onboarding

The onboarding process is critical for any firm looking to expand its employees. In the scenario outlined, the overall effectiveness of the company's onboarding effort in terms of the addition to the employees is quite disappointing. That is underscored by the fact that the new employee is still lost despite the fact that some of the crew is present at the moment. The actual orientation procedure appears to be missing, since the employee does not comprehend what he is required to perform at any given time or how to contact the management. Furthermore, a look into his office shows that the company though hired him wasn’t ready to accommodate him having all the files dating two years back present for a new employee. At the same time, the employees don't have all the office equipment ready as he has no phone or better yet computer to work with. There is no clear protocol on what the employee should do or even structures that would allow him to carry his work well.

The process of onboarding involves providing the employee with the necessary tools for success, in other words, it simply sets him up to succeed (Hernandez, 2003). It is also a sure way of maintaining employee retention as seen in the scenario the effectiveness of the new employee is greatly determined by the level of orientation received as well as the preparations made to ensure that the employee gets the best possible environment to conduct their work. The evident lack of support and training sets the tone for the employee in that it doesn’t inspire motivation, confidence as well as a feeling of belonging.

Pre-Start Preparation

With the process of onboarding underway, the main aim is to provide a distinct road map for the employee which includes resources that he will use in his line of work. During Pre-Start Preparation, the most important resources the employee as in the scenario requires is a proper workstation that includes office supplies and furniture, computers with good connection to the internet with the appropriate login details and finally telecommunication equipment such as phones and even access instructions (Zaguri, 2013). The scenario described shows the activities described on the first day are rather sketch as pre the requirement to onboarding as the employee finds out. It isn’t effective to describe to describe issues to do with benefits on the first day yet the workstation is not in order. Seeing that the position to be filled is of importance to the company, it is required that adequate preparations are made concerning the role played by the new employee hence would be befitting to have matters such as parking already sorted for him.

The whole process of pre-start preparation can be improved with the inclusion of better communication with the new staff. This would create a rather supportive and welcoming environment for the new staff as well as ensure they feel like they belong. The first step in improving the whole process is the provision of tools, logistical information as well as resources which would allow the employee to navigate the environment and feel comfortable. The second step would be to aid the employee in familiarizing with organizational culture as well as clarifying the objectives and goals. Finally ensuring communication between the employee and higher management is made easy so as to ensure their feedback is noted. The reason behind these improvements is that support and engagement of employees are fundamental in onboarding programs as the company requires new employees to gel in quickly with the work culture (Hernandez, 2003).

First Day Activities

The description of the face of time in sessions as described in the scenario is great but to a certain extent, a waste of time as the employees would still understand the basic concepts if done via e-learning. Tough the processes of perfunctory training are important, there are ways that it can be done when employees are already settled in and know the protocols and procedures of the organization (Zaguri, 2013). In the scenario, the new employee doesn’t have the right tools to enable him to start off his work immediately this indicating a gap in the onboarding process. The improvement required in the first day activities involves introducing the new workers to their work environment as well as to where they are to store their personal belongings; this means that the new employee requires a feel of his office as well as the equipment. This is followed by the provision access information to the facilities, keys as well as security information. Finally, the employee is given a tour of the immediate facilities of the company and is given an ID if applicable that would enable him access company facilities. This approach would definitely guarantee positive results as the first-day impressions do have a great influence on work performance.

Furthermore, there should be a schedule for more than one-day orientation of the employees as it would ensure they settle into their jobs perfectly. In conclusion, the recommendations brought forward would reduce the overwhelming nature of the first day for the new employee as it would make them more familiar with the environment. Compared to the scenario, the employee would take a lot of time to settle in as he would now hunt down the things on the checklist but with these recommendations, it becomes easier for them to familiarize with the environment they work in.

References

Hernandez, S. R. (2003). Strategic Human Resources Management in Health Services Organizations. Cengage Learning.

Zaguri, Y. (2013). 5 Steps to Create a Successful Onboarding Process. Kyron Systems.