HRMN 400 – Week 4 Citations (Caldwell, Hasan, & Smith, 201

HRMN 400 – Week 4 Citations
(Caldwell, Hasan, & Smith, 2018)
(Heathfield, 2019)
(O'Toole, 2020)
(Brown, 2020)
(Platz, 2019)
(Heathfield, How to Welcome and Onboard a New Employee
Successfully, 2019)
(Pike, 2014)
(Lagunas, 2014)
(Why the Onboarding Experience Is Key for Retention, 2021)
(Vanden Bos, 2020)
(Dubois, 2010)
(Rudy)
(Forbes Coaches Council, 2017)
(Burkett, 2017)
(Little, 2019)

Bibliography
Brown, J. (2020, May 20). Employee Orientation: Keeping New
Employees on Board. Retrieved
February 2, 2021, from Balance Career:
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/employee-
orientation-keeping-new-employees-on-board-1919035
Burkett, H. (2017, June 1). Reinvent Your Onboarding Process.
Retrieved February 2, 2021,
from HRCI: https://www.hrci.org/community/blogs-and-
announcements/hr-leads-
business-blog/hr-leads-business/2017/06/01/reinvent-your-
onboarding-process
Caldwell, Hasan, & Smith. (2018). New Employee Onboarding -
Psychological Contracts and
Ethical Perspectives. Retrieved February 3, 2021, from
University of Maryland Global
Campus:
https://learn.umgc.edu/d2l/le/content/543604/viewContent/2043
1499/View
Dubois, L. (2010, December 13). How to Make an Employee's
First 90 Days Successful.
Retrieved February 2, 2021, from Inc.com:
https://www.inc.com/guides/2010/12/how-to-
make-an-employees-first-90-days-successful.html
Forbes Coaches Council. (2017, January 30). Seven New
Onboarding Strategies You'll See This
Year. Retrieved February 2, 2021, from Forbes:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2017/01/30/
seven-new-onboarding-
strategies-youll-see-this-year/?sh=4cc048957b4d

Heathfield, S. M. (2019, September 30). How to Welcome and
Onboard a New Employee
Successfully. Retrieved February 2, 2021, from Balance
Careers:
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/how-to-welcome-a-new-
employee-1918829
Heathfield, S. M. (2019, October 31). New Employee
Orientation: Employee Onboarding.
Retrieved February 3, 2021, from Balance Careers:
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/new-employee-orientation-
employee-onboarding-
1918195
Lagunas, K. (2014, November 25). New Hire Onboarding as a
Driver of Employee Engagement.
Retrieved February 2, 2021, from Training Mag:
https://trainingmag.com/new-hire-
onboarding-as-a-driver-of-employee-engagement/
Little, S. (2019, February 26). What is Employee Onboarding --
And Why do You Need It?
Retrieved February 2, 2021, from SHRM Blog:
https://blog.shrm.org/blog/what-is-
employee-onboarding-and-why-do-you-need-
it?_ga=2.110698565.1743394787.1542496676-
1232592599.1505600439
O'Toole, B. (2020, December 29). Tips for a Better New
Employee Orientation. Retrieved
February 2, 2021, from Balance Careers:
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/tips-for-a-
better-new-employee-orientation-1916757

Pike, K. L. (2014). New Employee Onboarding Programs and
Person-Organization Fit: An
Examination of Socialization Tactics. University of Rhode
Island. Seminar Research
Paper Series. Retrieved February 2, 2021, from
https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=http
s://www.google.com/&ht
tpsredir=1&article=1043&context=lrc_paper_series
Platz, B. (2019, July 13). Steps for Creating a Positive New
Employee Onboarding Experience.
Retrieved February 3, 2021, from Balance Careers:
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/employee-onboarding-
positive-new-employee-
experience-1918830
Rudy, L. J. (n.d.). Employee Orientation and Training. In
Principles of Management. Lumen
Learning. Retrieved February 2, 2021, from
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-
principlesmanagement/chapter/employee-orientation-and-
training/
Vanden Bos, P. (2020, February 6). How to Build an
Onboarding Plan for a New Hire.
Retrieved February 2, 2021, from Inc.com:
https://www.inc.com/guides/2010/04/building-an-onboarding-
plan.html
Why the Onboarding Experience Is Key for Retention. (2021,
January 23). Retrieved February 2,
2021, from Gallup:
https://www.gallup.com/workplace/235121/why-onboarding-
experience-key-retention.aspx

1
New Employee Onboarding–
Psychological Contracts and Ethical Perspectives
Abstract
Purpose – This paper clarifies the importance of Human
Resource Professionals (HRPs) improving the
onboarding and assimilation of new employees and explains
why this important task is so essential as
part of the psychological contract between employers and those
new organization members.
Design/methodology/approach – This paper is a conceptual
paper that identifies a problem based upon
findings in the management literature, explains the nature of
psychological contracts and ethical duties,
and identifies action steps for improving the new employee
onboarding process.
Findings – The paper identifies a ten.-step model for improving
employee onboarding and explains why
HRPs and those who oversee them need to reexamine their
assimilation of new organization members.

Originality/value – This paper contributes to the management
literature by addressing a major problem
that is poorly managed in many organizations. The
mismanagement of this important onboarding
process undermines organization effectiveness, decreases trust,
and violates the psychological contract
held by new employees about the organization’s duties owed to
them.
Key Words: Employee Onboarding, Employee Assimilation,
New Employee Orientation, Psychological
Contract, Duties of Human Resource Professionals.
2
New Employee Onboarding–
Psychological Contracts and Ethical Perspectives
Assimilating new employees into an organization is an
important task of Human
Resource Professionals (HRPs) and an essential element of their
responsibilities as technical
experts in their discipline (Huselid, et al., 2009, pp 196-199).
Ineffective onboarding destroys
benefits achieved by hiring talented employees and increases

the likelihood that the hard work
spent in recruiting and selecting those employees will be wasted
(Smart, 2012). Because many
organizations view their onboarding process as an expense
rather than an investment, they
adopt a short-sighted approach to the process. The predictable
result from this false economy
is that the transition into the organization for new employees
will be painful--leading to
potential underperformance, minimizing the organization’s
capability to fully utilize the skills
and abilities of these new employees.
The purposes of this paper are 1) to identify why improving
this important Human
Resource Management (HRM) function greatly benefits those
new employees and the
organization itself, 2) to clarify the ethical obligations implicit
in new employee onboarding, and
3) to provide top managers and HRPs with a model for
improving the new employee
onboarding process that meets the ethical expectations and
psychological contracts of
incoming employees. The paper begins with a brief explanation
of the onboarding process and

the nature of the psychological contract that exist between an
organization and its employees.
Building upon a model introduced by the University of
Michigan ethics scholar, Larue Hosmer, it
3
then presents twelve ethical perspectives that identify how
employees perceive the nature of
their onboarding process. The paper then introduces a ten-step
model for conducting a top
quality onboarding process, identifying how each of those steps
honors the ethical expectations
of the psychological contracts of new employees. The paper
concludes with the contributions
of this paper.
The Onboarding Process
Onboarding is the process of introducing a new employee into
his or her new job;
acquainting that employee with the organization’s goals, values,
rules and policies, and
processes; and socializing the employee into an organizational
culture (Watkins, 2016).

Wanous and Reichers (2000) explained that the new employee
orientation process occurs while
employees are under a tremendous amount of stress. The typical
new employee onboarding
process provides employees with a volume of information that
is overwhelming, impractical,
and impossible for new employees to incorporate within a short
period of time. In compiling
research about the state of the art of employee onboarding,
Srimannarayana (2016) noted that
some organizations included too many complex tasks and
information for employees to
realistically digest while other organizations offered too few
items that fail to adequately
prepare employees.
Bauer (2010) has explained that an effective onboarding
process included four critical
building blocks to improve performance, inoculate against
turnover, and increase job
satisfaction:
4

• Compliance: This building block is the lowest level of
onboarding and includes reviewing
or teaching employees about basic legal and policy-related rules
and regulations
associated with working in the new organization.
• Clarification: This key function ensures that employees
understand their new jobs and
all its related expectations. Frequently, this function is poorly
handled and lacks
specificity.
• Culture: Providing employees with a sense of formal and
informal organizational norms
is often overlooked because members of the organization
assume that the
organization’s values, assumptions, and norms are easily
understood.
• Connection: This key activity refers to creating vital
interpersonal relationships and
explaining information networks essential for employees to
perform successfully.
Unfortunately, Acevedo and Yancey (2010, 349) concluded that
most organizations do a
mediocre job of assimilating new employees and, few
organizations utilize its full scope or
potential.
Bauer (2010) explained that effective onboarding has short-
term and long-term benefits

for both the new employee and the organization, noting that
employees effectively assimilated
into an organization have greater job satisfaction and
organizational commitment, higher
retention rates, lower time to productivity, and have greater
success in achieving customer
satisfaction with their work. In contrast, poor onboarding leads
to lower employee satisfaction,
higher turnover, increased costs, lower productivity, and
decreased customer satisfaction.
Holton (2001, 73) noted in his study of factors associated with
onboarding that “(t)he most
important tactic (for effective onboarding) was allowing new
employees to fully utilize their
skills and abilities.” Unfortunately, most organizations focus
on establishing managerial control
systems rather than on building commitment and empowering
employees (cf. Pfeffer, 1998).
Onboarding and the Psychological Contract
5
The employment relationship is inherently an interpersonal
relationship with profound

ethical implications associated with HRM (Hosmer, 1987). That
relationship is based upon social
exchange theory in which the employer pays money to the
employee in exchange for his or her
services (Cropanzano & Mitchell, 2005). The expectations in
this relationship frame the
psychological contract that exists between the two parties – a
contract that is typically
unwritten and that rarely perfectly coincides but reflects the
reciprocal obligations of the
parties (Rousseau, 1995; Robinson & Rousseau, 1994).
Consistent with expectancy theory, new
employees are also concerned about 1) how they will benefit as
an organization member, and
2) whether it is feasible for them to obtain promised outcomes
(Shea-Van Fossen &
Vredenburgh, 2014). The implied psychological contract
between employers and employees
has evolved over the past several decades (Pfeffer, 1998), but a
growing body of evidence
confirms that employers who create relationships with
employees based upon high trust create
organizational cultures in which employees exhibit increased
extra-role behavior, are more

creative and innovative, and more profitable than employees in
comparable organizations (cf.
Beer, 2009).
Well qualified employees who add the greatest value, or create
the most organizational
wealth, for their employers expect to be treated with dignity and
respect; given the
opportunity to advance in their organizations; be treated as
valued “owners and partners” in
improving the organization; and valued as “Yous,” or as unique
individuals, rather than as “Its,”
or fungible commodities with no individual identity (Buber,
1996; Covey, 2004; Block, 2013).
Although some employees are highly committed and inherently
dedicated to giving extra-mile
performance, even in the face of poor treatment and ineffective
leadership (Organ, et al.,
6
2005), research evidence documents that employers who treat
employees with high trust, who
demonstrate a personalized approach to employees as valued

partners reap the rewards of
better quality, improved employee performance, and increased
employee satisfaction (Pfeffer,
1998; Paine, 2003; Smith, et al., 2016).
Louis (1980) examined the problem of employee dissatisfaction
with the new employee
entry process more than thirty-five years ago, yet new
employees continue to be surprised by
the inadequacies of many organizations’ onboarding systems
(Lawson, 2015, Ch. 5). Although
the expectations of incoming employees about the perceived
duties owed to them in the
onboarding process may vary, employees feel betrayed when
those duties are breached – with
an inevitable decrease in organization commitme nt (Morrison &
Robinson, 1997). A realistic
job preview reduces surprises, clarifies supervisor expectations,
provides an opportunity for
employees to ask questions about desired outcomes, and
clarifies the psychological contract
(Tekleab et al, 2013).
Hosmer (1995) explained that trust and ethical expectations are
closely related and

derived from well-accepted philosophical foundations. Table 1
presents twelve ethical
perspectives, a brief summary of each perspective, and a
summary of how new employees
perceive onboarding duties owed to them.
==== Insert Table 1 about Here ===
Each ethical perspective confirms that it is in the best interests
of an employer and their
employees for the onboarding process to occur effectively and
with high quality (cf. Hosmer,
1995). New employees typically perceive that they are an
excellent onboarding process as part
7
of the psychological contract owed to them (DeVos, et al.,
2005; Klein & Weaver, 2000). The
evidence also confirms that effective onboarding serves all
stakeholders, benefiting
organization both long-term and short-term (Bauer, 2010).
A Ten-Step Model for Quality Onboarding
HRPs who incorporate highly effective onboarding programs
honor the psychological

contract expectations of their new employees and fulfill their
strategic role as ethical stewards
(Huselid, et al., 2009;). The following is a ten-step model for
quality onboarding, including steps
prior to the actual arrival of a new employee.
1. Establish the Relationship Online Immediately after Hiring.
Typically, the decision to
hire an employee occurs well before the employee actually
begins work. Initiating an
online relationship enables an organization to create an
immediate personalized
relationship with a new employee--a well-recognized element of
effective leadership
(Kouzes & Posner, 2012, Ch. 1) and an opportunity for an
employee to learn a great deal
about the organization.
2. Appoint a Trained Mentor-Coach for Each New Employee –
The evidence indicates the
quality of mentoring for new employees can make a significant
contribution to
employee socialization and learning (Ragins, et al., 2000).
Mentoring can be highly

effective at helping employees to improve employee work
attitudes, engagement, and
extra-role behavior (Van Dyne & Pierce, 2004).
3. Focus the Onboarding on Relationships and Networks –
Assisting new employees to
create relationships with key organization personnel can shorten
the socialization and
assimilation process. Sharing information with key
organization personnel about the
employee’s qualifications and assisting the employee to become
familiar with the
organization’s values communicates to the incoming employee
that (s)he is an
important contributor to the organization’s success (Brown,
2007; Rousseau, 1990). The
relationship with the supervisor and the natural work group are
both essential elements
in this transition (Parker, et al., 2013).
4. Prepare a Well-Developed and Complete New Employee
Orientation Booklet –
Integrating the many diverse pieces of information that new
employees needs in

8
relocating; acquainting the employee with the community and
organization culture;
identifying the organization’s values, mission, and history;
explaining employee benefits
and policies; completing required paper work and
documentation; and identifying key
job tasks in contributing to the organization’s ability to create
value enables a new
employee to obtain this critical information and is consistent
with employee
psychological contract expectations (Sutton & Griffin, 2004).
Providing that information
in one location also facilitates an employee’s ability to share
that information with a
significant other.
5. Prepare Physical Location, Office, and Staffing Support Prior
to Onboarding – A
properly equipped office and appropriate staffing support enable
an employee to get
off to the best possible start. Initiating those actions prior to a

new employee’s arrival
demonstrates that the organization has carefully thought through
the new employee’s
assimilation (cf. Marks, 2007).
6. Assist in Transitional Logistics – Recognizing that a new hire
may have had to relocate,
sell or buy a home, arrange for schooling for children, and/or
make other stressful
transitions of significant proportion, reaching out to new
employees to assist them in
those time consuming tasks communicates that an employer is
aware of the need for
work-family balance and is committed to the employee’s
welfare (Dewe, et al., 2010).
7. Clarify and Affirm Priorities and Expectations – Immediately
upon the new employee’s
arrival to the organization, the employee’s supervisor should
meet with the new
employee to clarify job responsibilities, key outcomes, and the
employee role with the
entire work group; identify key resources and the role of the
supervisor; and listen

carefully to the employee’s personal goals and job-related
concerns. Creating a high
trust relationship with the new employee is facilitated by such a
meeting in addition to
building employee commitment (Leana & Van Buren, 1999).
8. Engage, Empower, and Appreciate the Employee –
Employees actively engaged as
owners and partners in an organization are more likely to
contribute creative ideas, add
organizational value, and improve organization productivity
(Adkins, 2016; Smith, et al.,
2016; Beer, 2009; Saks, 2006;). Building employee self-
efficacy and confidence reduces
employee stress, facilitates assimilation into the organization,
and enhances employee
performance (Peterson, et al., 2011).
9. Involve Upline in Onboarding Training and Orientation –
Actively involving Top
Management Team members and supervisors in the new
employee orientation
process–particularly in explaining organizational values and
cultural factors–

communicates to employees that organizational leaders are
committed to those values
and that they are prepared to perform according to the values
that they espouse
(Schein, 2010; Kouzes & Posner, 2012).
9
10. Create an Ongoing Coaching Process – As part of the new
employee orientation, both
the mentor and supervisor should identify the resources
available to assist the
employee to become a highly productive contributor and the
checkpoints that will be
used to help the new employee to be assimilated into the
organization to achieve time-
targeted performance results (Bachkirova, et al., 2011).
Each of these ten steps communicates to the new employee that
(s)he is a priority of the
organization. This ten-step process communicates, “We value
you and want you to succeed. We care
about your success, and we have carefully thought through our

responsibility to bringing you on board
successfully so that you can have a great experience in our
company.” In the words of DePree (2004,
Ch. 1), this approach to the onboarding process and to helping
the employee to succeed honors the
“covenantal” obligation of leaders to be “a servant and a
debtor” committed to each employee’s well-
being and success. That psychological contract expectation of
being valued as a person is the desired
hope of new employees as they transition into organizations.
Although all ten of these recommended
steps might not always be practical in every situation, this
model provides a guideline which has
applicability for many organizations in a variety of disciplines.
Caldwell and colleagues (2015) have provided a Virtuous
Continuum of ethical conduct for
leaders and organizations for evaluating performance outcomes
and ethical duties. That continuum,
indicated as Diagram 1, suggests that the responsibility of
organizations and leaders is to optimize value
creation and organizational wealth by pursuing the best intetests
of all stakeholders.
==== Insert Diagram One about here ====

Similarly, Cameron (2011) has explained that virtuous
leadership is also “responsible leadership” and the
obligation of leaders to those whom they serve. A growing
body of evidence confirms that honoring this
virtuous responsibility creates organizational wealth, greater
commitment, improved customer service,
and better quality (Cameron & Spreitzer, 2012; Beer, 2009;
Pfeffer, 1998).
10
Contributions of the Paper
Like many practical HRM issues, onboarding of employees is a
profoundly ethical process with
implications for the psychological contract between the
employer and employee (Hosmer, 1987). This
paper makes five significant contributions.
1) It identifies the nature of onboarding new employees as an
ethical and practical opportunity
to improve the relationship between new employees and their
organizations. The
responsibilities of HRPs and immediate supervisors in
assimilating new employees honors

“covenantal” obligations that benefit organizations and the
individuals working for them
2) It identifies the ethical nature of onboarding in comparison
with twelve highly regarded
ethical perspectives and as a key element of psychological
contracts. By elaborating on the
ethical nature of the onboarding process, this paper integrates
those ethical perspectives with
the expectations of employees directly impacts their trust,
commitment, and willingness to
engage in value-creating behaviors.
3) It confirms the value of a Virtuous Continuum approach to
examining the current practices of
onboarding for HRPs. Honoring duties owed to stakeholders
and optimizing value creation are
responsibilities of HRPs and supervisors and the Virtuous
Continuum is a useful criterion for
evaluating an organization’s onboarding process (Caldwell, et
al., 2014).
4) It identifies a ten-step model for onboarding with each step
identifying how each onboarding
activity strengthens the ability of an organization to honor
ethical and psychological contract
expectations of employees. The specifics of this proposed

model comply with best practices for
onboarding in HRM (Bauer, 2010) while meshing with
ethically-related assumptions about the
psychological contract (Rousseau, 1990).
11
5) It provides an opportunity for practitioners and scholars to
increase their dialogue in
promoting the discussion of ethics in practice. The link
between academicians and practitioners
is often weak and scholars are frequently criticized for being
impractical (Van Buren &
Greenwood, 2013; Caldwell, 2014). This paper bridges that gap
and provides an opportunity for
scholars and HRPs to work together to improve the onboarding
process.
Conclusion
Although organizations depend greatly upon the ability of their
employees to add value and
improve organizational creativity (Christensen, 2011; Beer,
2009), they often overlook the importance of
helping employees to succeed (Pfeffer, 1998). Van Buren and

Greenwood (2013, 716) have noted the
importance of “involvement of business ethics scholarship in
debates about important ethical issues in
employment practices.” By addressing the ethical implications
of onboarding and assimilation in the
psychological contract that exists between new employees and
their organizations, this paper furthers
that purpose while providing specific suggestions for improving
a key HRM process.
As HRPs improve the onboarding and assimilation process for
new employees, they enhance
each employee’s reason for wanting to connect as invested
partners in the success of the organization,
the work group, and the supervisor with whom they work
(Yamkovenko & Hatala, 2015). By improving
onboarding and new employee assimilation, HRPs and
organization leaders honor the psychological
contracts and ethical assumptions of employees’ and create an
organizational culture that generates
greater long-term wealth while serving the needs of their work
force (Caldwell, et al., 2011).

12
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16
Table 1: Twelve Ethical Perspectives and Their Ethical
Implications for Onboarding
Ethical Perspective Basic Summary Organizational
Impacts
Employee Perceptions and Ethical
Implications
Self-Interest
(Protagoras)
Society benefits when we
pursue self-interest without
encroaching on others’ rights.
Seeks to optimize
long-term wealth
creation.
Excellent onboarding and quality training enable
new employees to quickly become contributors
in creating organizational wealth or value (cf.
Caldwell & Hansen, 2010)
Utilitarian Benefit
(Bentham & Mills)
A law or act is “right” if it
leads to more net social
benefits than harms.

Recognizes the need
to identify costs,
benefits, and impacts
of choices.
The Return on Investment of onboarding saves
an organization money in the long-run and
increases commitment (Pfeffer, 1998)
Personal Virtues
(Plato & Aristotle)
Standards must be adopted to
govern relationships and
articulate virtuous behaviors.
Organizations must
govern according to
correct principles and
virtues.
Creating an excellent onboarding process is
congruent with the virtuous obligations that
leaders owe to others (DePree, 2004)
Religious Injunction
(St. Augustine)
Compassion and kindness
must accompany honesty,
truthfulness, and temperance.
Honoring
relationships equates
with interpersonal

respect and kindness.
Treating employees as valued “Yous” rather than
as “Its” honors the obligations of Religious
Injunction (Buber, 1996).
Ethic of
Government
Regulation (Hobbes
& Locke)
“Live by both the letter and
the spirit of the law in
honoring duties owed to
others, but remember that the
law by itself is a minimal
moral standard.”
Complying with the
letter and spirt of the
law builds trust and
increases personal
commitment.
Treating new hires as valued partners and with a
concern for their best interests is not a legal
obligation but complies with the spirit of the
implied contract between the parties and is an
important means of building trust (cf. Caldwell &
Clapham, 2003).
Universal Rules
(Kant)
Inspired rules govern action,
resulting in the greater good

for society.
Universal rules and
values impact
organizations and
leaders.
Kantian rules mandate that individuals are
treated as valued ends rather than as means to
ends (Kant & Wood, 2001).
Individual Rights
(Rousseau and
Jefferson)
An articulated list of
protected rights ensures
individual freedom and
protects individuals.
Organizations are
obligated to honor
duties owed to
individual members.
Employees are likely to view organizations as
owing them a complex series of “covenantal”
duties and rights (Covey, 1992).
Economic Efficiency
(Adam Smith)
Seek the maximum output of
needed goods and the
maximization of profits.

Acknowledges the
importance of wealth
creation and value.
Onboarding is win-win benefit that maximizes
value creation (cf. Bauer, 2010).
Distributive Justice
(Rawls)
Avoid taking any actions that
harms the least of us in any
way.
Organizations owe
individuals fair
treatment at all times.
Ineffective onboarding actually harms employees
who are under great stress and impedes their
ability to succeed (Acevedo & Yancey, 2010).
Contributing Liberty
(Nozich)
Avoid actions that interfere
with others’ self-fulfillment
and development.
Acknowledges the
obligation to assist
employees to become
excellent.
Poor onboarding conflicts with the Ethic of
Contributing Liberty because it undermines the

effectiveness of new employees (Bauer, 2010).
Ethic of Self-
Actualization
(Maslow)
Seek to fulfill one’s highest
potential and to maximize
one’s ability to contribute to
creating a better world.
Recognizes that
fulfilling one’s
potential serves all
stakeholders.
The Ethic of Self-Actualization is best served by
empowering new employees and helping them to
succeed (Smart, 2012).
Ethic of Care
(Gilligan)
Emphasizes the importance of
creating caring relationships
and honoring responsibilities
to those with whom
relationships exist.
Focuses on the
importance of each
person and helping
them to honor their
responsibilities.
The Ethic of Care enables new employees to

honor their responsibilities to others. It is also a
duty owed to them which demonstrates that the
organization cares about their welfare (cf.
Cameron, 2011).
Hosmer, 1995
17
Diagram 1: The Virtuous Continuum as an Ethical Framework
for Leaders and Organizations
Caldwell, Hasan & Smith, 2015
2/2/2021 New Employee Orientation: Employee Onboarding
employee-onboarding-1918195 1/5
New Employee Orientation: Employee
Onboarding
• • •
BY Updated October 31, 2019SUSAN M. HEATHFIELD
New employee orientation is the process you use for welcoming

a new employee into your
organization. The goal of new employee orientation is to help
the new employee feel
welcomed, integrated into the organization, and performing the
new job successfully as quickly
as possible.
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/susan-m-heathfield-1916605
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/tips-for-a-better-new-
employee-orientation-1916757
In organizations, a core of information exists that you need to
share with every new employee.
But, depending on the level of the job, the responsibilities of
the job, and the experience of the
new employee, components will vary.
New employee orientation, often spearheaded by a meeting with
the Human Resources
department, generally contains information in areas such as:
Safety

The work environment
The new job description
Benefits and benefits eligibility
The employee's new manager and coworkers
Company culture
Company history
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/what-makes-up-your-
company-culture-1918816
The organization chart
Anything else that is relevant for the new employee to working
in the new company
New employee orientation often includes an introduction to
each department in the company
and a list of employees to meet who are crucial to the new
employee's success. The best
orientations have set up these meetings prior to the new
employee's arrival.
Employee onboarding also includes training on-the-job, often
with a coworker who does or has
done the job. New employee orientation frequently includes

spending time doing the jobs in
each department to understand the flow of the product or
service through the organization.
Timing and Presentation of Employee Orientation
Various organizations do new employee orientation differently.
Orientations range from a full day
or two of paperwork, presentations, and introductions to a daily
orientation program that was
effective in one company for years.
In the daily orientation program, the manager of the new
employee's department sets up a 120-
day orientation during which the new employee learned
something new about the company
every day while also performing the job.
From meeting the CEO to operating each piece of equipment in
the plant, this longer-term
orientation welcomed the new employee and gradually
immersed them in the organization's
operation, history, culture, values, and mission.
Early in the 120-day program, new employees attended training
sessions and completed the
necessary employment and benefits paperwork, but the rest was
custom designed for the
employee.
Effective new employee orientations often contain components
over time whether for 30 days,
90 days or more. It is not effective to hit a new employee with
too much information during their
first few days of work.
Finally, many organizations assign a mentor or buddy to the

new employee. This coworker
answers all of their questions and aids the new employee to
quickly feel at home.
The selection and training of these employees is critical. You
don’t want a disenfranchised or
unhappy employee mentoring others.
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/new-employee-
announcements-simple-1917949
How to Have a World-Class Orientation Program
Dr. John Sullivan, head of the Human Resource Management
Program at San Francisco State
University, concludes that several elements contribute to a
World-Class orientation program.
The best new employee orientation:
Has targeted goals and meets them
Makes the first day a celebration
Involves the family as well as co-workers
Makes new hires productive on the first day
Is not boring, rushed or ineffective
Uses new employee feedback to continuously improve

If your new employee orientation incorporates these six factors,
you know that you are on the
right path to an effective orientation that both welcomes and
teaches your new employees.
Also Known As New Employee Onboarding, Orientation,
Induction.
2/2/2021 Tips on How to Provide a Better New Employee
Orientation
employee-orientation-1916757 1/9
Tips for a Better New Employee Orientation
How to Create a Superior Employee Orientation Process
• • •
BY BARBARA O'TOOLE Updated December 29, 2020
Your new employee orientation is a make 'em or break 'em
experience, for a new employee. At
its best, the process of new employee orientation solidifies the
new employee's relationship with
your organization. It fuels their enthusiasm and guides their
steps into a long-term positive
relationship with your company. State-of-the-art new employee
orientation will help you retain
the employees that you most want to keep over the long term.
Retention starts with orientation.
Table of Contents

New Hires Are Human
The Ideal Orientation
Make Employees
Welcome
Prepare for Productivity
Manage the Integration
Evaluate the Success
A Positive Example
employee-orientation-1916757#remember-that-your-new-hires-
are-human
employee-orientation-1916757#the-ideal-orientation-for-your-
new-hires
employee-orientation-1916757#make-employees-feel-
welcomed-and-like-they-belong
employee-orientation-1916757#prepare-for-instant-productivity-
from-your-new-hire
employee-orientation-1916757#manage-the-integration-of-your-
new-hire
employee-orientation-1916757#evaluate-the-success-of-the-
new-employee-orientation
employee-orientation-1916757#a-positive-example-of-a-
successful-new-hire-orientation

Orientation
Done poorly, your new employee orientation will leave your
new employees wondering why on
earth they walked through your door. This lays the foundation
for a negative employee
experience of your job and organization—why go there when
the war for excellent talent is
escalating?
Table of Contents
New Hires Are Human
Make Employees
Welcome
A Positive Example
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/top-ways-to-turn-off-a-new-
employee-1918833
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/what-is-talent-management-

really-1919221
are-human
new-hires
from-your-new-hire
new-hire
Orientation
Picture this scenario, which plays out every day in
organizations. Your company’s new
employee orientation program has slick, pre-printed handouts.
The program’s savvy, friendly
presenter uses good visuals such as overhead transparencies and
a white marker board.

Participants receive a guided tour of the facility. The hundred-
page employee handbook is safely
tucked under their arms or increasingly, the new employee is
given a link to an employee
handbook that is the equivalent of 100 pages online.
Table of Contents
New Hires Are Human
Make Employees
Welcome
A Positive Example
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/what-does-an-employee-
handbook-do-for-you-1918123
are-human
new-hires

from-your-new-hire
new-hire
Orientation
Remember That Your New Hires Are Human
Many new hires question their decision to change companies by
the end of their first day. Their
anxieties are fueled by mistakes that companies often make
during that first-day new employee
orientation program. These common mistakes include:
Overwhelming the new hire with facts, figures, names, and
faces packed into one eight-
hour day;
Showing boring orientation videos;
Providing lengthy front-of-the-room lectures; and
Failing to prepare for the new hire by providing appropriate
equipment such as a laptop
and adequate assignments so the new employee feels as if they

have jumped right into
the work of the new job.
A company’s positive first impressions can cement the deal for
a newly recruited employee.
Those positive strokes can also speed integration and
productivity. Research shows that good
orientation programs can improve employee retention by 25
percent.
Yet the average employee feels bewildered, overwhelmed by
this new employee
orientation, and far from welcome. This was not your intention
at all. What’s missing?
How can you take your program from simply orienting to
integrating and welcoming
your new hire?
Does this sound familiar about your standard new employee
orientation? If yes,
before you completely revamp your present new employee
orientation process, ask
yourself the following question: "What do you want to achieve
during new employee
orientation? What first impression do you want to make?"
Table of Contents
New Hires Are Human
Make Employees
Welcome

A Positive Example
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/tips-to-reduce-employee-
turnover-1919039
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/employee-orientation-
keeping-new-employees-on-board-1919035
are-human
new-hires
from-your-new-hire
new-hire
Orientation

The Ideal Orientation for Your New Hires
Dr. John Sullivan, Professor of Management at San Francisco
State University and prolific
writer, speaker, and consultant, concludes that several elements
contribute to a world-class new
employee orientation program. The best new employee
orientation: 1
Table of Contents
New Hires Are Human
Make Employees
Welcome
A Positive Example
employee-onboarding-1918195
are-human

new-hires
from-your-new-hire
new-hire
Orientation
Targets goals and meets them,
Makes the first day a celebration that keeps employees engaged
and enthused,
Involves family as well as coworkers,
Makes new hires productive on the first day,
Is not boring, rushed, or ineffective,
Uses systematic data analysis and feedback to continuously

improve, and
Asks managers what components were helpful in getting new
employees productive and
contributing faster.
Table of Contents
New Hires Are Human
Make Employees
Welcome
A Positive Example
are-human
new-hires
from-your-new-hire

new-hire
Orientation
Make Employees Feel Welcomed and Like They Belong
Most organizations are great at celebrating the departure of a
beloved coworker. Why are
organizations often so awful at welcoming a new employee?
Think about arranging a party to
welcome a new employee. Celebrations produce enthusiasm.
Have you experienced starting a
new job only to have your coworkers and supervisor ignore you
during the first week?
If so, you understand the effectiveness of even a little
enthusiasm. Some simple celebration
methods might include a letter of welcome signed by the CEO, a
company t-shirt signed by all
department members, and a cake with candles on the employee’s
first day. Involve families in
the celebration. Schedule a welcome luncheon or dinner for
spouses, partners, and families
during the employee’s first month.

As an example, a map showing nearby eateries is helpful and
appreciated. (An invitation to
lunch from coworkers each day during the employee’s first
week is even more welcoming.) Go
one step further than providing a map of the facility and the
parking lot. Take a picture of your
new person in the parking lot, in front of the company sign.
Visuals have a great impact.
Prepare for Instant Productivity From Your New Hire
Employers frequently overlook the most fundamental question
of the new recruit. He or she
wants to know how their work impacts the department and
ultimately, the company. Your new
employee orientation should include an overview of each
department’s function. Include
information about what specifically goes into each department
(inputs) and what comes out
(products).
Provide examples of how these functions relate to the
employee’s job. Spend some time during
the new employee orientation allowing each person to examine
how his new job and its
responsibilities fit in. Discuss the expected contributions and
how they will help the company. Be
sure to point out how new employees can offer feedback for
making improvements.
Old-fashioned welcome wagons were once used to deliver
goodies to new members
of a community. You can establish your own welcome wagon.
Freebies that aid the
new hire in performing their job will reinforce the belief that
company employees are
glad he or she is here and want them to succeed.

Examine your new employee orientation program from the
perspective of the new
employees. Anticipate their anxieties, as well as their questions.
Provide a glossary of
Table of Contents
New Hires Are Human
Make Employees
Welcome
A Positive Example
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/how-to-handle-an-
employee-resignation-1919339
employee-1918829
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/why-use-a-new-employee-
welcome-letter-1918834
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/how-to-make-strategic-
planning-implementation-work-1919184
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/overhaul-employee-
onboarding-process-with-software-4169954
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/human-resources-acronyms-
1918214

are-human
new-hires
from-your-new-hire
new-hire
Orientation
Distribute a help source card that provides the names and email
addresses of people who are
pre-designated for questions. You may also want to assign a
departmental mentor to assist with
questions and the new employee orientation process during the
employee’s first month.
Manage the Integration of Your New Hire

Ideally, the new hire’s immediate manager will participate in
part of the new employee
orientation. A fun way to incorporate the supervisor is in the
style of the old "Newlywed Game."
The supervisor has to guess how they think their new employee
will answer questions. If their
answers match, points are awarded for prizes.
For an effective new employee orientation process, many
companies expect the supervisor to
provide the departmental, and work-specific orientation. The
Human Resources department
handles the company overview, the handbooks, the benefits, and
other basic information. But,
then, the supervisor takes over.
On the first day, a new employee should meet with their new
supervisor. The meeting should
include a plan for specific training. Both the supervisor and the
new employee are encouraged
to share their expectations for the job, including fears or
reservations each may have. The
manager keeps the meeting positive and adjourns with the new
hire started on a meaningful
assignment.
Evaluate the Success of the New Employee Orientation
Good training programs ask for participant evaluations. At the
end of your new employee
orientation, offer a brief, five-question survey focused on the
presentation.
Follow up with a survey that focuses on content in ten days or
so. Encourage feedback about
what information the new employee would have liked to have
received during the new employee

company acronyms, buzzwords, and FAQs so they don’t have to
ask the most basic
questions.
Avoid the mistake of allowing the new employee to sit idle. (In
some organizations,
the Human Resources group helps with the design of a
checklist, which assists
supervisors to provide a thorough orientation that excites and
motivates the new
employee.)
Table of Contents
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/use-mentoring-to-develop-
employees-1918189
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/what-does-a-manager-do-in-
the-workplace-1919121
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/save-money-onboarding-
and-raise-productivity-4105002
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/use-training-and-
development-to-motivate-staff-1917833
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/human-resources-acronyms-
1918214
Orientation
ARTICLE SOURCES
orientation program. Find out what information was overload or

unneeded. Incorporate the
suggestions to improve your new employee orientation program.
First impressions of your organization, both good and bad, are
made the first day. Decide the
objectives of your new employee orientation program. Meet
those objectives honestly and
positively. Successful integration will happen only if your new
employee decides he or she has
made a wise decision to join your organization. Your effective
new employee orientation can
help make or break that decision.
A Positive Example of a Successful New Hire Orientation
The best new employee orientation was instituted at Edgewood
Tool and Manufacturing, a small
stamping plant near Detroit. Every manager who hired a new
employee was required to write a
120-day orientation plan for the new employee. It involved one
action a day.
Actions included meeting the Director of Quality, calling on a
customer, and having lunch with
the CEO. You can bet that the new employee was thoroughly
welcomed and integrated into the
organization after 120 different orientation events.
Dr. John Sullivan.com. " ." Accessed December 29, 2020.How
to Help New Hires Get Up to Speed
Table of Contents
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/new-employee-welcome-
aboard-letter-example-2064229
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/what-does-a-hiring-
manager-do-1918147

https://drjohnsullivan.com/articles/help-new-hires-get-speed/
2/2/2021 How to Provide Effective New Employee Orientation
keeping-new-employees-on-board-1919035 1/11
Employee Orientation: Keeping New Employees on
Board
Why orientation is key to retaining new employees
• • •
BY DR. JUDITH BROWN Updated May 20, 2020
Orienting employees to their workplaces and their jobs is one of
the most neglected functions in
many organizations. An employee handbook and piles of
paperwork are not sufficient anymore
when it comes to welcoming a new employee to your
organization.
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/what-does-an-employee-
handbook-do-for-you-1918123
employee-1918829
The most frequent complaints about new employee orientation
are that it is overwhelming,

boring, or that the new employee is left to sink or swim.
Employees feel as if the organization
dumped too much information on them which they were
supposed to understand and implement
in much too short of a time period.
The result is often a confused new employee who is not as
productive as he could be. He is also
more likely to leave the organization within a year. It is costly
to both the employer and the
employee. Multiply this by the number of employees that you
hire each year, and the cost of
turnover becomes significant.
With an ongoing labor crunch, developing an effective
employee orientation experience
continues to be crucial. It is critical that new hire programs are
carefully planned to educate the
employee about the organization's values and history and about
who is who in the organization.
A well thought out orientation program, whether it lasts one day
or six months, will help not only
in the retention of employees but also in the increases in
employee productivity. Organizations
that have good orientation programs get new people up to speed
faster, have better alignment

between what the employees do and what the organization needs
them to do, and have lower
turnover rates.
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/the-costs-and-benefits-of-
employee-turnover-1918271
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/core-values-are-what-you-
believe-1918079
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/the-bottom-line-for-
employee-retention-1919037
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/tips-to-reduce-employee-
turnover-1919039
Purposes of Orientation
Employers have to realize that orientation isn't just a nice
gesture put on by the organization. It
serves as an important element of the new employee welcome
and organization integration.
To Reduce Startup Costs
Proper orientation can help the employee get up to speed much
more quickly, thereby reducing
the costs associated with learning the job.
To Reduce Anxiety
Any employee, when put into a new, strange situation, will
experience anxiety that can impede
his or her ability to learn to do the job. Proper orientation helps
to reduce anxiety that results
from entering into an unknown situation and helps provide

guidelines for behavior and conduct,
so the employee doesn't have to experience the stress of
guessing.
To Reduce Employee Turnover
Employee turnover increases as employees feel they are not
valued or are put in positions
where they can't possibly do their jobs. Orientation shows that
the organization values the
employee, and helps provide the tools necessary for succeeding
in the job.
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/reduce-turnover-quickly-
1918002
To Save Time for the Supervisor
Simply put, the better the initial orientation, the less likely that
supervisors and coworkers will
have to spend time teaching the employee. You can effectively
and efficiently cover all of the
things about the company, the departments, the work
environment, and the cultureduring
orientation. The manager and coworkers will then need only to
reinforce these concepts.
To Develop Realistic Job Expectations, Positive Attitudes, and
Job Satisfaction
It is important that employees learn as soon as possible what is
expected of them, and what to
expect from others, in addition to learning about the values and

attitudes of the organization.
While people can learn from experience, they will make many
mistakes that are unnecessary
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/how-on-the-job-training-
brings-you-value-1917941
and potentially damaging. The main reasons orientation
programs fail: The program was not
planned; the employee was unaware of the job requirements; the
employee does not feel
welcome.
Employee orientation is important—orientation provides a lot of
benefits, and you can use
feedback from participating employees to make your
orientations even better.
All new employees should complete a new employee orientation
program that is designed to
assist them in adjusting to their jobs and work environment and

to instill a positive work attitude
and motivation at the onset.
A thoughtful new employee orientation program can reduce
turnover and save an organization
thousands of dollars. One reason people change jobs is that they
never feel welcome or part of
the organization they join.
What Do You Need to Include in the Process?
The most important principle to convey during orientation is
your commitment to continuous
improvement and continual learning. That way, new employees
become comfortable with asking
questions to obtain the information that they need to learn,
problem solve and make decisions.
A well-thought-out orientation process takes energy, time and
commitment. However, it usually
pays off for the individual employee, the department, and the
organization. One such example is
Mecklenburg County's (North Carolina) success in revamping
its employee orientation program.
The employer wanted to live up to its credo of employees being
the organization's greatest
resource. In 1996, as part of a larger initiative to redesign
services to meet customer needs, the
Mecklenburg County Human Resources Department staff made a
smart decision. They viewed
new employees as part of their customer base and asked their
customers what they wanted.
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/failing-to-empower-

employees-to-make-decisions-1918506
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/what-4-factors-are-driving-
employee-high-performance-1919206
Employees were asked what they wanted and needed from
orientation. They were also 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 managers were asked
what they believed was important for employees to learn when
joining the county payroll.
Using feedback collected from employees, Mecklenburg's HR
training staff first realized that
meeting employees' needs required more than a half day training
session. Trusting employee
feedback, the trainers crafted a one-day orientation that gave
employees what they said they
wanted and what senior management believed employees needed
to know.
Essentially, the orientation mix now includes the less exciting
topics such as W-2s and various
policies and procedures, but it also includes details that let the
employee know something about
the organization.
Need more on how to plan an employee orientation that's
beneficial and fun?

Key Planning Questions
Human Resource professionals and line managers first need to
consider key new employee
orientation planning questions before implementing or
revamping a current program. These are
the key questions to ask.
What things do new employees need to know about this work
environment that would
make them more comfortable?
What impression and impact do you want to have on a new
employee's first day?
What key policies and procedures must employees be aware of
on the first day to avoid
mistakes on the second day? Concentrate on vital issues.
What special things (desk, work area, equipment, special
instructions) can you provide to
make new employees feel comfortable, welcome and secure?
What positive experience can you provide for the new employee
that she could discuss
with her family at the end of the first day of work? The
experience should be something to
make the new employee feel valued by the organization.
How can you help the new employee's supervisor be available to
the new employee on
the first day to provide personal attention and to convey a clear
message that the new
employee is an important addition to the work team?
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/top-ideas-about-what-

employees-want-from-work-1919064
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/sample-human-resources-
policies-and-procedures-1918876
How to Put Your Best Foot Forward for a New Employee
Since first impressions are crucial, here are some tips for
putting your best foot forward. Have
some fun. Concentrate only on the very important topics of the
handbook. Play some games—
this can help people learn. Games include:
Photo Match: after the tour. Each employee is provided photos
of other employees and a list of
names. The object is to match the name with the face.
Signature Hunt: While employees are touring the facility,
provide them with a piece of paper with
the names of several associates they will be meeting. They are
then asked to obtain the
signatures of the people they meet. The employee who obtains
the most signatures from a
variety of new coworkers gets a prize.
Other games that pertain to what the employee learned during
orientation are also effective
assurances that orientation is successful.
Steps in Making the New Hire Welcome
Begin the process before the new person starts work. Send an

agenda to the new
associate with the offer letter so that the employee knows what
to expect. Stay in touch
after he or she has accepted the position to answer questions.
Make sure the new
person's work area is ready for the first day of work.
Make sure that key coworkers know the employee is starting
and encourage them to
come to say "hello" before orientation begins. A new employee
welcome letter with an
agenda allows coworkers to stay in touch with the new
employee and her schedule.
Assign a mentor or buddy, to show the new person around,
make introductions, and start
training. Let the mentor have sufficient notice so that they can
make preparations.
The mentoring relationship should continue for 90 days and may
continue much longer if
the pair makes a great connection. Many relationships go on for
years and may even turn
into a sponsorship.
Start with the basics. People become productive sooner if they
are firmly grounded in the
basic knowledge they need to understand their job. Focus on the
why, when, where, and
how of the position before expecting them to handle
assignments or big projects. Don't
overwhelm them with too much information.
announcement-1917958

https://www.thebalancecareers.com/use-mentoring-to-develop-
employees-1918189
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/tap-into-the-power-of-
mentoring-employees-1917661
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/what-is-a-sponsor-in-the-
workplace-1917656
Provide samples about how to complete forms and the person's
job description with the
orientation packet.
Have some fun. Concentrate only on the very important topics
of the handbook. Play
some games—this can help people learn.
Provide a list of FAQs with a contact person, and phone number
or extension.
Plan to take the new employee to lunch, or ask others to join the
new employee in the
lunchroom or in a conference room with other members of the
department. The first day
on the job is not the day to leave the new employee alone during
lunch.
This is a good time for the supervisor to take the employee to
lunch, include other
coworkers, and make sure the employee is at ease. It's also an
excellent environment in
which employees can get to know each other and the new

coworker.
Keep the new person's family in mind. A new job means an
adjustment for the entire
family, especially if they have relocated. Do what you can to
ease the transition and help
them feel comfortable in the community.
Ask for feedback. Find out from former new hires how they
perceived the orientation
process, and don't be afraid to make changes based on those
recommendations. You
can send an evaluation two to four weeks after the employee has
started, and ask: Now
that you have been with the company awhile did the new
employee orientation meet your
needs?
After the employee has worked for you for a while, and he finds
out what he should have
learned but did not at the orientation. At Mecklenburg County,
after their redesign
process, one of the trainers, Allyson Birbiglia said, "We
recognize that we have to
continuously improve orientation to meet the changing needs of
our customers. What
works now may not serve our employees well next month or
next year."
An effective orientation program—or the lack of one—will
make a significant difference in how
quickly a new employee becomes productive and has other long-
term impacts on your
organization. The end of the first day, the end of the first week,
the end of each day in your
employment, is just as important as the beginning.

Help your employees feel that you want them to come back the
next day, and the next, and the
next.
----------------------------------------------------------
Dr. Judith Brown is a Program Manager for Policy and
Performance Management at Naval
Intelligence.
2/2/2021 Steps for Creating a Positive New Employee
Onboarding Experience
positive-new-employee-experience-1918830 1/8
Steps for Creating a Positive New Employee
• • •
BY BRIAN PLATZ Updated July 13, 2019
In the talent management universe, the new employee
orientation and mainstreaming process
are known as employee onboarding. Keeping in mind that you
never get a second chance to
make a first impression, your business should make sure that

new hires feel welcomed, valued,
and prepared for what lies ahead during your new employee
orientation or onboarding process.
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/what-is-talent-management-
really-1919221
The onboarding process should help get your newest team
members on track and up to speed
so they can start contributing to your success as soon as
possible.
Watch Now: 9 Onboarding Techniques That Actually Work
2:02

Familiarity Breeds Contentment
A friend recently married into a large family and was
overwhelmed with the sea of new faces,
names, and relationships. To ease her transition, a well -meaning
uncle prepared a set of
flashcards, complete with photos, names, hometowns, and
professions. Thanks to his efforts,
she knew that the woman making the tearful toast at the
wedding was her mother-in-law’s first
cousin.
A similar approach will help familiarize new hires with the
corporate family tree and could help
avert embarrassing situations such as the new hire who asks a
stranger for help with the fax
machine, only to discover later that he was the CFO.
Rather than flashcards, a “who’s who” area with photos, names,
and titles on your company
Intranet will do the trick. Offline, a simple bulletin board with
staff pictures, names, and positions
will get the job done.
Make Onboarding Simple and Interesting
The employee onboarding period can be quite complex and
uncertain. Consider the experience
from the employee’s perspective, and then make an effort to
make it fun, interesting, exciting,
painless, and as simple as possible. If you do, you will make
your new team member feel
valued, wanted, interested and excited. By engendering these

positive emotions from the
word go, you make the new employee want to do great work and
add great value to your
organization.
One easy solution is to post new employee orientation
schedules, materials, benefits forms, and
an extensive FAQ about the company on an Intranet that is
accessible to new hires from a link
in a welcome email before their first day on the job. By
providing some information in advance,
you eliminate a common source of new hire angst and give them
a better chance to start off on
the right foot.
Don’t Make New Hires Learn the Hard Way
Every workplace comes with its own set of rules and
regulations, benefits, and bonuses,
nuances, and traditions. Don’t make your new employees learn
these things the hard way. If
your company observes a “casual Friday” rule, make sure all
new employees know this before
they show up at the office on their first Friday in a neatly-
pressed suit.
Every company offers a range of benefits and perks. They’ll
seem even more valuable if you
make sure your new employees know about them from the onset.

Give new employees an easy
way to keep track of exactly what they’re eligible for, and how
they can take advantage of these
benefits.
It applies to social functions as well as benefits packages. If
your company plays in a corporate
softball league, let the new guy know right away. Welcoming
the whole person, rather than just a
set of job functions, will help new hires more quickly assimilate
into your corporate culture. And
you never know – maybe that unassuming new financial analyst
will be the secret weapon that
your team needs to shut out your fiercest rival.
Again, post policies and procedures in writing somewhere
convenient. Verbal mentions during a
marathon new employee orientation session can easily go
unheard, especially on a new hire’s
first day in the office. Similarly, a stack of papers and
reminders can easily get lost in the shuffle.
An online resource that is regularly updated, and always
accessible, is the best practice when it
comes to information sharing.
Make New Employee Orientation Personal
Don’t make day one all about paperwork. Instead, prioritize
interpersonal relationships with key
colleagues. Consider assigning welcome mentors to each new
hire, so they can immediately get
a feel for the personality of your organization. This day of first
impressions will have an
enormous impact on the employee experience, so make it a good
one.
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/most-of-employee-benefits-

1917723
Of course, some paperwork must be handled on or before the
start date. Keep in mind that
when your new hire goes home to tell his family about his first
day on the job, he would rather
have something more exciting to report other than, “I filled out
over 30 forms.”
When it comes to documentation, get the key documentation on
file in advance or as quickly as
you can on day one. For everything else, create an online hub
where new hires can find
materials as they need them. Once they’ve settled into their new
job, send a reminder email that
certain materials are available online, and encourage them to
visit the Intranet for information
frequently.
When it comes to onboarding new talent at your company, the
Internet is the most powerful tool
in your toolbox. A web-based employee onboarding system will
let you standardize, streamline,
track, and coordinate every step of the process, all while
making your company’s most recent
hires feel valued and supported.

It’s been proven that happy employees are more productive
employees. So, if you’re looking to
drive bottom-line results with state of the art talent management
tactics, it’s time to get “on
board.”
Brian Platz is the Executive Vice President and General
Manager of SilkRoad Technology, a
web-based talent management solutions provider. Using
SilkRoad’s Life Suite™, an integrated
set of management solutions, companies are able to hire better
employees, identify high and
low performers, drive a pay-for-performance culture, and
improve employee tenure. Platz has
more than a decade of experience developing Internet products,
e-business initiatives, and e-
commerce solutions.
How to Create a Superior Employee
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/documentation-1918096
Orientation Process
What Does a Hiring Manager Do in the

Workplace?
Two Sample Letters to Make Your New
Employee Feel Welcome
Why Orientation Is Key to Retaining
New Employees
How Employees Can Contribute to a
Positive Work Environment
You Can Quickly Integrate a New
Employee With a Successful Orientation
Here Are Sample Announcements That
Will Welcome a New Employee
manager-do-1918147
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/sample-welcome-letters-
1918923
keeping-new-employees-on-board-1919035
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/how-employees-contribute-
to-positive-work-environment-5095977

Welcome a New Employee With an
Introduction Letter
Questions You Need to Ask to Succeed
at Your New Job
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/sample-new-employee-
introduction-1918893
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/want-to-succeed-in-your-
new-role-4025048
2/2/2021 How to Welcome and Onboard a New Employee
employee-1918829 1/6
How to Welcome and Onboard a New Employee
Successfully
• • •
BY Updated September 30, 2019SUSAN M. HEATHFIELD
What's Involved in Welcoming a New Employee?
Welcoming a new employee is more than making a company
announcement and a boss
assignment. Welcoming a new employee, to give the new
employee the best possibility of
integrating successfully in your company, requires a series of
steps that start after your job
offer is accepted.
Table of Contents

What's Involved in
Welcoming an
Employee?
New Employee
Welcome Steps
Before the New
Employee Start Date
What to Do During the
Final Few Days
Welcome the New
Employee on Day One
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/susan-m-heathfield-1916605
announcement-1917958
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/what-is-a-job-offer-1918166
employee-1918829#whats-involved-in-welcoming-a-new-
employee
employee-1918829#new-employee-welcome-steps
employee-1918829#before-the-new-employee-start-date
employee-1918829#what-to-do-during-the-final-days-before-
you-welcome-your-new-employee
employee-1918829#what-to-do-to-welcome-the-new-employee-
on-day-one

Integration and retention of your new employee start during the
hiring process, and they also
intensify when the new employee starts the new job. You have a
lot at stake in how you
welcome your new employee. These recommendations will help
you get it right.
Table of Contents
What's Involved in
Welcoming an
Employee?
New Employee
Welcome Steps
Before the New
Employee Start Date
Final Few Days
Welcome the New
Employee on Day One
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/keep-your-best-retention-
tips-1916804
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/how-employers-hire-
employees-1918954

employee
on-day-one
These welcoming steps for the new employee continue right into
his or her employment. If you
do these welcome and onboarding steps well, you will create a
successful new employee.
Here's how to make this happen.
Table of Contents
What's Involved in
Welcoming an
Employee?
New Employee
Welcome Steps
Before the New

Employee Start Date
Final Few Days
Welcome the New
Employee on Day One
employee
on-day-one
New Employee Welcome Steps
If you follow these recommended steps, your new employee is
set up for success. You are also
most likely to gain the employee's loyalty and thus, retain them.
Before the New Employee Start Date

Contact the new employee shortly after he or she signs and
returns your job offer. The
purpose of the note or phone call is to express your excitement
that the new employee
has joined your team. This call is best made by the hiring
manager, the employee to
whom the new employee will report. Set up the expectation that
the new employee will
hear from you regularly during the normal two-four weeks
before the start day.
Send benefits information and the employee handbook early so
that the new employee
may review them at his or her leisure and arrive for the first day
with questions. You may
have other documents that are pertinent to your business to
share as well. If these are
online, provide the employee with a link and early access.
These actions contribute to the
trust you are establishing with the new employee.
If your organization has an online wiki or another intranet,
provide the new employee with
early access. This is especially important if you have an online
staff directory with photos
of employees. Your new employee will feel as if he or she is
getting to know coworkers
early. Lacking an online photo album, consider setting up an
employee bulletin board in
each department with employee photos and other business and
employee information.
Or, do both.
Send an official company welcome letter from Human
Resources. This welcome letter for

the new employee should contain a confirmation of such items
as start date, start
time, work dress code, where to go, the first day's schedule, and
other details that the
new employee needs to know.
Assign the new employee a mentor, a more experienced
employee with no reporting
relationship to the new employee. The mentor should call the
new employee to get to
know him or her before the start date.
Table of Contents
What's Involved in
Welcoming an
Employee?
New Employee
Welcome Steps
Before the New
Employee Start Date
Final Few Days
Welcome the New
Employee on Day One
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/job-offer-letter-sample-for-
employers-1916779
manager-do-1918147
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/what-s-in-a-comprehensive-
employee-benefits-package-1917860

https://www.thebalancecareers.com/need-to-know-what-goes-in-
an-employee-handbook-1918308
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/top-ways-to-build-trust-at-
work-1919402
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/sample-welcome-letter-
from-the-manager-1919324
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/work-dress-codes-and-
image-collection-1919406
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/top-characteristics-of-a-
successful-mentor-1917831
employee
on-day-one
What to Do During the Final Days Before You Welcome Your
New
Employee

Prepare for the employee’s first day by having everything ready
for his or her arrival. An
earlier article stresses the ten best ways to turn off a new
employee. Many of them have
to do with the organization’s failure to prepare to welcome the
new employee from day
one. These items seem so simple. For example, don’t ask an
employee to start during a
week when his or her new boss is out of town. Don't schedule a
new employee without
preparing their work area. Demonstrate respect for the new
employee.
Develop a checklist for new employee preparation that includes
assigning a computer or
laptop, installing software programs necessary, preparing a desk
and cubicle or office,
providing mail access and an email account, and so forth. Every
office needs a list and
an employee assigned to make the items happen before the new
employee starts work at
their new job.
Decorate the new employee’s office area with welcome signs,
flowers, and snacks. Let
the quirkiness of your employees and work culture shine
through in the itemsthat you
provide to welcome the new employee. Company swag is
appreciated, too. A mug with
the company logo and other items that welcome the new
employee will make him, or her
feel quickly at home.
What to Do To Welcome the New Employee on Day One
Table of Contents

https://www.thebalancecareers.com/top-ways-to-turn-off-a-new-
employee-1918833
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/how-to-demonstrate-
respect-in-the-workplace-1919376
Make sure that the first day's schedule is full of meeting people
and onboarding activities.
Schedule a good portion of the morning with the new
employee’s boss and mentor. This
is your last chance to make a positive impression on your new
employee. Don’t let the
day go to waste and contain nothing but paperwork and HR
meetings. The day is for
bonding with the boss, the mentor, and coworkers not about
filling in forms.
Prepare an onboarding schedule in advance that is customized to
the needs of the
department and the new employee. Make sure that the
onboarding schedule fills only
part of each day so that the new employee can feel productive
immediately in his or her
new job. For example, one company required that the
employee’s manager put together
a 120-day onboarding plan that provided something new for the
employee to learn every
day. The employee’s boss and mentor were responsible for

HRMN 400 – Week 4 Citations (Caldwell, Hasan, & Smith, 201

HRMN 400 – Week 4 Citations (Caldwell, Hasan, & Smith, 201

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