This checklist continues last week’s article about comparing your onboarding program against the design components of a “world-class” onboarding program.
The last level of components for world-class onboarding programs is still important, even though they are more operational in nature. They include the following:
Business impact metrics
Satisfaction measures
Program delivery
Other
Orientation generally means…
The term orientation has for years meant the narrower range of corporate activities controlled by the orientation coordinator, the payroll, the employee ID, and the benefits departments related to “sign up’s” and providing basic information. The goals of traditional orientation are relatively narrow. They are to get you on the payroll, signed up for benefits, and to give you a brief overview of the company’s culture, products, and values. Most orientation programs are corporate-driven and have no “local” component.
Onboarding generally means…
The broader term onboarding has a more comprehensive reach and a broader perspective. The primary difference between onboarding and orientation is that onboarding has as its goal decreasing the time it takes for a new hire to reach the minimum expected productivity level on the job. This business impact and results perspective is the primary differentiator from orientation, which has a process focus.
Onboarding differs from orientation in the following ways:
Most onboarding programs are poorly designed and have limited goals; as a result, they produce limited results. This is true even though there is data to show that great onboarding can improve productivity, retention, error rates, customer satisfaction, and even your employment brand. If your organization is ready to break away from the pack in this underappreciated area, use this checklist to begin your design process.
