Department Orientation Initiative

Thanks for your interest in the Department Orientation Initiative. Being new to the University can be exciting, stressful, interesting and sometimes confusing. There's a lot for new employees to learn, and often not much time for them to learn it. In Human Resources it's our goal to make sure new employees get the best possible start in their University careers.

What is the Department Orientation Initiative?

Human Resources currently offers a 3 hour orientation session with new employees, however most of the extended orientation process for new employees occurs at the departmental level. To gain more information about these programs, Human Resources has initiated a study of department orientation practices and needs. This is part of a larger initiative Human Resources has undertaken to support employee success based on the findings of a recent new employee survey.

One of the critical components of this initiative is for the Human Resources project team to learn:

• What is the content of current department extended orientation processes?
• How effectively do current programs meet management needs?
• How effective are these programs for new employees?

The results of the study will be used to develop resources for University departments to use in designing/updating extended orientation programs. In order to obtain this information, Human Resources will be conducting a series of targeted focus groups with new employees and managers.

Why Have Focus Groups? What Will Happen in the Groups?

Focus groups are an excellent way to obtain a great deal of information in a short time from a number of perspectives. New employees, and supervisors who have recently provided orientation to new employees, are the best source of information for this study. It is from these two groups that the project team will gather its data.

The focus groups will be designed as follows:

• A total of 5-10 focus groups will be conducted.
• There will be separate groups for supervisors and new employees in order to obtain different perspectives on the orientation/on-boarding experience.
• Each group will consist of approximately 8-12 participants.
• Each session will last approximately 1 ½ hours.
• Sessions will be held in the University Services Building and at the Arizona Health Sciences Center.
• Each participant will only come to one group session. Location, date and time are indicated on the e-mail.
• A facilitator will direct the discussion assisted by another team member who will record the observations of the group.

The data collected from the focus groups will add to an extensive body of research that exists concerning employee orientation and engagement. We've included some of that information below.

New Employee Orientation - Why is it Important?

New employee orientation is crucial not only to personal success but to organizational success as well. In order to succeed in their new roles and make a long-term commitment to the organization, new employees need to: understand their job and their work environment; be aware of their benefits and work expectations; connect with co-workers; and understand how their job fits into the overall University community. A well designed extended orientation program can help.

What Makes Employees Stay?

But there is an even more crucial reason why an effective extended orientation program is essential: retaining employees. Research suggests that employees make critical decisions about their engagement and retention level during the first two years of employment. Turnover at the University reflects this trend (see new employee survey).

There are a number of factors that keep employees involved with and committed to their jobs. Many of these are directly related to the content and effectiveness of the employee orientation process (see Figure 1 below). When this process is comprehensive and well designed, employees are more likely to stay.

Figure 1: Impact of Orientation Activities on Performance & Engagement

What are the Next Steps?

• Lessons learned from focus groups and research will form the foundation for the development of new resources and tools.
• HR Project Team will design and pilot the new resources and tools.
• New program will be available to departments to customize to their orientation needs.

Visit this site for future updates concerning this important project. Thanks again for your interest in the Department Orientation Initiative.