Implementing an orientation program for your new hires is not just a smart idea, it’s a critical strategic step on the road to organizational success. Failing to properly prepare your employees will inevitably result in high levels of employee turnover, which can be extremely costly in more ways than one.

Here are some secrets, straight from top onboarding and training professionals, to help you maximize your company’s potential.

Make the process a welcoming one

When your new employees walk through the door on their first day, they are full of questions, nerves, and excitement. The best way to calm their nerves, and amplify their enthusiasm, is to offer them a warm welcome from the very start. One simple way to do this is to send out a welcome email or letter letting them know what to expect during every step of the onboarding process. When new hires know what they are walking into on day one, they are more able to relax and absorb the loads of important information presented during employee orientation.

Take time for team building

Team building is a crucial component to the success of any organization in which people need to work together. It’s important that you arm your employees with the tools they’ll need to work together and communicate effectively. Incorporate at least one team-building exercise into your new-employee orientation program to showcase just how much you value your employees working together toward a common goal.

Create a follow-up schedule

One of the best ways to ensure that your new employees are being positioned for success within your company is to create a follow-up schedule after the orientation process is over. By checking in with your new employees after orientation, you will be able to see how well they’ve adapted and if they are applying what they learned or if they need a refresher on any of the material. If several employees are struggling with the same concepts or procedures, it may be a sign that you need to go back and re-work that section of your employee orientation program. By following up with the new employees, you’ll have the opportunity to fix problems before they manifest and begin affecting your operations on a larger scale.

Offer feedback opportunities

It may be hard to believe, but asking for feedback from your new employees is a great way to improve your employee orientation and training programs. Since it can be hard to see the forest for the trees, you may not be able to see where there are holes in your orientation content or training materials. By giving your employees the ability to provide constructive criticism or feedback, you will be able to fill in those holes and improve the ways in which you deliver the information. Even better, feedback from the people the program was created for will present new ideas and perspectives on how some operations can be altered for even more efficiency. Bar none, employee feedback is one of the best-kept secrets when it comes to improving your employee orientation program.

Here’s one not-so-secret secret: Employees get up to speed sooner and stay on the job longer when their first few days are well-managed and implemented.

Effective New Employee Orientation Program Secrets