Most companies donít spend a lot of time orienting new recruits

According to a recent survey, most companies donít spend a lot of time orienting new recruits, and their top strategy for ìwowingî them is to hand out items branded with the company logo. The survey, conducted by the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp ñ formerly HRI), also found that although the vast majority of companies have new-employee orientation (NEO) programs, more than one-fifth of them donít bother to track their effectiveness.

ìConsidering the current and future war on talent, a new employeeís first days are critical when it comes to creating a positive first impression that fosters loyalty,î says Jay Jamrog, i4cpís SVP of Research. ìCompanies are also missing the boat to not only impress a new employee, but also to build upon the strengths and weaknesses of the employee, which were undoubtedly collected in the selection and assessment process. The future of talent management systems promises to record the competencies uncovered in the selection process, allowing for the early application of learning programs in cases where skill gaps have been uncovered. This is definitely something organizations should keep in mind when planning their NEO programs.î

The survey found that a full 86% of the responding companies have a program in place to orient new employees. For about half (46%), the process is done in a day or less, with another 26% wrapping the orientation up in two to three days. As far as offering new employees a ìwowî factor, more than half (54%) rely on company-related items (pens, shirts, pads, binders, folders, etc.), and 12% admit to doing nothing at all.

ìGetting a new t-shirt is nice, but it seems like there are probably better ways of making an impact on new recruits,î says Jamrog. ìThe company should use the opportunity to have new employees communicate and build relationships with leaders in the organization right out of the gate. NEOs also offer a unique opportunity to gather a new recruitís impressions of the marketplace and the company.î

In other survey findings, when it comes to measuring the effectiveness of their orientation program, 47% of respondents use employee surveys, 20% measure first-year retention and 17% look at performance ratings. Somewhat surprisingly, 22% of polled companies do not track the effectiveness of their NEO programs.

Most companies (81%) turn to the human resources department to administer the NEO programs, but 23% involve multiple departments and 21% include the department to which the new employee will report.

The New Employee Orientation Practitioner Consensus Survey was conducted by the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp ñ formerly HRI), in conjunction with HR.com, in April 2007 and included responses from 597 organizations.

For more information about this study, or to receive a full copy of the results, please contact Greg Pernula at pernula@i4cp.com or via phone at (727) 345-2226.