Question

Discuss the importance of orienting and onboarding new employees.

Answer 1

The purpose of onboarding a new employee with appropriate employee orientation programs like inductions, personal development training, etc., is to fully incorporate the individual into the organization’s culture and to abide by the mission, vision, objectives of the company. Onboarding, though often confused with orientation, should last at least for a year to ensure that the new employees are productive and useful with the positions for which the organization has hired. Without efficient onboarding, companies negate the importance of making the employees feel engaged and valued internally. The main importance of the orientation and onboarding of new employees are:

• It sets the tone for new employees and alleviates anxiety.
• It reduces ambiguity in the roles and responsibilities of the job.
• It reduces employee turnover. Without proper onboarding, the new employees tend to look for other better opportunities and leave the company as early as possible because they are not able to engage or adapt to the new organizational culture.
• It improves the hard skills and soft skills of the individual and thereby contributing to their personal development.
• It improves job performance and commitment to the company.