. The new hires will be given the opportunity at this point to assess their satisfaction with the hiring and orientation process and to report on their general job satisfaction.

Employees will be asked questions about his or her general satisfaction with both orientation process and specific questions associated with what he or she feels was the most useful portion of the orientation phase. The job satisfaction survey will be offered to each employee at each quarterly review and will include questions associated with his or her general assurance about task, his or her general satisfaction with the work load and management expectations, the offered benefits, the salary, the social atmosphere at work and away from work and will end with an open ended question about their desire to remain employed and their five-year professional goal.

The independent variable of the study will be the offering of the new system for orientation. The test set will consist of all new hires so the determination for success will not be compared to a control group but will rather be assessed next to the historical retention patterns of the firm. The dependant variable will then be the outcome set of the resulting changes. The categorical variable will consist of the long answer self-report question results. The study will be conducted in conjunction with the review process and will be offered to the new employee as in a separate adjoining room, additionally the results will be collected in an anonymous sealed ballot box which will not be opened until the final new hire within the study has completed the first quarterly review and each survey procedure after will be conducted in the same manner for the first eight quarters of employment. This data collection plan will attempt to address the issue of self-report bias offering further reliability and validity to the survey data. Data will be collected through the quarterly review system and then offered to the director of Human Resources as a guide to establish best practices.

Implications and Limitations

Implication of the study are associated with the positive change within the firm in association with increased employee retention and an improved overall job satisfaction. Establishing a more fluid and overall satisfying orientation experience for the employee and a more effective guide for employee satisfaction in the long-term. Offering employees a positive and useful orientation resource system will lend greatly to the job environment.

Limitations of the study include the relatively low number of new hires actually evident within a six-month period, approximately thirty total. Due to this limitation a control group would not be possible, as a control group is not possible only the quantitative percentage of employee turn over rates can be studied from past years. The attempt will be made to correlate the rates with the fiscal year so the seasonal fluctuations are relatively the same. The study will be unable to control for the fact that there could be a different dynamic present in the two time frames that could have skewed the statistics in an unforeseen manner. Yet, the ultimate goal of the study is to increase employee retention statistically and though the qualitative information will be helpful in the future for later planning and implementation the goal of increased employee retention being met will prove the process a success.

Additionally, the self-report bias will still be present within this study and will be particularly evident in that the employee may be persuaded by the reality of paid labor dynamics to answer questions in the manner he or she believes their supervisor would want them to. Due to the small scale of this study it would not be fortuitous to hire outside consultants to deliver the surveys and the timeline of the program will be such that the answers from each person though his or her quarterly review may be at a different actual time it will coincide with the time of first employ.