DESIGN AND PRESENT SUCCESSFUL
NEW EMPLOYEE ORIENTATION PROGRAMS
(a three-day
certification program)
In this three-day certificate workshop, you will learn how to design and develop a successful orientation program that incorporates twelve elements of proven, successful orientations. This workshop is based on national and international research and covers setting objectives, selecting orientation methods, gaining supervisory involvement and satisfies safety requirements through a well-designed program. Redesign existing orientation processes to build employee retention and reduce turnover.
When we come on site, we customize our workshops in two ways.
First, we customize the workshop content to meet your instructional objectives. Second, we customize the examples in the exercises to make them specific to the services you provide.
There is no charge for this level of customization.
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:
At the end of the training, you will be able to:
- Assess bottom-line benefits of successful orientation programs.
- Select critical information employees need to be effective and successful.
- Review twelve orientation best-practices and apply them to your organization.
- Measure the content of your orientation against successful programs.
- Set key objectives that are appropriate for your organization
- Limit content to what is important and relevant.
- Identify how to appropriately partner with the supervisors of new employees.
- Use a safety checklist to evaluate your current orientation.
- Identify how to use buddy and mentor systems effectively.
- Determine special techniques to pass on corporate culture to new employees.
- Eliminate boredom and keep the pace alive.
- Practice techniques to involve new employees.
- Avoid pitfalls of ineffective orientation programs.
- Select critical first day activities and what employees can do prior to the first day.
- Apply orientation design techniques to all new employee situations.
- Develop effective training materials and activities.
- Use a unique inventory to select three types of lesson plans correctly.
- Craft effective handouts and job aids.
- Implement adult learning concepts using three unique process tools.
- Use adult learning techniques to improve employee retention.
- Employ four aspects of setting an adult learning climate.
- Involve the new employee using a variety of tools and techniques.
- Conduct demonstrations appropriately using a five-step adult learning model.
- Practice ways to make NEO interactive, enjoyable and effective.
WORKSHOP CONTENT
Unit 1: Overview
- Workshop introduction and objectives
- Set personal objectives for the session
Course Methods:
After completing an opening activity, participants identify personal objectives and share them in the large group. Expectations are clarified and set for the workshop.
Unit 2: The Orientation Process
- Use a 24-point inventory to evaluate your current orientation
- Evaluate your current orientation during the workshop
- Identify orientation as process over time vs. one-day event
- Apply a master orientation developer checklist
- Learn benefits of successful programs
- Review twelve best practices from successful orientation programs
Course Methods:
Participants assess their own organization's orientation against key success criteria. Research results from studies of successful orientation programs are shared. Participants identify areas of focus and learning points to apply to their own orientation.
Unit 3: How to Plan for Orientation
- Examine the Human Resources department's role and the supervisor's role
- Review examples from successful companies
- Describe your typical new employee
- Determine typical new employee questions orientation must answer
- Discuss and create realistic and achievable orientation objectives
- Consider the benefits of including skill objectives in orientation
- Avoid expensive mistakes and accidents: safety first!
- Identify who should be involved in NEO and how to gain their cooperation
- Get supervisors involved in the NEO process
Course Methods:
Examples, checklists and case studies illustrate successful planning tools and techniques. Included are how to identify who comes to orientation and what they need from an orientation, how to craft appropriate objectives for the orientation and how to develop a partnership with managers in the orientation process.
Unit 4: Adult Learning Techniques
- Discover how to build retention
- Get results through creativity and accelerated learning techniques
- Don't waste the first ten minutes
- Experience the do's and don'ts of "discovery” learning
- Use the five adult learning steps throughout the orientation process
Course Methods:
Adult learning concepts are distilled from a 60-minute simulation in which participants teach a partner a five-minute lesson. Each learner gets feedback on and is measured against ten aspects of his teaching style. Through a debriefing discussion, participants identify what helps adults learn and remember and how to improve their teaching style. Special emphasis is given on how to process any learning experience in the orientation process to maximize retention
Unit 5: Select Orientation Content, Methods and Activities
- Discuss what information new employees need: enough vs. too much
- Decide when and who should deliver orientation information
- Select appropriate methods to deliver timely orientation
- Assess first day do's and don'ts
- Review sample schedules and checklists
- Analyze salaried, hourly, staff and supervisory orientation examples
- Eliminate boredom and other pitfalls
- Apply "self-discovery" orientation methods
- Make orientation more self-directed
- Compare special techniques for online orientation
- Effectively use buddy and mentor system as part of orientation
- Create opening activities for group orientations
- Evaluate five key tips on taking plant tours
- Communicate corporate culture and influence a new employee's attitudes
- Invite and guide guest speakers
- Determine the best audio-visual support is bet
- Customize checklists for benefits, safety, written materials and retention
Course Methods:
Checklists, examples, templates and models illustrate ways to select content, methods and activities. Case studies and exercises help participants apply these to their own situations. Included are design tools including the use of appropriate methods, how to identify how much practice is needed to learn a skill and how to pace the orientation to avoid boredom. Participants apply these tools to case studies and then their own orientation.
Unit 6: Develop Orientation Materials and Exercises
- Develop activities and exercises that build retention
- Examine tips for writing demonstrations with skill practice and case studies, information searches, interviews, games, role plays, self-assessments
- Use a comprehensive guide to develop activities and exercises
- Design appropriate involvement activities for orientation
- Craft orientation materials that work
- Create programmed notes, job aids and checklists
- Use a 15-point checklist to develop complete handouts
- Identify when to develop one of three types of orientation facilitator plans
- Write orientation facilitator plans for others to use easily
- Apply an orientation facilitator plan checklist
Course Methods:
Participants are given a process for developing orientation activities and tips for writing common methods. They then recommend appropriate uses and adult learning processing questions for each type of method. Participants play a sample NEO game and customize questions for their own orientation game.
Participants identify how to write appropriate orientation activities, handouts and orientation facilitator plans for their future session. An inventory is provided to help participants decide which of three types of orientation facilitator plans are appropriate and a brief activity is completed to identify how to expand a facilitator plan.
Unit 7: Process Orientation Activities for Full Impact
- Facilitate without interfering
- Balance process and content
- Use small groups productively
- Determine when to partner and use self-directed discovery methods
- Facilitate demonstration with skill practice
Course Methods:
An inventory on group process skills is followed by a large group problem solving discussion. The instructor gives participants feedback on the balance of task and maintenance skills used during the discussion and how skills are used in a facilitated session. Tips for how to make small groups productive and how to use partners in orientation activities are discussed in the large group. A process for facilitating demonstrations with skill practice is reviewed, demonstrated and practiced.
Unit 8: Evaluate Your Orientation
- Assess new hire reaction
- Analyze whether or not NEO objectives are reached
- Determine if new knowledge transfer to the job
- Use benefits to show bottom line results
Course Methods:
Kirkpatrick's four levels of evaluation model is used to develop four types of evaluations. Use of trend analysis based on participant feedback is demonstrated. Participants see models and write questions to measure knowledge. Skill performance checklists are shown and the participants complete a case study to practice checklist development. A model of cost-benefit analysis is shown and participants complete a brief exercise to identify appropriate performance indicators.
Unit 9: Special Considerations
- View sample letters of invitations and announcements
- Discuss considerations for orienting temporary employees
- Create a survival guide for new employees
- Overview new company start-up orientation
- Compare orientation issues for mergers, acquisitions and reorientation, new departments, branches, stores, etc.
- Use a corporate welcome wagon to orient management families
- Evaluate ideas on multi-location and intranet delivery
Course Methods:
Examples, checklists, forms, and templates provide resources to address special issues present in the orientation process. Interactive discussion and problem solving provide opportunities to deal with specific participant issues and concerns.
DESIGN AND PRESENT SUCCESSFUL
NEW EMPLOYEE ORIENTATION PROGRAMS
Each participant who wants to earn the "Design and Present
Successful New Employee Orientation Programs" Certification must successfully complete a skills performance requirement during the program.
CEUs:
This workshop qualifies for 1.8 of continuing education units.
