What should new employees learn during their orientation? How can you get your employees motivated from day one?
Employees need a concise vision statement that’s easy to remember to feel motivated. A great way of instilling this vision in their minds is by expressing it on their first day.
Below, we’ll look at how to incorporate your business’s vision statement into the orientation process for new employees.
First-Time Employee Orientation
According to Horst Schulze, the orientation process for new employees is a valuable opportunity to instill the company’s vision. When someone starts a new job, this big, emotional life change tends to open their mind to fresh perspectives and behaviors. During this time, new employees will more readily embrace your organization’s purpose-driven culture.
(Shortform note: The Bridges Transition Model is a framework for understanding change that divides significant transitions into three stages: Endings, where you come to terms with what you’re losing; the Neutral Zone, where you’re surrounded by unknowns and must discover how to establish something new; and New Beginnings, where you fully embrace a new state of being. Identifying which of these stages a new employee is in may reveal how to best guide them as they adjust to your organization’s culture. For instance, if a new employee is still in stage one, mourning the loss of their previous job, you may need to give them time to reflect on the good things they’ve left behind instead of demanding that they immediately adapt.)
Schulze explains that he begins his first-time employee orientations by asserting that no individual, including himself, is superior to others; every employee is equally important in contributing to the company’s success. Then, he unpacks the company’s vision statement, explaining it in detail to help employees understand what they’re working toward and why their efforts matter.
He also establishes the basics of customer service: why employees should prioritize customer service above all else, the desires that all customers have, and so on. Finally, Schulze helps employees set goals and learn the specifics of how to do their jobs.
| Counterpoint: Orientation Should Focus on Concrete Financial Information Schulze contends that employee orientation should focus on instilling a specific business philosophy, including the company’s vision and the general principles of what makes customer service valuable. In contrast, Jack Stack and Bo Burlingham argue in The Great Game of Business that orientation should emphasize more nitty-gritty aspects of the business’s strategy. In particular, they recommend educating employees in detail about the company’s financial health: Employees should understand how to read and influence the company’s balance sheets and income statements to effectively take ownership and help the business succeed.Once employees see how their jobs influence the business’s financials, they can continuously adjust their processes at work to increase profits. Whereas Schulze recommends helping new employees set goals at orientation, providing financial transparency will help employees update their goals after orientation, based on the company’s changing financial situation. Furthermore, this financial transparency may be a more effective way of convincing employees that their managers don’t see themselves as superior to them. Sharing financial information implies that you believe employees can productively contribute to company strategy, whereas hiding financial information implies that employees aren’t skilled enough to use it effectively. |
