new hire orientation presentation ideas

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Blog Human Resources How To Create A New Employee Orientation Presentation

How To Create A New Employee Orientation Presentation

Written by: Jennifer Gaskin Jul 21, 2021

A person’s first few weeks at a new job are a mix of excitement and anxiety as they settle into their new role. Unfortunately, many companies lag when it comes to creating an onboarding plan and getting new hires off to a good start. 

High turnover and poor productivity are common problems that can stem from ineffective orientation and onboarding, but companies that get these tasks right can improve retention by 82% and boost worker productivity by more than 70%.

It’s important to make sure the onboarding materials are informative and clear, but also interesting to go through. Tools like Venngage’s onboarding plan templates can be helpful for HR teams who want to create visually appealing materials.

Check them out and see how you can revamp your onboarding process!

Click to jump ahead:

What is new employee orientation?

What to include in your employee orientation, how to create a successful new employee orientation & onboarding program, company handbooks and presentation examples, onboarding and orientation checklist examples, training and microlearning examples, 3 benefits of successful orientation and onboarding, onboarding resources for remote teams.

New employee orientation refers to the process of introducing a new team member into the workplace. This process generally takes place over the course of a few days to a week and differs from onboarding , which we’ll address in a moment.

Depending on your organization and the team member’s job functions, new employee orientation typically includes some or all of the following:

• Filling out health insurance, tax and other paperwork
• Introductions to coworkers
• Tour of work area or entire facility
• Setting up desk or workstation
• Review of handbook , including key policies and company mission

New employee orientation vs. onboarding

Many companies use the terms orientation and onboarding interchangeably, but they differ in important ways. The easiest way to make the distinction clear is that orientation is a part of onboarding , but the onboarding process extends far beyond basic new employee orientation.

Onboarding can last as long as a year, depending on the role and the organization. At the end of an onboarding period, the team member should be fully trained and integrated into the company culture, and they should have a clear set of goals and expectations for their future at the company.

Read more :  11+ Tips for the Best Employee Onboarding Process

Having a well-structured employee orientation program helps new hires feel welcome, informed and prepared to hit the ground running.

Considering tweaking your new employee orientation? Remember to incorporate these key components:

Company culture and values:

• Welcome message from the CEO or senior leader
• Company background, mission, vision and goals
• Company culture and values

Logistics and practicalities:

• Completing essential paperwork (tax forms, benefits enrollment)
• IT setup and software training
• Policies and procedures overview (e.g., dress code, vacation time, safety protocols)
• Benefits explanation (health insurance, retirement plan, etc.)
• Tour of the workplace and introductions to colleagues

Role-specific training:

• Job description and responsibilities overview
• Manager introduction and mentorship program details
• Team introductions and departmental structure
• Training on relevant software and tools

Additional tips:

• Provide a welcome gift and branded materials
• Include interactive activities and team-building exercises
• Offer opportunities for Q&A and open communication
• Follow up with new hires after orientation to address any questions

How can organizations without strong orientation and onboarding procedures build those programs for their team members? Here are some tips to get you started:

Start early

Waiting to connect until a new team member’s first day on the job means you’ll miss out on important opportunities to create rapport and establish company culture.

Something you can start preparing before a new hire’s first day includes:

Each interaction the new hire has should be considered part of their orientation and onboarding experience. Introduce the new team member via email, Slack or any other  internal communication platforms before they start so the rest of the team already knows a bit about them.

Here’s an example of a template you can use to introduce a new hire to the rest of the team by asking them three fun facts about themselves:

Be practical

Flowery language about your mission is important, but people also need to know where they’re supposed to park and what to expect on their first day. Make sure they know those key action items before their first day.

Break down the first week

Create a schedule of activities for their first several days, up to their first week. Build socialization into this by encouraging teammates to take lunch together or organize a happy hour after their first day.

Keep information digestible

The mass data dump that often happens on a person’s first day at a new job is overwhelming no matter how quickly they can read. Make sure they know the exact amount of reading materials they need to do within a week and that they will get the information they need if they trust the process.

Maintain a focus on the long-term

Yes, people need to know what their schedule is and how many vacation days they get. But if you are investing in orientation and onboarding, you probably want this person to be around for the long haul. If it takes them more than a few days to grasp some process, that’s OK.

Work with new hires to establish goals

Make sure team members get plenty of one-on-one time with supervisors and mentors who can help them settle in, and eventually, the group should work together to establish the employee’s goals for the next 60, 90 and 180 days.

Work with your new hires on this template to help them establish their goals:

With a Business account, Venngage users can access real-time collaboration features. This means that once they’ve added team members to their Venngage account, they can collaborate in real time with their colleagues on any designs:

Be open to feedback

Especially for companies who have previously had a haphazard approach to orientation and onboarding, the first few forays are likely to be imperfect. With every new hire, get their honest feedback about what they found helpful and what could have been better.

Company handbooks are typically given to new hires during the orientation process, but they’re also a good opportunity to do some of the important work of onboarding. Many organizations have hard copies of their handbooks, but PDFs or PowerPoint handbook presentations are also common.

Related :  How to Write an Employee Handbook [Examples + Tips]

Onboarding handbooks and presentations

If you’re looking for a template that will help elevate your handbook materials to something that goes beyond informing people about key policies? Check out these onboarding handbooks and presentations.

Onboarding-focused materials can provide basic information about the company, but they should focus on setting long-term expectations. In this example, one of the first slides covers what should happen in the first day, week and month of the team member’s tenure.

Once you’ve finished your handbook, you can share a public link for free or upgrade to a team account to share a private link with your colleagues:

A paid Venngage account allows you to download templates as PNG or PDF. You can also upgrade to a Business account to export the onboarding handbook in PPT format to use on PowerPoint or Google Slides:

Let’s look at some other examples of employee handbooks you can customize for your new hire orientation:

When creating onboarding materials, it’s important to be upfront about the company’s mission and culture. One good way to do that is to make it personal, as the third slide of this presentation does.

Onboarding-focused handbooks are at their best when they are created from the perspective of a successful team member. Information in these types of handbooks should focus on setting clear expectations about the organization and the team member’s role in it, both today and in the future.

For some organizations, their place in a broad societal context is an important aspect of their culture. Companies with strong corporate social responsibility policies should consider creating an onboarding handbook in which those policies are front and center.

Onboarding-focused handbooks also provide a great opportunity to establish company values with visuals. This example uses friendly, flat icons and a pastel color palette, but by using Venngage for Business, you can ensure your handbook reflects your brand’s story.

Simply go to My Brand Kit to have your logos and brand colors extracted automatically from your website:

Once that’s done, you can apply your branding elements to any of your designs in just one click:

Orientation handbooks and presentations

Orientation is a process best done quickly and efficiently. Pairing the data dump of policies and procedures with good visual design principles can help ensure new hires are well-informed and remain engaged with the information.

New hire presentations that have employee orientation as their key focus should be utilitarian, but that doesn’t mean they have to be boring. Pair information with company policies and striking visuals like stock photos and trendy gradients to keep your audience interested.

As with any other type of visual asset you create, orientation presentations should reflect your brand’s story. In this case, flat illustrations and icons make this design approachable and friendly.

Other brands lend themselves more to bold presentation, and any new hire who encounters this ultra-futuristic orientation handbook will get the clear sense that their new workplace is modern and forward-thinking.

Consider breaking your orientation materials into smaller sections or chapters. This will help your team members refer back to important information without having to flip from page to page.

With Venngage for HR , multiple team members can collaborate and you can ensure your corporate visual identity is applied with My Brand Kit .

A minimalist design like the one above is appropriate for brands of all types and can help ensure the focus is on the important information being shared.

Both for HR teams and new employees, checklists are a good way to ensure nothing falls through the cracks. This is particularly true during the orientation phase when new team members are probably signing important tax, health insurance, retirement and other documentation.

Orientation is a complex task that typically touches many departments within an organization, from IT to human resources to legal. No single person can keep track of every task, so smart HR departments and leaders create orientation checklists to ensure all necessary tasks are completed.

Good orientation isn’t a one-way street, and getting new hires involved in the process can help instill a sense of ownership in their role within the organization. Consider a multi-page checklist like this one that lets both employee and supervisor have input.

Even in small teams, it’s common for multiple veterans in organizations to take a role in new employee orientation. An orientation checklist like this one lets you assign orientation-related tasks to different team members and indicate when each one should be completed.

Make sure the basics are covered when you bring in a new team member with this no-frills orientation checklist.

Training and microlearning materials are important both in orientation and onboarding. In the short term, educational materials help ensure people understand basic job processes. In the long term, training materials and training plans are useful in employee development.

Microlearning is a training method that delivers information over the course of several brief lessons rather than one long span.

Microlearning can boost information retention and avoid overload or burnout. Customize this microlearning presentation to fit your organization.

Make sure your team members, whether they’re new or seasoned vets, have important soft skills like collaboration, in addition to monitoring their development of hard skills related to their job tasks.

Inspire good customer service for team members who deal with the public by customizing this infographic. Update the tips or add your own, and modify the content to speak to what your organization does.

One important aspect of new employee orientation is building the foundation for good work habits. Consider creating a daily activity log that team members fill out to ensure they remain accountable for getting work done.

Use this employee safety training module to help you create materials for new team members as well as materials to ensure everyone in the organization receives ongoing updates and refreshers on safety procedures.

Make sure your sales team orientation, onboarding and development materials are backed by lessons from the success or failure of your organization’s past sales efforts. Use these tips to customize this infographic or create your own from thousands of other templates.

Though orientation and onboarding have their own unique aspects, both are critical parts of ensuring new employees can be successful in their jobs. The benefits of good onboarding and orientation include:

A more satisfying employee experience

New hires who feel that they are left to their own devices are less likely to understand their jobs or feel that they are an important part of an organization. Creating comprehensive orientation and onboarding materials can help set the right tone from Day One.

Building company culture

The majority of organizations that invest in creating a cohesive onboarding experience say new team members are better able to fully become part of the company’s existing culture. One way to do this is to ensure your onboarding materials tell the brand story early and often.

Improving productivity

Companies that have effective onboarding procedures boost retention of new team members by 82% and improve productivity by more than 70%. Poor orientation and onboarding are likely to turn good hires into bad ones.

While many companies shifted to remote work during the pandemic, for some organizations, that shift will be permanent. Meanwhile, many companies were partially or fully remote long before COVID-19. The orientation and onboarding process for remote teams requires some specialized materials.

Remote team members are likely to encounter more systems on which they’ll need to be trained. The lack of direct, face-to-face interaction means they’ll have a harder time getting questions answered as well.

That’s why having in-depth onboarding and orientation materials is crucial, as it provides virtual new hire orientation.

Companies that aren’t fully remote may be interested in dabbling in permitting employees to work from wherever they want. For these companies, it’s critical to ensure certain policies are adopted and well-communicated.

Just as your HR team would share tips for in-office workers to be successful at their jobs, considering create some resource materials to guide remote workers. Infographics like this one are easy to customize for your industry or even for each type of worker.

If your organization shifted to remote work for the pandemic and is planning a return to the office, make sure your entire team knows what’s expected of them and what resources are available.

Start new hires off on the right foot by creating engaging orientation and onboarding materials

With a Business account, teams can engage in real-time collaboration, apply their branding with one click and export files they can bring right into PowerPoint. With these tools, HR team members have no trouble setting new team members up for long-term success.

If you want to see how easy it is to create engaging yet informative orientation and onboarding materials for your new hires, simply sign up for a Venngage account and test out our drag-and-drop editor and fully customizable templates. It’s free to get started.

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23 Best New Hire Orientation Ideas For Onboarding New Employees In 2024

The first day at a new job can feel a lot like the first day at a new school where you’re the latest transfer student.

You’re unsure where to go, who to talk to, and what to do. It can be quite intimidating and overwhelming to a point where anxiety overshadows excitement. A strong new employee orientation experience helps counter these day-one jitters and sets your new hires up for success in their new role!

According to SHRM , employee turnover can be as high as 50% within the first 18 months of employment.

New hires should leave orientation activities with a strong sense of what your company values, how it operates and where they fit in, and who they can contact for help as they navigate their onboarding experience.

We’re here to make your life a bit easier.

With a ton of employee onboarding tools and tips for hiring managers , it can be tough to sift through available resources to find the perfect new hire orientation ideas for your company.

Keep reading to discover our favorite new employee orientation ideas, activities, and icebreakers that will kick your orientation experience into the next gear!

New Hire Orientation Ideas 

1) employee welcome kit unboxing , “unwrap a warm welcome”.

Gifting your new hires an employee welcome kit is a fun way to start the orientation experience and make a great first impression! Whether you’re onboarding in-person or doing a virtual orientation, unboxing employee welcome kits together is a great way to kick things off your new hire’s first week. Some items typically found in welcome kits include office supplies, company swag , and snacks. In addition to the kit, be sure you’re sending new employee welcome messages and providing periodic new employee announcements company-wide.

Why we love this new employee orientation idea: Unboxing a welcome gift helps immediately create an emotional connection between your company and your new employees. It’s also a great way to show your new hires that they’re officially part of the squad.

Best for staff orientation groups of: 20+ employees. While you can order or create welcome kits for a smaller group, we recommend ordering welcome kits in bulk for cost efficiencies and savings.

How to get started: Find the perfect employee welcome kit for your company! Caroo  offers an awesome selection of curated welcome gifts to get you started.

2) New Employee Orientation Company Trivia 

“who doesn’t love a good trivia session”.

Company orientation material can be somewhat dry, so try gamifying the experience to create a more dynamic learning session! You can either send your new hires some company information before their orientation session or do a company overview during the orientation, immediately followed by the trivia activity. To provide a bit of extra employee motivation , throw in a gift card or a similar reward to the winning individual or team.

Why we love this new employee orientation idea: Rather than reading out facts and hoping your new hires retain the information, creating a trivia experience encourages your new hires to actively absorb this key information in a fun yet effective way. It also encourages team bonding and friendly competition.

Best for staff orientation groups of: 5 – 20 employees. While you can do this in a larger setting, we recommend 5-20 as the sweet spot to encourage participation without getting too overwhelming.

How to get started: Decide what company material is most relevant for your new hires and naturally lends itself to a gamified trivia experience. Some potential trivia topics include company history, company values, senior leadership names, company policies, and awesome employee perks. You can also set up a weekly email trivia contest to get new hires excited about joining the team!

3) Orientation Lunch

“lunch with a side of getting to know each other”.

This new hire orientation idea is a no-brainer! If you’re doing your orientation in person, carve out time for lunch and try pairing up individuals or creating small lunch pods to help your new hires get to know one another. If you’re hosting a remote orientation, send a digital gift card ahead of time so your new hires can order lunch. Bonus points: try providing a few introductory prompts to help generate conversation and keep it flowing.

Why we love this new employee orientation idea: Chances are your new hire isn’t going to know anyone else on Day 1, so hosting a team lunch is a guaranteed way to make sure your new hire isn’t eating alone in a corner on their very first day at a new job. It also helps create a casual setting where new introductions and connections can begin to form. You can also mix things up and host a new hire orientation happy hour event as well!

Best for staff orientation groups of: 1 – 5 employees. If you have a slightly larger group, that works as well, but it’s generally a good idea to keep lunches a bit smaller or break into small groups so people can truly interact with one another and begin feeling comfortable with their colleagues in this new setting.

How to get started: Plan ahead! Know the size of your orientation group and plan accordingly – Whether that’s booking a reservation, ordering lunch at the office, or  sending digital cards .

4) Meet The Team Scavenger Hunt

“get the team moving and the friendly competitive vibes flowing”.

After lunch, get your new hires moving with an interactive yet informational team scavenger hunt experience! You can do a simplified create-your-own version of this by identifying key landmarks in your office and leaving clues or trivia questions in those locations to find a reward at the end.

Or you can partner with an external company or application to create the scavenger hunt experience on your behalf. Either way, scavenger hunts are a unique way to introduce your new hires to their new work environment and encourage team bonding along the way.

Why we love this new employee orientation idea: We love that you can go as big or as small with this idea as your imagination and budget allow. We also love that scavenger hunts aren’t limited to a new hire activity but can be a great way for existing employees to bond as well!

Best for staff orientation groups of: 20+ employees. This activity works best if you can break your new hires into small teams of 4 or 5.

How to get started: Research companies or apps that offer a turnkey scavenger solution  to find the perfect fit for your new employee orientation program.

5) Good Cause ←→ Good Company 

“team bonding while giving back to the community: it’s a win-win”.

Wrap up the orientation day or begin orientation Day 2 with a group volunteering excursion. Find a cause that resonates with your overall company pillars or mission statements and organize a volunteer portion for your new hire orientation process. Your new hires will not only have the opportunity to bond with one another but also donate their time and effort to a great cause that is near and dear to your company.

Why we love this new employee orientation idea: Volunteering for a good cause not only creates a connection between your employees & your company but also between your employees and the community at large. It also shows that your company truly values and cares about the community in which it exists and encourages your employees to do the same.

Best for staff orientation groups of: 5 – 20 employees. You can obviously go bigger or smaller with this, depending on the organization you partner with.

How to get started: Reach out to local charities or nonprofits that align with your company values & mission. Work with this charitable partner to create an ongoing volunteer opportunity for your new hires and existing employees alike.

New Hire Orientation Activities 

1) jeopardy-style quiz game on company policy & procedure, “q: name a fun way to introduce company policies to your new employees a: what is a jeopardy game”.

A fun onboarding activity or game is a Jeopardy-style quiz session. Company policies and procedures may not be the most thrilling onboarding topic, but it is an important one. We recommend pulling questions from documents such as your work-from-home policy , employee handbook, and other training materials to create your Jeopardy question board.

Why we love this new employee orientation activity: It puts a fun spin on what can be a dry topic. We’ve all read and acknowledged the receipt of company policy & procedure documents when beginning a new job. This activity brings that document to life in a memorable way.

Best for staff orientation groups of: 5 – 20 employees. While this activity could work in a smaller or larger setting, this mid-size range lends itself well to multiple Jeopardy rounds where you can swap employees in and out for each round.

How to get started: Use your employee handbook to create questions and answers for your Jeopardy game and assign point amounts based on the difficulty level of each question. You can also use this tool  to help send out and score your new employees’ quizzes.

2) Survey Says Game 

“survey says… that this is a great orientation activity”.

Another awesome and interactive new hire orientation activity is a Survey Says game! Recreate this classic game show by creating questions around the company culture, values, mission statements, people, products, and more. You can either create your own format or partner with an external company to host the game on your behalf. Either way, this is a great activity for both virtual and in-person new employee orientations.

Why we love this new employee orientation activity: We love how a Survey Says format gamifies the orientation experience. It’s an entertaining way for your new hires to get to know your company and begin forming a connection with your company culture.

Best for staff orientation groups of: 20+ employees if you’re utilizing a third-party company to host or 5-20 employees if you’re taking the reins.

How to get started: Decide if you’ll be partnering with an external company to host the Survey Says game or if you’ll be creating one internally. This will most likely depend on budget and size or your orientation class. We recently played a game with Weve and had a ton of fun!

3) Speed Dating Q&A Session With HR Or Leadership Team

“set the timer and open the question flood gates”.

Asking questions can be a bit intimidating, especially in a new work environment. Create a safe space for your new employees to ask questions by organizing “speed dating” Q&A sessions with HR and leadership executives. Be sure you lay out the format and ground rules for the Q&A sessions including how long each speaker will be fielding questions, how to submit a question, and if any follow-up will occur.

Why we love this new employee orientation activity: This orientation activity encourages your new hires to ask questions without fear and lets them know that your company values inquisitiveness and an eagerness to learn.

Best for staff orientation groups of: 5 – 20 employees. You want the group to be large enough that questions are submitted yet small enough that people feel comfortable asking the questions.

How to get started: Create and confirm a rotating schedule of HR and department leaders to sit in the hot seat for these Q&A sessions.

4) Mission Statement Mad Libs

“a new spin on a classic game”.

Another fantastic new hire orientation activity is mission statement mad libs. For this orientation activity, you would take your company mission statement(s) and remove key nouns, verbs, and adjectives to create a mad lib. Without showing the team the mission statement, ask them for words to fill in the blanks you’ve made. You’ll likely end up with some pretty silly mission statements but will work your way towards one that fits with your company’s after a few rounds.

Why we love this new employee orientation activity: Everyone loves a funny mad lib. This is a fun and interactive way to get your new hires thinking about the company’s mission statements.

Best for staff orientation groups of: 1 – 5 employees. This game can also work with a larger group, but this activity lends itself really well to a small group activity.

How to get started: Decide which mission statements you’d like to use for the game and prep for what words you’ll be removing and which would be the best placements for the mad lib suggestions.

5) “Who Am I?”

““who am i”: leadership team edition”.

“Who Am I?” is a popular guessing game in which players ask yes or no questions to guess the name of someone or something. In this new hire orientation version, you’re trying to get your new hires to guess the name of specific leadership team members or important past company leadership names, i.e. who established the company. Questions should be based on the characteristics or facts about the person. This is a fun way for the new hires to get to know a bit more about the key leads at their company.

Why we love this new employee orientation activity: It can be overwhelming learning the leads and organizational structure at a new company. This activity helps your new hires do just that in a no-pressure environment.

Best for staff orientation groups of: 5 – 20 employees. In a mid-size orientation setting like this, it ensures you have enough questions generated from the group but it’s not intimidating to guess either.

How to get started: Decide on what leaders and names will be included in this activity and create some Yes and No questions based on the names identified.

New Hire Orientation Icebreakers 

 1) five-minute quick trivia , “and the trivia topic is… you”.

Five Minute Quick Trivia is an entertaining ice breaker where your new hires can answer some fun trivia questions about each other. A simple way of organizing this ice breaker activity is to have some pre-generated trivia prompts for your new hires to create answers for. For example, the trivia question prompt could be “What is my favorite dish to cook?” The new hire would then list out 4 responses with their actual answer included. Participants would then guess which of the 4 options is the correct answer.

Why we love this new employee orientation icebreaker: Trivia is a super fun and interactive way to break the ice and allow your new hires to get to know each other.

Best for staff orientation groups of: 1 – 5 employees. This icebreaker works well in larger groups too.

How to get started: Identify the trivia question prompts and how you’d like to organize the gameplay. You can also set up a free trial with Water Cooler Trivia to help manage your five-minute trivia contests!

2) Two Truths & a Lie 

“can you identify the lie”.

For this icebreaker activity, every participant needs to come up with two truthful statements and one lie about themselves. One at a time, each new hire will share their statements and the group must identify which of those 3 statements is a lie. This is a super fun way to not only break the ice but get to know your colleagues in a fun and relaxed way.

Why we love this new employee orientation icebreaker: This game usually results in some pretty awesome discoveries about people. We love that it encourages your new hires to get out of their shell and share a little bit about themselves.

Best for staff orientation groups of: 1 – 5 employees. You can obviously do this icebreaker activity with a slightly larger group, but if you’re in a time crunch a smaller group setting lends itself perfectly to this activity.

How to get started: Give your new hires a few minutes to craft their 2 truths and a lie statements. It can be tough thinking of something on the spot, so giving your new hires some time to think about their statements helps put them at ease. You can also welcome an onboarding host from Weve to help moderate your game for your new hires.

3) Fun Fact Roundtable

“fun fact roundtables are… fun”.

Fun fact roundtable is a short and sweet way to break the ice at your new employee orientation. This activity is pretty self-explanatory, but essentially, you ask each new hire to share a fun fact about themselves. Encourage them to be silly about it and not take this activity too seriously. Maybe they have a fun hobby or a secret talent? This is their time to shine!

Why we love this new employee orientation icebreaker: We love that this icebreaker encourages participants to share a fun aspect of their lives or personality with the group. It gives some great insight into who the person is and what their interests are.

Best for staff orientation groups of: 5 – 20 employees. This could also work for a smaller or larger group since it’s a pretty quick icebreaker exercise.

How to get started: Kick this icebreaker off by having the orientation leaders share their fun fact first. This is a great way to set a positive tone.

4) Get To Know You Questions

“what better way to get to know someone than to ask questions”.

Get to Know You questions are a great way to (you guessed it…) get to know your colleagues! Some example questions include:

• What was your first job?
• What was your first concert?
• What’s your favorite food?
• What’s your favorite vacation destination?

Why we love this new employee orientation icebreaker: We love this orientation icebreaker because it encourages your new hires to get to know each other on a more personal level and helps people find common ground.

Best for staff orientation groups of: 5 – 20 employees. With a larger group, this can take up quite some time in the agenda, so plan accordingly.

How to get started: Create a set of 3-4 Get to Know You questions for each new hire to answer.

5) Would You Rather

“would you rather: ice breaker edition”.

We’re all familiar with the classic game Would You Rather. In this game, you ask players if they would rather pick X or pick Y. For this orientation icebreaker edition, create questions about the workplace or work-life. For example, would you rather bike to work or drive? Or, would you rather work in a bustling environment or a quiet work environment? Don’t be afraid to get silly with this activity as well and throw in some non-work-related questions as well!

Why we love this new employee orientation icebreaker: This is a unique way to learn more about your new hires because it provides a little bit more insight into their preferences and can get pretty humorous too, which adds a lightheartedness to your orientation session.

Best for staff orientation groups of:  5 – 20 employees. This can work in a smaller or larger group as well, but you want to ensure you have enough people playing to both generate and answer enough Would You Rather questions .

How to get started: Get the ball rolling by creating a list of Would You Rather questions to kick things off, then encourage your new hires to come up with some questions of their own for the group.

Benefits Of Planning A New Employee Orientation Activities 

✅  Benefit #1: Makes new employees feel welcome and comfortable on their very first day, reducing nerves and anxiety.

✅  Benefit #2: Provides new employees with important company information in a concise and engaging manner.

✅  Benefit #3: Motivates new employees to dive right in and learn as much as possible about the company they’ve joined and their role.

✅  Benefit #4: Establishes the foundation for company pride and loyalty amongst your new employees.

✅  Benefit #5: Contributes to the creation of an effective and productive workplace by arming new hires with the resources needed to succeed.

New Hire Orientation Tips

Craft an agenda for your orientation day..

🗓 Create an agenda and share it with your new hires prior to the session so they know what to expect.

Create time blocks.

⏱ You want to be sure you’re breaking the day up so people don’t lose focus. Switch between activities and speakers and be sure to carve out breaks.

Keep your new hires fueled throughout the day.

🥨 Whether hosting an in-person or virtual onboarding session , you want to keep your new hires energized. Have snacks handy and lunch provided.

Keep it positive.

😊 It’s only the first day. Don’t expect your new hires to already know everything about the company. It’s more than okay for them to learn along the way. In fact, that’s really the goal of a new hire orientation.

Determine your technical and resource needs.

👨🏽‍💻 Based on your agenda, identify what you may need from a technical or resourcing perspective. For example, do you have A/V or tech needs that IT may need to assist with? Are there activity printouts or slides that you need to prepare? It’s important to identify and pre-plan so that you’re fully prepped and your ordination day runs smoothly.

Continually improve your new hire orientation.

📈 You want to ensure each new hire orientation is even better than the last. Be sure you’re keeping your new hire activities and content up to date and continue to evolve the process as you learn more about what works well and what does not.

Survey your new hires.

🙋🏽‍♀️ Provide your new hires with a brief survey before joining to provide your HR team with information on their interests, dietary restrictions, and hobbies so you can utilize these facts during the orientation session. Additionally, after the orientation session, send a follow-up survey asking your new hires if there are any lingering onboarding questions or feedback on areas for improvement as it relates to the orientation experience.

New Hire Orientation Strategies for Before, During & After

Let your new hire come in a little late

Starting a new job isn’t easy. Tell your new hire he can come in by 10 on his first day. This will give him leeway to sort out his commute and get over first-day jitters.

Set up a team lunch

Organizing a team lunch for a new hire to get to know his teammates will not only help him feel comfortable, but also help him get acquainted with the relationships and resources he needs to crush it during his first few weeks at work.

Decorate his/her desk with swag

There’s nothing like a balloon and some free company swag to make a new hire feel special on their first day. Before the new hire arrives, spruce up their desk with a curated welcome kit , welcome letters and all the practical information he/she needs in order for their first day to go smoothly. Newbies will match their co-workers, feel welcomed, and instantly look like “one of the gang.”

Swag.com makes the process of finding and customizing the perfect products a breeze. Use this site to get everything from branded backpacks to office supplies to fitness gear.

Pro-Tip: You can create a custom swag box that gets sent to new hires. This is a great way to kick-off a new employee’s experience at your company and show them that you care!

Ensure the new hire a 1-on-1 with his manager

Assign an office buddy

When you’re new, it can be hard to socially branch out past your team. An easy way to fix this problem is to assign an office buddy on another team member that can serve as a social ambassador and a useful source of insight into how the rest of the company operates.

Bonus resource:   HR Cloud Onboarding Checklist

Get his or her name right before he walks through the door

Nobody feels comfortable when their name is mispronounced. Figure out how his name is pronounced, spelled, his preferred gender pronouns and if he likes to go by a nickname. Try to establish this before his first day and share it with others on his team.

Ask senior leadership for input

Senior leadership are responsible not only for generating revenue and building the business, but also for company culture and human capital. Before you develop your new hire orientation process, ask senior leadership for feedback on what information should be included and how new team members should be welcomed to the company.

Give insight into company structure

Share the company’s bigger picture your new hire and detail how their work will help the company grow. Explain how the company is structured, each department’s function and who key company leaders are. This is a great time for the new hire to bring up what’s on his mind. Assure him that you’re happy to answer any question, big or small!

Bring the company to life

Your company is so much more than an org chart and a fancy logo. It’s a hive of innovation, driven by vibrant personalities and big ideas. Not showcasing these to new employees is a wasted opportunity.

Swap your text-heavy company history and floor plans for a video tour of where the company has come from and where it’s headed. Include brief features on key employees, especially your owner or CEO – even if they’re reluctant!

If your new hires are based in remote offices or work in a virtual team, share the tour with them through video alerts so that they aren’t neglected.

At SnapComms , they have personal bios written for every new staff member. New hires have their face and story displayed prominently to alleviate any awkward introductions, while they can read the bios of everyone else online to find ‘buddys’ with whom they can make a connection.

Share company history and core values

Give your new hire context into how the company came to be and what inspires the everyday decision making. By sharing the company’s history and the core values, this will give him social insight into the culture of the company and valuable guidance for how to navigate his role.

Introduce department heads

What better way to showcase company culture and structure than by introducing your new hire or hiring class to department heads. Giving the new hire the opportunity to speak with the leaders of the company not only gives him a chance to understand how the teams work together, but also how each department’s work ladders up to advance the company’s objective. If it’s unrealistic for department heads to meet with each new hire, have them talk to each hiring class. Be sure to include time for a Q&A so no questions go unanswered.

Clue your new hire into key unspoken rules

Every company has unspoken rules that determine the way the company operates and employees behave. Give your new hire a hand and share these up front during the onboarding process . They will be grateful and this small gesture will empower them to have a smooth transition into your company’s culture.

Provide a glossary of company acronyms and buzzwords

Every company has their own professional world and company culture. Along with this comes a highly specific language consisting of specialized acronyms and words. Share these with your new hire so he doesn’t feel left out or confused. If you don’t already have a glossary on-hand, it may be time to create a working document that can be easily accessed and shared.

Set clear expectations

Write a list of the new hire’s responsibilities, who from the company he’ll be collaborating with for each project and upcoming deadlines he’ll be expected to meet. These sorts of details can fall through the cracks during the flurry of the first month on a job, or just seem obvious to the hiring manager and not to the new hire. Make it crystal clear, setting your new hire up for success. Present this list to your new hire and let him ask questions.

Give him a tour of the office

The very first office tour is an exciting activity for any hire since this will be their new working environment and where they’ll spend most of their time. Show him where different teams sit, where the bathrooms are and the kitchen with the best snacks. On an overwhelming first day, this information does wonders in easing the new hire’s feelings of disorientation.

Offer tech help

Nothing sets back a new hire from getting started like a technology roadblock. Provide a cheat sheet with all the wifi, login and software info. If possible, have an IT person on hand to help your new hire set up his computer, troubleshoot tech problems and acquaint himself with the software your company uses.

Run through company benefits

Your new hire will likely have questions regarding your company’s corporate, medical and financial benefits. Take time to explain these in simple terms, and allow time for him to ask questions.

Introduce your new hire to his new friends

Let’s be real, starting a new job, and familiarizing yourself with a new team and company, can be scary and intimidating. One way to make the new kid on the block feel at home is to introduce him to his new office mates. So get out of your desk chair and onto the floor—walk the new hire around the office, introducing him to his team and the other people in the company he’ll be working with closely. This group should also include the go-to IT person, the office manager, the receptionist if they haven’t properly met, and his HR representative.

In addition to physically walking the new hire around the office, have his manager send a company-wide email with a short intro about the new hire (potentially written by the new hire himself) on his professional background, who he is and where he comes from. This small gesture, coming from a manager, will make the new hire feel welcome and like his manager is proud to have him on the team , which is always a great feeling.

Ask his birthday

Companies celebrate employee birthdays in different ways. Whether they do this by giving the employee the day of their birthday off or by sharing some cake in the afternoon, be sure to ask whether he’s comfortable sharing this information with the team and celebrating as a group .

Celebrate with a happy hour!

Most people wouldn’t object to chatting with their new teammates over a beer and some bar snacks. This is also a great way for the new hire to familiarize himself with the team’s culture and learn about the work he’ll be doing in a low-pressure environment.

Give your new hire a roadmap for the next month

This should include a calendar of upcoming company events, along with key things he should learn in his first month to enhance his productivity and success.

Reinforce Orientation Ideas

Everyone know that the first days of a new job can be a whirlwind. To make sure all this information and introduction is solidified, you can easily roll out a comprehensive program that includes various elements of these orientation ideas with OrgLynx . OrgLynx’s mobile app and software allow new hires to learn more about your organization, connect with colleagues, quiz them on the essentials and more to create an overall culture and organization introduction.

New hires will be prompted to complete different types of challenges and tasks like snapping photos, taking videos, answering questions, providing feedback, scanning QR codes and more. The team at OrgLynx will help you get your program setup for you so implementation is a breeze, and the program can run completely automatically to give a personalized feel to each new hire you bring on. Program duration is flexible but best results see a program targeting the new hire’s first 90 days. OrgLynx performs equally well with a remote onboarding program . Best for companies over 100 employees.

Ask for feedback

After your orientation, ask your new hire for feedback. Does he have any remaining questions? Was there any information not included that he’d hoped to receive as a new employee? Did he feel the information he received was useful? Some companies like to provide a new hire orientation feedback survey, others have the HR professional leading the orientation ask casually. It’s up to you, but don’t skip the step. It’s crucial to improving the process over time.

After all is said and done, new hire orientations take a lot of work. But it pays off–with increased employee retention, loyalty and productivity , new hire orientations increase the success of the company overall.

Don’t overlook the importance of a thorough new hire orientation. A Bersin by Deloitte study calculates that “4 percent of employees leave after a disastrous first day and 22 percent of staff turnover happens in the first 45 days of employment.” First impressions matter, for the employee as much as for the employer .

Research also shows that new hire orientations play a critical role in helping new employees understand their responsibilities, grasp the role they play in their company’s broader mission and integrate into company culture . Capitalize on this opportunity to position your incoming employees for long-term success at your organization.

You have the power to help new hires start the job on the right foot and increase employee retention . Your effort here will certainly pay off.

People Also Ask These Questions About New Hire Orientation Ideas 

Q: how long should a new hire orientation activity last .

• A: A new hire activity should last between 20 – 60 minutes depending on the activity and the number of new hires in your orientation. An effective new hire orientation should warmly welcome your new employees while providing them with a meaningful introduction to your company’s culture, people, and policies.

Q: What are some unique employee orientation activities to play? 

• A: Some unique employee orientation activities include Survey Says, Mission Statement Mad Libs, and ‘Who Am I’. While working your way through your in-office or remote employee onboarding checklist , be sure you have orientation activities towards the top of that list as they’re a critical piece of any strong onboarding program.

Q: What documents should I have for a new employee during new hire orientation? 

• A: You should have your employee policy handbook and any new hire resource materials handy. Additionally, if there are supporting documents for any of the planned activities, have these ready to go too. Lastly, make sure your new hires have brought in the necessary HR new hire paperwork as well.

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This is a very conscientious and well organized plan for new hire orientation. Thank you for the tips and the blueprint.

Happy to help, Joshua!

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New employee orientation presentation: A comprehensive guide

This guide covers everything you need to know, from introducing your company's culture and values to designing effective slides.

Raja Bothra

Building presentations

Welcome to the world of new employee orientation presentations!

Whether you're a seasoned HR professional or someone new to the role, crafting an effective orientation presentation is crucial for the success of your organization and the satisfaction of your new hires.

In this comprehensive guide, we'll delve into the intricacies of creating a stellar new hire orientation presentation that sets the right tone, delivers essential information, and leaves a lasting impression.

What is a new employee orientation?

Before we dive into the nitty-gritty details, let's clarify what exactly a new employee orientation is. In essence, it's the process by which your organization welcomes and integrates fresh talent into the workforce. It's not just about handing them a desk and a computer; it's about providing them with the tools, knowledge, and support they need to thrive.

The new hire's first day: A day to remember

The first day on the job is a monumental moment for any new hire. It's the day when they step into the unknown, meet their new team members, and get their first taste of the company culture. It's also your chance to make a lasting first impression.

Why is new employee orientation presentation important?

Creating a smooth onboarding process

A well-structured new employee orientation presentation is like a roadmap for your new hires. It guides them through the initial stages of their journey within the organization, helping them navigate the terrain with confidence.

Fostering a positive employee experience

Remember, your employees are your most valuable assets. Investing in their orientation process not only makes them feel valued but also contributes to their long-term job satisfaction and retention.

Aligning with company policies and procedures

Your presentation is the perfect opportunity to acquaint new team members with your company's mission, vision, and values. It's where you can clarify company policies and procedures, ensuring everyone is on the same page from day one.

How to structure a new employee orientation presentation

Structuring a new employee orientation presentation is essential to provide a clear and organized introduction to your organization and its processes. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to structure such a presentation:

1. Title slide: Start with a title slide that includes the company name, logo, and the words "New Employee Orientation."

2. Welcome and introduction: Begin with a warm welcome to the new employees. Introduce yourself and your role in the organization. Provide a brief overview of the orientation agenda.

3. Company overview: Explain the company's history, mission, vision, and core values. Highlight any significant achievements or milestones. Mention the company's organizational structure and key departments.

4. Culture and values: Emphasize the company's culture and values. Share stories or examples that illustrate the culture in action.

5. Benefits and compensation: Discuss the employee benefits package, including health insurance, retirement plans, and any other perks. Explain the compensation structure and payment schedule.

6. HR policies and procedures: Cover essential HR policies, such as: Equal Employment Opportunity, Anti-Harassment and Anti-Discrimination, Code of Conduct, Timekeeping and Attendance, Dress Code, Workplace Safety.

7. Onboarding Process: Describe the onboarding process and the steps new employees will go through. Mention any training programs or resources available.

8. Employee expectations: Discuss what is expected from employees in terms of performance, conduct, and teamwork. Explain any performance review processes or evaluation criteria.

9. Communication channels: Introduce the various communication tools and channels used within the organization. Highlight the importance of open communication.

10. Company policies and procedures: Detail specific company policies and procedures that new employees need to be aware of, such as: - Leave policies - Expense reimbursement - IT and security guidelines - Data privacy and confidentiality

11. Training and development: Discuss opportunities for professional growth and development within the company. - Mention any training programs, workshops, or resources available.

12. Q&A session: Allocate time for questions and answers. Encourage new employees to ask any questions they may have.

13. Conclusion: Summarize key points covered during the presentation. - Reiterate your enthusiasm for having the new employees on board.

14. Next steps: Provide information about what new employees should do next, such as completing paperwork or scheduling one-on-one meetings.

15. Resources and contacts: Share contact information for HR, IT support, and other relevant departments. - Provide a list of resources new employees can refer to for additional information.

16. Thank you slide: End the presentation with a thank-you slide and a reminder of the company's contact information.

Remember to keep the presentation engaging, interactive, and visually appealing by using graphics, images, and bullet points. Additionally, tailor the content to your company's specific needs and culture to ensure that new employees receive a comprehensive and informative orientation.

Do's and don'ts on a new employee orientation presentation

Now that we've covered the essential elements, let's round up with some do's and don'ts to keep in mind as you create your new employee orientation presentation.

• Do prioritize the employee experience. Make it engaging and informative.
• Do create an engaging PowerPoint presentation.
• Do introduce the new hire to their team members.
• Do use presentation templates for a consistent look.
• Do encourage questions and one-on-one interactions.

Don'ts:

• Don't overwhelm new hires with excessive information.
• Don't rush through the orientation process; take your time.
• Don't forget to emphasize company culture and values.
• Don't neglect technical aspects; ensure new hires are well-equipped.
• Don't forget to add a touch of humor naturally if it fits the context.

Summarizing key takeaways

• New employee orientation matters : A well-structured new employee orientation presentation is crucial for integrating new hires effectively into your organization.
• Positive employee experience : Orientation contributes to a positive employee experience, enhancing job satisfaction and retention.
• Align with company values : Use the presentation to align new hires with your company's culture, values, and mission.
• Structured approach : Follow a structured approach when creating the presentation, starting with a warm welcome and progressing to important details.
• Technical aspects : Ensure new hires understand the technical aspects of their job, including software and tools.
• One-on-one interaction : Allocate time for one-on-one interactions to address questions and build connections.
• Do's : Prioritize the employee experience, encourage questions, and introduce new hires to their team members.
• Don'ts : Avoid overwhelming new hires with information, rush through the orientation, or neglect company culture and values.

FAQ's on a new employee orientation presentation

1. what is the significance of a new employee orientation presentation, and why should companies prioritize it.

A new employee orientation presentation plays a pivotal role in helping every employee, whether it's their first day at a new job or they've transitioned to a different role within the organization. It's a part of the employee onboarding process that introduces them to the company's culture, policies, and procedures. This process is essential for every employee, not just new hires, as it ensures that they're well-informed and aligned with the organization's values. A well-structured orientation program sets the right tone and can make a significant impact on their journey within the company.

2. What components should be included in a comprehensive new employee orientation presentation?

A thorough employee orientation process should cover a variety of aspects. It's more than just a mere orientation checklist. Here's what it should encompass:

• Employee handbook : Provide access to the employee handbook, which serves as a reference guide for company policies.
• Company culture : Introduce new hires to the company's culture and work environment, helping them feel more comfortable in their new workplace.
• Orientation program : Implement an orientation program that includes infographics, interactive presentations (PPT), and other materials. It's a great opportunity to help ensure that everyone starts on the right foot.
• New employee orientation checklist : Utilize an orientation checklist to keep track of essential tasks and information they need.
• Team introduction : Facilitate meetings where new hires can meet the new workplace and team members, fostering connections from the very beginning.

3. Is employee orientation only relevant for traditional office setups, or does it apply to remote teams as well?

Employee orientation is a great opportunity to set the tone, whether your organization operates in a physical office space or is fully remote. In fact, it's even more critical for remote teams to ensure that the onboarding process is comprehensive and engaging. Many companies have embraced remote work, and the employee orientation process has adapted accordingly. Virtual presentations and online resources can help new hires feel just as connected and informed as they would in a traditional office setting.

4. How can a new employee orientation presentation help boost employee morale and productivity?

A well-executed orientation presentation can have a substantial impact on employee morale and productivity. When new hires are excited and motivated, they're more likely to hit the ground running. It's a good opportunity to help set realistic expectations and provide them with the tools and information they need to thrive in their new roles. Engaging presentations, along with team member introductions and insights into the organization's departments, create a positive atmosphere that could have been better.

5. Are there any innovative ideas to make a new employee orientation presentation more engaging and memorable?

Absolutely! New employee orientation and onboarding can be creative and fun. Best practice consider incorporating infographics, interactive quizzes, or storytelling elements into your presentation. Share interesting facts about your organization, host virtual happy hours, or create a "Day in the Life" video to give new hires a glimpse of what their first day at a new job will look like. The key is to make the orientation process enjoyable and informative, ensuring that new hires leave with a positive impression and a sense of belonging within the company.

Create your new employee orientation presentation with Prezent

If you're looking for an easy and effective way to create your new employee orientation presentation, consider using Prezent. With our user-friendly templates and tools, you can design presentations that leave a lasting impression.

Prezent can be a valuable tool for creating your new employee orientation presentation in several ways:

• Content creation : With Prezent's presentation builder, you can add and customize content easily. This includes text, images, charts, and more. You can include information about your company's history, culture, values, and the onboarding process itself.
• Personalization : Tailoring your presentation to the preferences of new employees is crucial. Prezent allows you to personalize the content to make new hires feel welcome and provide specific information related to their roles or departments.
• Structuring your presentation : Prezent provides tools to help you structure your presentation effectively. You can use guides and e-courses to ensure that your orientation presentation flows logically, making it easy for new employees to follow and engage with the material.
• Collaboration : If multiple team members are involved in creating the presentation, Prezent facilitates real-time sharing and collaboration. This collaborative approach ensures that everyone can contribute to and review the presentation, making it a team effort.
• Brand compliance : Maintaining brand consistency is essential. Prezent helps you ensure that your orientation presentation complies with your company's brand guidelines and is approved by your corporate brand and marketing team.
• Time savings : Prezent can significantly reduce the time it takes to create presentations compared to traditional methods. This efficiency is especially valuable when you have multiple orientations to conduct.
• Security : Data security is a top priority for Prezent. They offer enterprise-grade security measures to protect sensitive information, which is crucial when dealing with employee data.
• Easy sharing : Once your new employee orientation presentation is complete, you can easily share it with new hires. This simplifies the distribution process and ensures that everyone has access to the necessary information.

By using Prezent, you can streamline the process of creating new employee orientation presentations, ensuring that they are informative, engaging, and consistent with your company's brand and messaging. This, in turn, can enhance the onboarding experience for your new team members.

So, why wait? Try our free trial or book a demo today to start crafting your orientation masterpiece today and help your new hires feel right at home from day one.

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Blog » Creative New Hire Orientation Ideas

12 Creative New Hire Orientation Ideas for 2024

Helping new employees acclimate to your company isn’t always the easiest task. At first, it’s the basics: where to go, what to bring, what to do. Then it’s the company culture: how we operate, what values we hold, and our mission as an organization. And lastly, it’s the team: who are my colleagues, how can I work well with them professionally, and how to can I create meaningful personal relationships.

It’s the goal of the new hire orientation process to acclimate employees to all three of those elements simultaneously and quickly.

Go Beyond the Standard Onboarding Template

However, that’s not always easy and oftentimes the orientation process follows a cookie-cutter template of onboarding paperwork, PowerPoints, and 30-second intros that leave the new employees underwhelmed and eyes glazed over.

So, how can we help acclimate our new hires in a way that is interesting, inspiring, and effective?=

Well, first, we need to consider some fresh, creative ideas that show we care about them as a new team member but are also effective in achieving those informational, cultural, and social goals.

These 12 new hire orientation ideas will provide the perfect balance to help you keep it creative. 

1. Start with a Welcome Gift 

Emails and even handwritten notes are in, but companies like Twitter , which welcomes new employees with a gift box that includes items like t-shirts, water bottles, and bottles of wine, know that you can’t just rely on the basics anymore if want your company to stand out with employees. 

Join the trendsetters and send your new hires some of the essentials that will help them assimilate quickly into your company and culture.

Gift cards to coffee or lunch places in your area, t-shirts, water bottles, branded notebooks, books that highlight the company culture, and anything else you can think of!

Poppin has some great branding materials to get you started.

2. Have Small Team Lunches

Think about it, how often have you ever actually connected on a deep level with anyone at a large team lunch? Maybe superficially, but it’s hard to leave feeling as though you truly know someone. For the most part, new hires feel as though they must network and mingle with the maximum number of people.

Small team lunches on the other hand are a unique way to onboard because you can help facilitate all your new hires getting to know people individually.

Have 3-4 of these if the hiring class is large and match people up so they can get to know people well over the lunch hour. 

3. Learn, Explore and Socialize with a Scavenger Hunt

We’re not talking about any old scavenger hunt. We’re talking about a technology-driven, team-building scavenger hunt that helps your new hires learn, explore, and interact with the people, places, and information in the workplace they’re joining.

The best place to do this is via Scavify – an app that allows you to complete challenges, answer trivia, record videos, and more. Split everyone into teams and get to it! It’s gamification to the max.

4. Play ball Instead of Going for a Beer

Happy hour is an office classic, but if your office culture is doing something right, then you’ll have plenty of those in the future. Skip the beer and go for a ball game instead. Either play you’re own if your office is large enough or head out to a ballpark in your area so you can bond in a different way. Playing is a team building activity in it of itself. If you go to a baseball game, you’ll get everyone chatting and enjoying America’s favorite pastime.

If you really want to go the extra mile, you can look into renting out an actual minor league baseball stadium .

5. Seat your New Hires Strategically 

This is a great hack by Twitter that allows your new hires the comfort of a buddy on their first couple of days. Have you ever been in a situation where you feel like you’re the only person who doesn’t know what’s going on and desperately wish you could just lean over to your neighbor to ask for help? If you’re seated next to a seasoned pro who’s ready to answer your questions, you can! Don’t sit all the new hires together. Split them up and allow them all to sit next to someone who can help guide them through their onboarding period. 

6. Give Your Employees a Week-by-week Guide

Who says transition stops after the first week? Not LinkedIn! There, you get a 90-day transition guide with week-by-week guidelines. That’s one way to ensure that your new hires feel supported all the way through the onboarding process and not just that first week when you’re really new.

To get started, check out Atlassian’s 90-day onboarding plan .

7. Don’t Wait for the First Day, Use a Virtual Tour

Ernst & Young wants to make sure that their new hires have the best possible start. As part of their new hire orientation model, they send out communication that allows a virtual tour before the first day even begins. No more wondering where to go when the first day arrives – you’ve seen it all before.

Take a look at Google's intern introduction and tour video below.

8. Remember the Little Touches

At some point, your new hires will head to their desk, and it might be nice if it’s not completely empty. Free surprises are always welcome!

While not all companies have the budget to fill it with personal laptops or iPads , you can always fill it with a welcome card signed by co-workers. It’s all about the small touches when acclimating to a new environment. 

9. Have your Employees Fill out a Questionnaire 

Integrating your employees into the company doesn’t have to stop at onboarding.

Want to make them feel as though they’re truly part of the team? Have them fill out a questionnaire with their favorite candy, birthday, anniversary, family, favorite local restaurants, and any other useful information and then use it throughout the year. You can have fun items waiting at their desk or surprise them on their special days!

Check out some new hire survey templates from SurveyMonkey .

10. Play Virtual Bingo  

Have your new hires get to know the rest of the company with virtual bing. The bingo game could include all the names of different managers and supervisors that they can get coffee or lunch with. Provide prizes for the first employees to complete 5 in a row, so they can get to know more than just their peers. 

11. See the World Through Other Team Members Using a Shared Map

A fun exercise that brings out common experiences is displaying a map in the office and polling everyone where the most visited locations and most unique locations where everyone has been. It’s a great conversation starter and can help evoke memories at lunch or break time for those who share common experiences.

This is an unexpected, yet welcome team-building activity. 

12. Create and Feature your New Hires on a Blog 

Spotlighting individuals during new hire orientation can help all employees learn about each other. Have each new hire provide information about themselves that you write up and post online.

This helps introduce everyone to anyone new to the office and showcase anything unique about those you hired. It’s a great way to start conversations among coworkers as well!

Looking for More Ideas?

1. 10 Team Building Activities for Remote Teams

2. 6 Easy and Effective Virtual Team Building Activities

3. 70+ Team Building Activities

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• Presentations

20+ Top New Hire Orientation PowerPoints for Onboarding and Training

Download Premium New Hire Orientation PowerPoint Templates for 2023 (Envato Elements)

Are you in-charge of onboarding and training new recruits in your company? Top-quality premium welcome slides from Envato Elements will help you put all relevant onboarding information into an impressive presentation.  

Here's a list of some welcome slides that come as PowerPoint templates to use in 2023:

Smart - Welcome Presentation PPT Template

This template comes with 30 unique slides and three pre-made color themes. Pick light or dark background colors for your presentation. Slides come with pre-built animations.

Infographics - New Job Presentation Training

Here's a modern and colorful training template with loads of infographics. Easily edit and customize any of these infographics to fit your presentation. These over 20 unique slides are compatible with all PPT versions.

Hyuma - Onboarding Presentation PPT

Hyuma comes with a total of 30 minimalistic slides. Easily edit all elements on PowerPoint. If you're new to PowerPoint, the help files will be helpful.

Leadership Training - Orientation in PowerPoint

Here's a training template. It comes with 25 modern, clean, and minimalistic slides. Drag and drop images into placeholders to customize within minutes. 

Jobtrain - Onboarding Presentation PPT

Jobtrain comes with handmade infographics and unlimited color options. You can fully customize any 25 unique slides to create your presentation. You also have a choice of light and dark backgrounds.

Roland - New Employee Orientation PowerPoint

Roland comes with a total of 35 slides for you to pick from. All colors and elements are editable, giving you complete control to customize slides to your needs. The template comes in PPT and PPTX. 

Management Training - Orientation in PowerPoint

Here's a modern and creative training presentation template. It comes with 35 slides in PPTX and PPT. The fonts used are Poppins and Open Sans.

Chandler - New Job Presentation

This template uses blue and yellow as the primary colors. These colors can be changed to your brand colors with a few simple clicks. There is also a help file included.

Instruction - New Hire Orientation Presentation Ideas

This minimalist template comes with 30 unique slides, five color variations, and handcrafted infographics. You can download and edit the template in Google Slides, Keynote, or PowerPoint. 

Teach Tech - New Hire Orientation PowerPoint

Teach Tech is a modern education or training presentation template. It comes with 20 clean slides. It has a combination of light and dark background. 

HR Rockstar - Orientation in PowerPoint

HR Rockstar has creative yet professional slides. Edit and customize all elements of this template easily, including the colors, according to your needs.

Human Resource - Welcome Presentation

This human resource template comes with over 100 unique multipurpose slides and five color themes. All shapes and infographics are pixel-perfect and easy to edit. 

Consult - New Hire Orientation Presentation Ideas

Consult is a simple and clean multipurpose training template. Slides come with animation and picture placeholders making customization a breeze. 

Teamwork - Orientation in PowerPoint

This template has 30 unique teamwork-related infographics, one on each slide. It uses a light background and contrasting colors for content. Easily change colors and sizes within PPT.

Reamor - New Employee Orientation PowerPoint

Reamor is a multipurpose human resource template. It comes with 30 unique slides and five color variants. Add your content and easily customize the infographics to create your outstanding presentation. 

Human Resources - New Job Presentation

This welcome presentation template comes with clean and professional slides. The template has features like six pre-made color themes, vector icons, and free fonts. 

Human Resources - New Hire Orientation Presentation Ideas

This new job presentation template comes packed with 1000 icon sets, animation, free fonts, and free support. It is also simple and easy to work with. 

Human Resources - Onboarding Presentation PPT

This template uses gradient colors to create modern and fresh slides. Pick from any of these 34 easy-to-edit slides to make your welcome presentation in minutes.

Human Resources - New Employee Orientation PowerPoint

This HR template comes with a flat design. It has 30 unique slides that have animation and transitions included. 

HR Infographics - New Hire Orientation Presentation Ideas

Looking for multipurpose infographics for your welcome slides? Here's over 20 unique slides with infographics. All elements are fully customizable.  

Multipurpose Business - Onboarding Presentation PPT

Here's a multipurpose template with 263 unique create slides and various color options. This PPTX file comes in a 16x9 full HD ratio. 

Work only with premium new employee orientation PowerPoint templates. Working smart lets you create impressive welcome slides regardless of your skill or time limitations. It also helps give the new hires a good impression of you and your company. 

Use a premium onboarding presentation template from Envato Element. Browse, download, edit, and welcome the new hires today!

New Hire Onboarding Template

New employee onboarding is the process of integrating a new hire with a company and its culture, as well as getting a new hire the tools and information needed to become a productive member of the specific team they’ll be working with. There’s a lot of information to share with new hires on their first day and beyond: what the company is all about, what they can expect to do and who to work with, and so much more. Having all of that information conveyed in a template helps to standardize the onboarding process across the organization.

Our new hire onboarding template keeps everything organized for you and new employees who are starting their journeys. With this template, you can create roadmaps for one month to six months out to ensure your new hires are set on the right path.

Use the new hire onboarding template to:

• Introduce new hires to the company
• Help onboarding run more consistently across teams and functions
• Standardize the knowledge base all new employees will have upon finishing orientation
• Check in with new employees periodically

Customize your New Hire Onboarding Presentation

Give new hires all the information they need in a thoughtful, comprehensive new hire onboarding presentation. Make it memorable: use images, graphs, timelines, and charts to illustrate the information you’re sharing with new hires. In your new hire onboarding presentation try to include slides such as:

Tips For Designing Your New Hire Onboarding Presentation

Create an effective, memorable new hire onboarding presentation by following the tips below.

What do your new hires need to know most on their first day? Start with the key essentials they’ll need to be successful in their role, and then work down to secondary and tertiary needs from there. Include the most relevant information in your slides.

There’s a lot of information to digest on the first day at a new job, especially for fully remote or hybrid workers who may not be in a physical office every day. Make sure that your remote hires feel included by relaying information about company VPNs, remote team building events, collaboration and chat platforms, and anything else that might be relevant.

Get your new hires excited about joining the company! Include fun facts about the team, talk about company perks, and sprinkle some personality into the presentation.

Picking the right photos and images is essential to the overall success of your presentation. Add photos of team members so new hires know whom to connect with.

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From handshakes to handbooks, personalize onboarding to create a great first impression.

After weeks of evaluating and interviewing job candidates, you’ve found the best fit. Now it’s time to acclimate them to the company culture and processes. To do this, you need an exceptional new hire orientation plan. 

Orientation typically includes tasks like addressing HR paperwork, clarifying company policies and job expectations, and introducing new coworkers. These processes should be informative, valuable, and accommodate various learning styles and personalities.

Learn more about why orientation matters, plus explore several new hire orientation ideas to calm nerves and start the relationship off strong.

The importance of new hire orientation

Effective onboarding sets new hires up for success and improves retention rates. A 2023 study found that 80% of new hires who felt poorly onboarded planned to quit their jobs. Quickly losing new hires is costly, sure, but it also damages your internal company culture and external reputation.

Offering an efficient, informative, and welcoming onboarding experience also makes people feel valued. You show you care about their time (not dragging out the onboarding process or causing brain fatigue with too much information) and about how well-equipped they feel to do great work.

And treating your staff like people first and employees second shows you’re committed to their wellbeing—career-wise and beyond. Set this tone from day one by making onboarding more fun and less overwhelming, which leads to happier and harder working team members.

12 fun ways to welcome new employees

Help new hires get up and running using these 12 creative onboarding ideas.

• Provide welcome packages
• Invite current employees to share their experiences
• Create a company culture presentation
• Plan fun icebreaker activities
• Host department and role-specific trivia challenges
• Organize a virtual scavenger hunt of company resources
• Schedule a one-on-one weekly manager meeting
• Pair new hires with mentors
• Schedule virtual coffee meetups with team members
• Pair new hires with lunch buddies for their first week
• Offer workshops on professional and personal development
• Do an “entry” interview

1 Provide welcome packages

Greet employees with a welcome package to get them ready for their first day. Provide company essentials like the employee handbook and relevant technology setup guides. You can also offer an onboarding checklist or agenda to give them a sense of what to expect in the first few weeks.

Include fun gifts to make them feel excited to work with you. Consider offering company swag, like a comfy sweatshirt or high-quality drink tumbler. You could also give something practical like a multi-device desk charger. Another nice touch is a handwritten note from managers and coworkers to welcome new hires to the team.

2 Invite current employees to share their experiences

New employees want to hear from people “on the ground,” so to speak—not just from managers. Include recently hired teammates and more seasoned ones in welcome meetings (keeping sessions to about eight attendees to avoid overwhelming new hires). The former will easily recall what it’s like to start working and offer insights on navigating that challenge. The latter can chat about how they’ve grown with the company (and how the company changed as it scaled). 

This chat offers new hires a chance to ask questions and get a better idea of the company’s history, culture, and professional development opportunities.

3 Create a company culture presentation

Looking for presentation ideas for new hire orientation? Understanding a company’s culture can be challenging, especially for new employees. And simply stating company values isn’t often enough—the way your team demonstrates these values via their actions truly shows your company culture. For instance, a cultural pillar might be transparency. That’s great in theory, but sharing how hosting regular check-ins with external stakeholders gained you the trust to kick off a lofty project more effectively illustrates this.

Consider creating a show-and-tell presentation explaining how the company’s values and mission drive tangible business results. Include brief introductions from various employees about who they are, why they love working at the company, and what accomplishments they’re most proud of in their roles.

If you do this remotely or with hybrid teams, use Fellow’s collaborative meeting notes app so new employees can see how meetings are structured and add their questions ahead of time. They’ll be involved without feeling the pressure of coming up with questions in the moment.

4 Plan fun icebreaker activities

Introverts might feel uncomfortable when they hear “icebreaker,” so look for options that foster participation organically and inclusively. Here are some ideas to get conversations flowing:

• Two truths and a lie: Each person shares two facts and one lie about themselves, and the rest of the group has to guess the lie.
• Photo sharing: Everyone shares a photo of something meaningful to them, such as a vacation spot, their pet, or their family.
• Questions from a hat: Come up with a bunch of questions to distribute at random. A mixture of offbeat and insightful prompts can keep it interesting, ranging from “What movie would you never watch again?” to “If you could meet anyone, living or dead, who would it be?”

5 Host department and role-specific trivia challenges

Gamify learning about the job as a fun way to welcome new employees, which also serves as a refresher for existing staff. Work with department heads to determine what knowledge or skills you want to highlight and develop a fun way of acquiring this information, like crafting questions (true/false or multiple choice) about a particular role that a new hire could figure out.

6 Organize a virtual scavenger hunt of company resources

Your company might have an online hub for employee resources, like benefits information, reimbursement forms, and department directories. Make up a fun way to teach a new employee how to find that information. Develop a list of common tasks (“I want to submit a vacation request”), as well as questions an employee might have (“What are our insurance provider’s qualifying life events?”). This helps the new hire know where to get answers and also highlights how you can improve information documentation.

7 Schedule a one-on-one weekly manager meeting

One-on-one meetings are a valuable way for employees and their manager to connect. You can use these sessions to set expectations and suss out potential growing pains or skills to foster. Fellow has a wealth of one-on-one meeting templates to work from, including an agenda for the first chat .

8 Pair new hires with mentors

Your long-time employees have a wealth of knowledge and experience to share, so tap into that reservoir. New hires may adapt faster when they have structured mentor meetings with those who are doing similar work. These discussions encourage human connection and better work relationships, in turn fostering higher engagement levels.

9 Schedule virtual coffee meetups with team members

After a company orientation ends, existing employees settle back into their grooves, but a new hire may still feel lost. This is especially true when onboarding remote employees since they won’t see people around an office every day. Look ahead at the new hire’s first few weeks and pre-schedule them for casual coffee meetings with teammates to foster connection.

10 Pair new hires with lunch buddies for their first week

You’ve likely seen this often in movies and TV shows: the new kid at school sitting alone at the lunch table. If you’re an onsite company, avoid putting your new hire in this position. Proactively ensure they feel included by setting up rotating lunch partners as part of your onboarding process. Like coffee meetups, this is a simple yet effective way to get to know each other.

11 Offer workshops on professional and personal development

Growth sessions benefit all employees, but it’s great to stress your company’s growth mindset from the get-go. Offer a professional development stipend and share a calendar of growth events with new hires to showcase how much you care about empowering employees from the start.

12 Do an “entry” interview

You’ve heard of exit interviews, but what about entry interviews? This is a similar concept to the “pre-mortem” meeting some firms perform before tackling new projects. You’ll host this session soon after a new hire is onboarded to better understand how to improve the process. 

In this call, you might ask questions like:

• How long did it take you to gain access to the tools you needed to perform your responsibilities?
• Were you ever socially overwhelmed during the onboarding process? If so, when?
• What was your favorite part of the onboarding process? Least favorite?

Set new hires up for success with Fellow

These creative new hire ideas work best when paired with the right onboarding tools and meeting templates . Fellow ’s all-in-one meeting transcription and management software streamlines onboarding, fosters team collaboration, and ensures seamless knowledge transfer for remote and hybrid teams. 

Plus, Fellow’s recording library makes it easy for new hires to watch previous team meetings, town halls, and presentations so they have the context they need to better understand the company’s processes and culture. 

Fellow empowers executives to lead impactful orientation sessions that start new hires off on the right foot.

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50 Easy, Creative New Hire Orientation Ideas for Onboarding

Research suggests that onboarding may be the most critical time in an employee’s experience at a company. This early time period in their new role can make or break their future success at your organization. While it’s important to build a strong foundation from the start, it’s also important to keep it fun, showing off your company’s culture and personality at the same time.

A sneak peek at our favorites: 

• Write your new hire a letter.
• Create a company jargon guide.
• Organize a new hire club.
• Set up 1-on-1s with leadership.

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New Hire Orientation Presentation Template

Free template to help you make your new hire's onboarding the best one yet. available in both google slides and powerpoint — download now and make it your own.

Download this free new hire orientation presentation and make it your own! Includes template slides covering:

• Company Context : Company Introduction, What Makes Our Company Special, Our Place in the Marketplace, Key Functions
• Our Team : Team Goals, Meet the Team, Our Team Dynamics, Your Role in the Team, Your First Week
• How We Work: Team Dynamics, Day-to-Day Tools and Technologies, Performance Expectations, Feedback Culture
• Administrative: Office Tour, Perks at Work, Initial Paperwork and HR Policies, Your Badge/ID

The foundation for a great new hire experience is the right onboarding presentation, so start here!

Download the template

Includes versions for:, google slides, microsoft powerpoint, team health score, new hire orientations can take forever. use this template instead.

When you hire someone new, first impressions matter. A lot. Just as you wouldn't show up to a fancy party in pajamas, you shouldn't greet your new employee with a hastily thrown-together PowerPoint. An onboarding presentation is the manager's fancy outfit - it's got to be on point.

Why Care About the Onboarding Presentation?

Remember your first day at a new job? Maybe you felt lost or overwhelmed. Or perhaps you felt welcomed and excited. That feeling often comes down to the onboarding presentation.

In the initial week or two on a new job, a new hire orientation presentation is like a roadmap. It guides the newbie, shows them the ropes, and makes them feel at home. And, get this: it's not just a bunch of slides! It's an experience. Think of it as a movie trailer - it sets the tone for what's to come.

Key Ingredients for an A+ Onboarding Deck

• Start with a Warm Welcome : Use a fun new employee orientation PowerPoint slide to break the ice. Something with a catchy graphic or a fun fact about the company.
• Clarity is King : Every onboarding slide should be clear. Avoid vague terms, jargon (especially company-specific slang!), and be precise.
• Engage with Interactive Elements : For example, a clickable quiz or a video in your onboarding presentation for new hires can work wonders.
• Stay Updated : Make sure your onboarding deck template and onboarding slide template are current. Outdated info in your onboarding PowerPoint? A big no-no!

Must-Haves in the First 2 Weeks

A new hire presentation must set the right expectations. In their first 2 weeks, new employees should:

• Understand the Company's Mission : Why do you do what you do?
• Know Key Contact s: Who can they turn to for what?
• Grasp Their Role : What's expected of them?
• Understand their Tools : What does an employee have available to help them be successful?

Bonus Tips for Managers

• Personalize the employee onboarding presentation : Everyone's different! Adapt to your audience.
• Ask for feedback on the new hire onboarding PowerPoint . Always room for improvement!
• Show examples! New hire onboarding presentation examples can serve as inspiration.
• Keep it fun and light. Maybe throw in a meme or two!

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Ready to Dive In?

Great! Let's discuss some onboarding presentation ideas .

• Storytelling : Share the company’s journey. Make it personal.
• Interactive Quiz : Test knowledge on company culture or history.
• Virtual Office Tour : For remote teams, this can be a game-changer.
• Day-in-the-Life Videos : Showcase a day in the life of different roles.

Don't Forget Team Dynamics!

While a great orientation presentation is key, understanding team dynamics can't be overlooked. This is where tools like TeamDynamics come into play, helping teams work better together. By understanding the team's working style (its unique team personality), the transition can be smoother for the newbie.

How does the team communicate? Process information? Make decisions? Work towards its objectives? TeamDynamics can help get a new hire oriented and up to speed on the ways your team works, easing their transition and getting them productive faster!

Templates to the Rescue

Not a design whiz? Don't sweat it. Take advantage of these onboarding PowerPoint templates and onboarding deck templates. These ready-to-use templates can give your orientation presentation a professional touch, whether you're the team manager or looking to create an HR orientation presentation a professional touch.

Conclusion: Make It Memorable

Managers, this is your stage. The employee onboarding best practices PowerPoint presentation is your chance to set the stage for a successful journey. Make it count. Be it a sample onboarding PowerPoint presentation or a new hire orientation presentation sample, take inspiration, but add your unique touch.

Now, armed with these tips and tricks, go forth and craft an onboarding experience that's memorable. Because hey, everyone deserves a warm welcome.

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We've analyzed thousands of teams across industries, functions, and geographies. Here's a few things we've found.

Understanding how your team works is the key to getting work done (and having fun while doing it). You might be surprised what you learn.

TeamDynamics is a tool for individuals and teams who believe that teamwork should be intentional and rewarding.

We spend just as much time today with our coworkers as we do with our loved ones. We have tools to manage our relationships with partners: love languages, compatibility tests, therapy, and more.

But when it comes to relationships with our professional teams, we're flying blind. It doesn't have to be that way.

TeamDynamics is a team building tool to help the modern team get more done and have more fun while doing it. Quantify your team's behaviors. Describe them with a shared language. Improve your team's performance with tailored recommendations.

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Invite your team and finally uncover what makes your team tick.

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New Hire Orientation Presentation Templates That Motivate

New employee orientation deck template for memorable content. Impress new hires with interactive employee onboarding presentation design beyond PPT .

Choose template by:

A business solution you can trust

What makes Storydoc better than PowerPoint or PDF?

With your same-old PowerPoint new hire orientation presentation design, you’ll never engage, let alone motivate. New hires don’t care for beautiful new hires welcome PPTs.

They want to learn what’s next in a way that keeps their attention. Powerpoints, though pretty, are still static, dull, and hard to understand.

Storydoc’s interactive employee orientation presentation design brings your content to life with animation, annotation, and narration that tell a story, not just present information.

What is the goal of a new hire orientation presentation template?

The goal of a new hire orientation presentation template is to provide a structured and engaging introduction to the company, its culture, and the role of the new employee. It aims to make new hires feel welcomed, informed, and prepared to start their journey with the organization.

What makes a good new hire orientation presentation design?

• Simplicity: Use clear and concise slides, avoiding clutter.
• Branding Consistency: Incorporate company colors, logos, and themes.
• Interactivity: Engage the audience with interactive elements like polls or Q&A sessions.
• Storytelling: Weave a narrative that connects the company's history, values, and vision.
• Visual Appeal: Use high-quality images, graphics, and animations.
• Clear Structure: Organize content logically, with a beginning, middle, and end.
• Relevance: Tailor content to the audience, addressing their specific needs and concerns.

Why use a Storydoc template instead of paying a design agency?

• Stroydocs are 2x more engaging than a typical agency-made new hire orientation presentation
• Our templates cost a fraction of the price you pay an agency.
• With Storydoc you can produce content about 5x faster than using the legacy design approach.

What should a new hire orientation presentation template include?

• Welcome Slide: A warm greeting and introduction.
• Company Overview: Brief history, mission, and vision.
• Team Introductions: Photos and roles of key team members.
• Company Culture: Values, traditions, and what makes the company unique.
• Role Clarification: Detailed job description, expectations, and goals.
• Training Overview: Outline of training sessions, resources, and timelines.
• Benefits and Perks: Highlight employee benefits, perks, and wellness programs.
• Policies and Procedures: Important rules, guidelines, and HR information.
• Interactive Session: A segment for Q&A, feedback, or group activities.
• Closing Slide: Thanking the new hires and encouraging open communication.

What are the main types of new hire orientation presentations?

• Company-Centric: Focuses on company history, values, and culture.
• Role-Specific: Tailored to individual job roles and responsibilities.
• Training and Development: Highlights training programs and growth opportunities.
• Interactive Workshops: Hands-on sessions for skill-building and team bonding.

Create your best deck to date.

Stop losing opportunities to ineffective presentations. Your new winning deck is one click away!

• 11 min read

Create a Memorable New Hire Orientation: Tips, Checklists, and Best HR Practices

New hire orientation and onboarding benefits, mind the timing and agenda, plan for one-on-one meetings, consider hr automation, limit information overload during orientation, vary your approach.

• Improve Through Feedback 

Evaluating and Improving Your New Hire Orientation Process

2024 checklist for your new hire onboarding process, 1. icebreaker activities, 2. gamification & healthy competition, 3. introduce guest speakers, 4. plan time for entertainment sessions, 5. the power of welcome kits, make a lasting impression with a winning new hire orientation.

Part of the overall onboarding process, new hire orientation is pivotal for every scaling business.

Whilst new hire onboarding deals with the initial stages and details of hiring new people, new hire orientation ensures their interest, engagement, and longevity in your company. 

When carried out successfully, new hire orientation will boost efficiency and productivity, and nurture a healthy and thriving company culture. 

Research suggests that 69% of new employees might remain within a company for three years — if their onboarding was satisfactory. In today’s climate of endless job opportunities, getting new hires to stick around will come down to how well you help them navigate and adapt. 

Read our step-by-step guide on how to create, implement, and optimize the onboarding and orientation process complete with the best tips, practices, a ready-to-use 2024 checklist to guide your new hire orientation process.

Keep quality talent on board for longer

With proper orientation, you can illustrate to your new hires that you are a serious organization with clear company values , expectations, and systems. This will instill trust, provide direction, and equip your new hires with the information they need to succeed in their roles, helping to drive retention and engagement. 

Build stronger professional relationships

The onboarding process allows employees to get a better understanding of your organization, including organizational structure, teams, and how employees communicate and collaborate. By instilling engaging new hire welcome practices you help foster a sense of belonging and set the foundation for supportive professional relationships, which promotes employee happiness and accountability.

Define clear business objectives and expectations

Orientation is the time to educate employees on the ins and outs of your organization. By clearly defining objectives and expectations both by recording them in your employee handbook as well as verbally discussing the elements during onboarding, you provide employees with a clear reference and guide to success. This ensures alignment among teams and boosts performance outcomes from day one.

Boost productivity

When employees are provided a roadmap and toolkit to aid in their success, they’ll experience a greater sense of purpose and alignment with your organizational objectives. The clear communication and expectations shared during new hire orientation remove any potential roadblocks, helping boost productivity among employees.

Best Practices for a Successful New Hire Orientation in 2024

Get this, 93% of businesses already implement some form of hire orientation. Meaning, keeping up with the latest trends will be essential for your business growth and employee retention.

Whether new hires are provided remote onboarding or attend new hire orientation at the office, it is every HR team’s job to make orientation as smooth and impactful as possible. 

From introducing colleagues, leaders, and teams to getting used to company culture and policies, and learning the tools and software at hand — new hires will need all the guidance you have on deck. 

We did the research — here are the best practices for new hire orientation to implement in 2024. 

Ideally, you should carry out new hire orientation on your least busy days of the week. Otherwise, a whole-day Monday orientation might be far too hectic for new employees, and prevent you from giving them your full attention.

For maximum efficiency, consider sharing the orientation agenda before time. This way, new hires will have a glimpse into what’s ahead, and be more relaxed. 

No matter how many people participate during a single onboarding process , make it a priority to schedule a one-on-one meeting time with each new employee.

As per 2020 research, 56% of new hires prefer working with a personal mentor or buddy. And although groups are the default in most companies, it’s vital that you meet the hires individually to form a connection early on. 

Keeping up this practice during orientation and down the line will help both managers and employees bond, relate, and nurture greater understanding and communication.  

If there’s one thing you want to avoid during new hire orientation, it’s time consuming and bulky paperwork. 

A streamlined alternative to bombarding new hires with endless forms and contracts, and subsequently bogging down HR’s time managing, filing, and manually processing countless documents is to digitize and automate the onboarding process. 

In 2022, 47% of businesses were expected to have applied some employee onboarding AI to their HR processes, making automation the new normal for many businesses. Doing so frees up HR teams from the time consuming processes to refocus their efforts on fostering a strong company culture. 

Whatsmore, automation allows for a more consistent and streamlined new hire orientation, allowing employees to have the best possible experience.

Orientation is your opportunity to make a great first impression on your new hire, so overwhelming them should be avoided at all costs. There’s a lot to share with new employees as they join your organization, be mindful not to serve too much information from the start. 

Instead, pace the new hire orientation across several days to ensure the information received is well presented, and employees have time to digest the material and ask questions. 

Overall, orientation sessions should not take longer than an hour, so as to prevent loss of focus.

Instead of strictly presenting company knowledge and culture to your new hires, approach new hire orientation as a chance to invite employees to actively participate in the process. 

Research shows that 54% of companies that offer detailed onboarding experiences , orientation included, noted boosted engagement among hires.

Engaging news hires allows them to absorb information faster, and promotes a sense of ownership during the process.

From presentations to gamification, Q&A, and show-and-tell sessions, interacting with new hires in a more dynamic way will promote greater engagement. 

Improve Through Feedback 

Your orientation process should be constantly measured , audited, and reinvented. As trends evolve, employee priorities change, and so does the future of new hire orientation. By regularly collecting feedback from new hires, you’ll gain actionable insights into what’s working and what needs improvement within your orientation process.

With risk for turnover at its highest within an employee’s first year — 43% happening within the first 90 days — having an engaging and airtight onboarding program that’s informed by employee experience is a must.

Companies that invest in creating a strong candidate experience witness 70% better quality hires , saving considerable time, money, and effort for HR teams and managers.

To ensure your company stands out to attract top talent, regularly evaluate and improve your overall onboarding and orientation experience. Here are some best practices for evaluating and improving your new hire orientation process.

• Conduct post-onboarding surveys See orientation through the eyes of your new hires. Within the first month of completing new hire orientation, conduct a survey for all new hires to share their feedback on their experience. Analyze this information to gather insights on areas of improvement for your onboarding program.
• Observe knowledge You’ll get a good sense of how effective your new hire orientation is by observing the knowledge and success of new hires. If you’re consistently experiencing new hires struggling to adapt to their roles, feeling lost or unclear on how to proceed with questions or assignments, or other signs of misunderstanding, there’s a good chance your onboarding program is lacking.
• Measure retention and engagement Are you experiencing a cliff of newer employees leaving or organization early on? This could be a sign that your onboarding experience needs improvement. Conversely, if new hires are showing signs of high engagement and happiness, there’s a good chance your onboarding efforts are paying off.
• Continually evolve Businesses should regularly take into account the changing circumstances and trends of the working world and adapt their onboarding programs accordingly. For example, when Covid-19 swept the globe and companies switched to remote work, onboarding programs had to adapt to accommodate remote workers, including adding new policies and procedures. Always ensure your onboarding and orientation programs are up to date with the needs of your organization.
• Leverage HR software HR software can be highly practical for organizing a successful orientation and onboarding process. Automate tedious tasks, schedule regular check-ins and communications, and build a consistent program to ensure each new employee receives the same comprehensive experience.

Why Create a Comprehensive New Hire Orientation Checklist?

Checklists have remained the ‘it’ practice among many successful businesses and across many different processes. Helping to promote consistency and aid HR teams in nailing each onboarding process, onboarding checklists can:

• Facilitate the hiring process 
• Ensure standardization 
• Help new hires adapt with ease
• Boost engagement and performance among new hires
• Minimize compliance mistakes and risks 

BEFORE THE FIRST DAY

• Confirm start date
• Assign mentor
• Send new employee welcome email
• Send an internal email announcing the new employees’ arrival 
• Prepare new hire paperwork (contract, tax forms, employee handbook, legal docs, benefits info)
• Procure devices and equipment (computers & login info, additional job-specific devices)
• Set up accounts (email, access to job-specific technology, office key, or ID card)
• Add employee to relevant email distribution lists
• Schedule a team lunch for new hire’s first day

ON THE FIRST DAY

• Greet new employees & introduce them to mentor
• Provide any security assets (ID card, etc.)
• Introduce new hires to their team
• Send new hire announcement email
• Attend team lunch
• Assign training material
• Provide a new hire packet
• Schedule an end-of-day check-in

IN THE FIRST WEEK

• Schedule check-in plan (30,60,90 days)
• Organize and schedule training (software, policies and procedures, etc.) 
• Complete benefits enrollment
• Ensure all paperwork is completed
• Schedule a one-on-one meeting at the end of the week to check in

Download our free Complete Employee Onboarding Checklist for an easy to reference guide you can start using today.

5 Creative New Hire Orientation Ideas 

Socializing and bonding with colleagues boosts engagement sevenfold . Keeping your onboarding process engaging and innovative will help motivate your employees and leave a lasting impression. 

Here are 5 new hire orientation ideas to help new hires feel welcomed and integrated.

Whether you go for a round of ‘Two Truths and a Lie’, Bingo, or ‘Would You Rather’, icebreaker activities get newbies introduced to the dynamic side of your company and help them feel more comfortable from the start. Icebreakers help new hires grow a sense of fun, connect with teammates, and ultimately settle into their company role better, feeling a sense of comradery early on.

Personality quizzes are another go-to option during new hire orientation and onboarding. They are an automated and innovative way to reveal both a new hire’s character and their skills. 

Gamified activities have been shown to boost workplace engagement by 48% . By infusing an interactive element into your onboarding program, you help employee plug in to the experience and have a bit of fun along the way. 

A few gamification ideas to include throughout this stage include:  

• A digital scavenger hunt 
• Awarding badges and points
• Keeping leaderboards, milestone boards, and competitive scoreboards

Introducing gamification during new hire orientation will enhance employee productivity, creativity, and innovation. It will also make it easier for new hires to master the software and tech you use on a daily basis.

Inviting guest speakers during orientation can help your new staff get a first hand sense of what life at your organization is like and get on board with your company communication style.

Ideally, you want to include speakers from all hires’ teams and departments. Divide speaking sessions into shorter segments to help maintain engagement and retain knowledge. For efficiency’s sake, the sessions should only be held with relevant hires and not take longer than 30 minutes each.

As for remote new hires, you can set up virtual chats with Senior Leaders or provide a live link to in-person sessions.

Happy hour breaks, in-nature luncheons, trivia quizzes, and ping-pong sessions will certainly kick your new hire orientation up a notch. 

At the end of the day, as much as new hires want to perform well, they also want to reduce stress and pressure and enjoy themselves. Show them that you work in great spirits and also mind the mental health of employees. 

Today, welcome kits are almost essential during new hire orientation and feature everything a new hire might need — at the office and outside it. Water bottles, gym passes, T-shirts, vouchers, gift cards, and notebooks are just some of the items found in modern welcome kits. 

Offering personalized welcome kits shows your appreciation, drives culture, and infuses excitement into the onboarding process.

New hire orientation is a critical time to equip employees with the tools and information they need to thrive in their new role. By investing in a thoughtful, consistent, and well rounded orientation, you can help reduce turnover and boost employee engagement and productivity.

Automating the onboarding process not only saves HR from the time-consuming and error-prone manual tasks of orientation, but helps new hires receive a consistent and comprehensive onboarding experience for the best possible outcome.

Omni’s highly customizable HR software features bespoke onboarding practices for every stage of the onboarding cycle, including orientation. Discover a variety of easy to use and replicate templates and share information better, welcome new hires faster, and track every step of the process.

To learn more about how Omni can help drive impressions and revolutionize your onboarding experience, book a demo with our team.

For more actionable tools, download our free Onboarding Kit for Company Culture for easy-to-use checklists and expert tips that will take your onboarding to the next level.

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How to set up your new employee orientation (template + examples), share this article.

Initiating a new employee’s journey within your company can be compared to laying the first brick in the construction of a building. A well-structured and thoughtfully designed orientation program acts as the foundation, significantly influencing the new hire’s growth, satisfaction, and productivity.

Key Elements of a New Employee Orientation Program

Creating a new employee orientation checklist, designing a new hire orientation template, real-life examples of successful employee orientation programs, evaluating and improving your new employee orientation, frequently asked questions.

Your employee orientation program has the power to influence your organization in big ways. It’s essential to equip your new team members with everything they need to thrive – but what does ‘everything’ entail? Let’s take a look.

Overview Of Company Culture And Values

One of the fundamental aspects of any new employee orientation program is to immerse newcomers in the company’s culture and values. This immersion lays down a pathway that guides their behavior and decision-making processes, aligning them seamlessly with what the company stands for.

Introduction To The Team And Management

Orientation isn’t merely about rules and responsibilities; it’s also about forging bonds. As such, introductions to colleagues and management are essential elements in this process. They help build rapport, foster an understanding of team dynamics, and establish a sense of belonging within the organization.

Workplace Policies And Procedures

A well-structured orientation program should equip newcomers with clear knowledge of workplace policies and procedures. In doing so, potential misunderstandings can be avoided while setting standards for conduct and operations within the corporate environment.

Job-Specific Training And Expectations

Job-specific training plays a pivotal role in ensuring that every new hire is prepared to perform their duties effectively. In addition to training, setting lucid expectations aids employees in comprehending their responsibilities while keeping sight of how they contribute towards achieving overarching organizational goals.

Benefits And Compensation Details

A clear discussion of benefits and compensation is an important part of orientation. Transparency at this point not only helps new hires understand what they stand to gain but also underscores their value within the larger organization framework.

Related:   How To Track Employee Training (+Excel Template)

Developing a robust new employee orientation can often feel like navigating a labyrinth. By constructing a detailed checklist, however, every crucial element is given the due attention it deserves; it paves the way for an efficient onboarding journey.

Listing Essential Orientation Tasks And Activities

The first step towards creating a successful orientation program involves drafting a complete list of all necessary tasks and activities. Consider this your blueprint; it guarantees that no vital steps are missed in the process, contributing to an all-encompassing initiation experience.

Organizing Tasks In A Logical Order

Arranging tasks and activities in an intuitive order significantly enhances information flow. A logically sequenced checklist not only simplifies the understanding but also aids in better retention of information.

Allocating Time And Resources For Each Task

Balancing time and resources for each task is key to maintaining focus throughout the orientation process. Effective resource allocation lets you cover important aspects thoroughly without rushing or skipping any significant details.

Downloadable New Employee Orientation Checklist PDF

To make things easier, we offer a ready-to-download new employee orientation checklist PDF. Refer to this as your one-stop solution for setting up a successful initiation program.

Building an effective orientation plan for new hires is more than just a necessity; it’s an art. It promotes consistency in onboarding while ensuring each fresh face gets a comprehensive introduction to your company’s world. 

Crafting this template is like tailoring a suit – it needs to fit perfectly with your organization’s unique needs and culture, enhancing not only the employee’s first impression but also their initial engagement.

Key Components Of A New Hire Orientation Template

So what goes into this “one-size-fits-all” orientation kit? Consider components like an engaging company overview, clearly defined roles and responsibilities, warm introductions to team members and management staff, transparent company policies, job-specific training modules , and detailed information about perks. 

These elements work together like gears in a clock – they ensure everything runs smoothly without missing any crucial areas.

Customizing The Template To Fit Your Organization’s Needs

To avoid making constant changes down the track, customize your organization’s template now. You can add sections about your company’s rich history and core values or mention specific operational procedures exclusive to your firm, which will make the induction experience feel less generic and more personalized. 

Perhaps you need different onboarding materials depending on the role, in which case you could create a slightly different template for each role. 

Examples Of New Hire Orientation Templates

At Thinkific, we believe learning from others’ successes is hugely beneficial when striving for your own. Make use of our example templates as inspiration for designing your unique orientation kit.

Related:   How To Set Up Your New Employee Orientation (Template + Examples)

Tips For An Engaging And Informative Orientation Presentation

The key to successful orientation lies in striking the perfect balance of engaging and informative. Add some visual aids or interactive exercises alongside concise language for better understanding. Break down complex concepts into digestible pieces – and most importantly, encourage queries. Everyone benefits from sharing knowledge.

Peering into successful employee orientation programs from leading companies provides valuable insights and inspiration for your own onboarding journey. These real-world examples underline the diverse strategies businesses implement to seamlessly assimilate new recruits, cultivate an encouraging work environment, and guarantee job-related proficiency.

Google: Fostering An Inclusive Culture

When you think about stellar work culture, Google is often one of the first names that spring to mind. Their ‘ Noogler ’ orientation – a playful take on newbie Googlers – firmly puts inclusivity at the forefront. 

Within this secure space, fresh hires are encouraged to express their opinions and queries without inhibitions. Google’s dedication to diversity training right from day one ensures that new employees feel instantly appreciated and cherished.

Zappos: Interactive Onboarding Experience

The online apparel giant Zappos takes an interactive approach to welcoming its new additions. Their unique four-week program combines conventional job training with hands-on experiences like answering customer calls or participating in company-wide scavenger hunts. 

Such an immersive experience allows newcomers not only to learn about their roles but also to get an authentic taste of the company culture.

Salesforce: Comprehensive Job-Specific Training

Salesforce shines when it comes down to providing exhaustive role-specific training during orientations. Their aptly named “Salesforce Bootcamp,” a five-day program , offers an enriching dive into their distinct corporate ethos while delivering extensive role-specific instruction modules.

New entrants receive detailed briefings on Salesforce’s offerings, sales techniques, and tools, ensuring they are equipped with all essential know-how needed for optimal performance right off the bat.

Keeping your new employee orientation program relevant and effective is a bit like maintaining a garden – it requires constant care, evaluation, and improvements. 

Welcome feedback with open arms and keep an eye on the ripple effects of your program; that way, you can tweak elements as needed. This not only enriches the onboarding experience but also plants the seeds for your new hires’ future success.

Collecting Feedback From New Hires

The best way to gauge if your orientation program hits home is by turning to those who’ve recently navigated it – your new hires. Their fresh insights can shed light on what resonated well with them or pinpoint areas that could do with some polishing.

Identifying Areas For Improvement

Once you have their feedback in hand, put on your detective hat. Analyze responses to identify patterns or common threads pointing towards potential enhancements, be it fine-tuning the information flow, updating content relevance, or ramping up engagement levels within the program.

Implementing Changes And Measuring Their Impact

After zeroing in on these improvement zones, gear up for action. Implement changes where necessary, then sit back and watch how they impact new hire performance and satisfaction over time. 

Remember that this isn’t a one-and-done deal; keep adjusting based on your results. Like a fine wine, this will ensure your orientation plan only gets better with time.

A well-structured new employee orientation program underpins the success and productivity of new hires within your organization. 

By taking a thoughtful, comprehensive approach, you can set your new hires – and your organization – up for success.

Set your new hires up for success with the New Employee Orientation Template

Download now for free and create a seamless onboarding experience that nurtures talent and fosters engagement.

What Is The Purpose Of New Employee Orientation?

The purpose is to integrate new hires into the company’s culture, equip them with the necessary knowledge and tools, and foster a sense of belonging and purpose.

What Are The Key Components Of A Successful New Employee Orientation Program?

Key components include an overview of the company culture and values, introductions to the team and management, clarification of workplace policies and procedures, job-specific training, and discussion of benefits and compensation.

How Can I Create A New Employee Orientation Checklist?

Start by listing all essential orientation tasks and activities. Organize these tasks in a logical order, and allocate appropriate time and resources for each. You can use our downloadable checklist as a guide.

What Should Be Included In A New Hire Orientation Template?

A new hire orientation template should include a company overview, roles and responsibilities, team and management introductions, company policies, job-specific training, and benefits information. It should also be customizable to fit your organization’s specific needs.

How Can I Evaluate And Improve My Company’s New Employee Orientation Process?

Collect feedback from new hires, identify areas for improvement, implement changes, and measure their impact. This continuous cycle of feedback and improvement will help to refine your orientation process over time.

Daniela Ochoa is the go-to Content Marketing Specialist here at Thinkific Plus! With years of experience in marketing and communications, she is passionate about helping businesses grow through strategic storytelling, innovative digital campaigns, and online learning at scale.On this blog, she shares her expertise in content marketing, lead generation, and more.

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Creating A New Employee Orientation Your Staff Will Love

Victoria Worcman

August 4, 2021 | 1 min read

Tips To Create a Successful New Employee Orientation 

What is new employee orientation, what to include in your employee orientation , fun new employee orientation ideas.

The process of hiring new staff can be time-consuming and arduous. Recruiting the right talent for the job takes dedication to the hiring process, but what about after they’re hired? Once you’ve identified a candidate who is a great fit for your organization, you’ll have to onboard them in a way that is engaging, and exciting for them. While simultaneously delivering clear messaging about the policies and procedures at your company. 

It’s a delicate balance to both keep your new hires excited and inform them of administrative policies that they’ll need to know. There’s nothing quite like killing a new hire’s excitement for their new role by offering a dull and overwhelming first few days through boring employee orientation processes and long webinars that put them to sleep. 

Luckily, there are ways in which you can engage with your new staff and keep their enthusiasm high. In this guide, we’ll discuss what exactly an employee orientation is and how it differs from — or complements — the onboarding process . We’ll discuss best practices and fun ideas for employee orientations that are innovative and interactive. And finally, we’ll give you the tools you need to succeed in developing your own new employee orientation. 

Many people think that employee orientation is the onboarding process. But this isn’t true, your employee orientation is only a small part of the entire onboarding process. The onboarding process consists of filling out forms, introducing staff to each other, working with HR to get benefits in order, and a lot of other tasks depending on the type of organization you operate. 

Your new employee orientation is typically a presentation or interactive course for your new hires to get acquainted with the company culture as well as the policies and procedures you have in place. 

Employee orientation often gives employees a birds-eye view of the company. Sometimes it may include an introduction from the CEO or other times, it’ll be a meet and greet for all of the new staff, either way, your employee orientation is a great opportunity to set the tone of your work environment. 

So what needs to be included? We’ve created a new employee orientation checklist to help you prepare exceptional orientations for your staff. We encourage you to infuse your own brand and culture into this checklist, what are some ways in which you can add your unique culture to the items on the list? 

1. Your Brand, Mission, Vision, and Values

It’s best practice to start your employee orientation with your company’s mission, vision, and values. This sets the tone for the rest of the presentation. You can include your company’s history, information about the founder or current leadership, as well as discuss the vision you’d like to see the company achieve. 

Your values are another big selling point for new hires. It’s likely that they’ve already researched your company and found some alignment with your values to their own. This is a good reminder to talk about the values you have as an organization and provide examples of how you infuse them into your operations, marketing, and programs. 

Some examples of how you implement your values could be showcasing a current employee and their work with a client and customer. Detail how they exemplified the company’s values and discuss how it develops your positive and collaborative company culture. 

2. Introduction to Your Operations and Organizational Chart

After your mission statement and discussion on vision and values, it’s suggested to have a high-level overview of your current organizational chart. If your new employee orientation consists of interdepartmental new hires, then this can be helpful to see how they relate and connect to their colleagues. 

Bring in other team members outside of HR to discuss their roles and responsibilities within the organization. If you have a marketing team that works across departments, have them introduce themselves and describe how they support other department goals. 

Map out ways in which your employees work together and who they should report to if they have specific inquiries or questions that need to be answered. 

3. Administrative Policies & Procedures

Probably the least fun part of the whole presentation, but a necessary one. Every company has its own unique policies and procedures. If your team needs to learn how to report their time to management, this is a perfect opportunity to discuss that process. 

You’ll also need to go over certain policies around reporting employee misconduct and all the not-so-fun things to discuss during the onboarding process. Everyone knows this is necessary and expects it to be included in the orientation, but that doesn’t mean it has to be boring. 

Go over high-level details in the employee handbook, instead of going through the entire handbook, just point your new hires in the direction of where they can find it. Using tools like the Bites app can actually make employee handbook reviewal less overwhelming, by offering bite-size chunks of information at their own pace. 

4. Benefits, Paid Time Off, Etc.  

Your employee orientation program also typically covers the benefits package you offer. Many new hires will understand the high-level benefits packages that are available to them, but this can be a good opportunity to dive deeper into certain policies and benefits they may not have asked about in the interview process. 

Here are some benefits that you may include in your employee orientation process: 

• Health, Dental, and Vision benefits 
• Paid Time Off and Holiday Pay 
• Sick Leave and Disability
• Parental Leave Benefits and Policies 
• Educational benefits and programs your employees can enroll in. 
• Childcare subsidies, if applicable 
• Health and wellness opportunities for staff 
• Remote work policies and procedures 
• Additional benefits could include sabbaticals, reimbursements, and travel. 

5. Department Specific Information 

If you’re a larger company and deliver employee orientation by department, then you can add more specific information about the department they’re working within. Conversely, if you’re a midsize company, you may want to introduce your new team to all the departments within the company. 

Introduce them to department heads and give the presenter an opportunity to talk more about their department within the company and how their work informs the success of the department. 

Want to learn more? Let’s chat!

Who said employee orientation had to be a drag? Instead, it can be a great time to connect and learn more about your new team members. While nearly every employee orientation will have to include some form of administrative information, you can still make the orientation an exciting part of your overall onboarding process.

It’s proven that even one new hire can offset the company culture, so starting out on the right foot is crucial in both the new hire’s retention and the preservation of your organizational culture. 

1. Welcome Them With A Gift 

Instead of crowding them around in a boring beige office, gather them in a cool spot. If your office doesn’t offer this, you can have an offsite meeting at a coworking space or other beautiful event space. If you’re looking to do this remote, then send your employees a nice welcome gift. 

Some ideas for welcome gifts could include: 

• A swag bag of your branded items like coffee mugs, YETI tumblers, or laptop bags. 
• A gift card to a local coffee shop — or Starbucks 
• A handwritten note welcoming them to the team 
• Exclusive deals for your team members to local shops and restaurants

2. Use an App Like Bites to Deliver Your Orientation

You don’t have to use a regular, boring presentation for your orientation program. Instead, invest in technology that can help you grow as a company and as an employer. Tools like Bites, allow you to connect with employees in real-time as well as offer them snackable content that is easily digestible and able to be consumed at their own pace. 

Think outside of the typical webinar or Powerpoint presentation and implement new technologies that connect with your employees. With the tool, you can send quick updates to employees, as well as invite them to watch detailed, prepared training and onboarding videos like your employee orientation presentation. 

3. Invite them to a New Hire Summit or Conference

Another way to create enthusiasm and excitement around the onboarding process is to create a day (or week) around your newly hired talent. If you’re a larger company, invest in a new hire conference or summit. If you have employees around the country, invite them in to join in on a few days of presentations and activities. 

Adopting a new hire summit is a great tool to use is you have a lot of employees scattered through the country or globe. This can give them an opportunity to meet executive leadership, connect with other new hires, and learn more about the company in a greater, more engaging detail. 

4. Have an (optional) New Hire Game or Activity Planned

Not every employee is going to jump at the opportunity to join in on an icebreaker or want to play a game of Softball. And that’s okay, have some optional games or activities for new hires to do without calling too much attention to them. Have them perform a scavenger hunt through their onboarding docs, or invite them out to a baseball game after their first week on the job. 

There are a lot of different ways you can gamify the new hire and orientation process. Consider having quizzes (and rewards) at the end of your presentations. Make the rewards exciting, like a gift card or valuable piece of swag. A free pen isn’t an exciting reward. 

5. Have an Offsite Lunch or Happy Hour 

It’s best practice for an employee’s boss to take them out to lunch on the first day on the job. But this is a bit traditional. Invite them to a happy hour with other members of the team, so they can get a sense of how people interact and work together. It will feel much more comfortable with other employees at varying levels as opposed to a one-on-one with your boss. 

Another important thing is to invite the new hire before the day-of. This way they can prepare for their new day. Some people are on-the-fly planners, but not everyone. If your employees have families and things to attend to outside of work, don’t assume they can drop everything and attend a happy hour. Plus, you run the risk of them feeling obligated, which can be cause for an unnecessary start. 

6. Have Them Take a Personality Test 

Personality tests are a great way for employers to understand how their employees work as an individual and as a team. Personality assessments are a great tool for employers, but they also are a great value-add for the employee. 

Using certain personality assessments like the 16 Personality Types and StrengthsFinders can give individuals insight into how they perform best. This allows them to hone in their certain strengths and understand how others work as well. 

There’s no perfect new hire orientation template. Each will be unique to the organization that is conducting it. But there are best practices and creative ways to engage with your new employees. The orientation process is the first step in setting a strong foundation with your employees. 

Your employee orientation process will differ from another’s, and that’s perfectly normal — and expected. But implementing some of the best practices discussed, as well as incorporating fun and innovative ideas is a surefire way to retain top talent and keep employees excited to work for you. Whether you’re welcoming them with a gift, or throwing a fun, interactive scavenger hunt, connecting with your employees from day one is a definite way to build a positive company culture.

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New Hire Orientation Checklist & Best Practices (2024)

Updated: Apr 29, 2024, 8:33pm

Table of Contents

Why new hire orientations are vital, 10 best practices for new hire orientation, 1. choose the right day, 2. share the agenda in advance, 3. schedule one-on-one time, 4. automate paperwork, 5. provide an employee welcome packet, 6. introduce managers, 7. be mindful of information overload, 8. engage employees, 9. give an office tour, 10. improve as necessary.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Let’s be honest. It can be overwhelming to start a new job. That’s where new hire orientation comes in. Put simply, new hire orientation is when you introduce your new hires to their positions, colleagues and organization. As long as it’s properly planned and executed, a new hire orientation can help your new hires settle into their new roles and succeed.

Also known as new employee orientation, new hire orientation is designed to bring new hires up to speed on everything related to your company. It’s almost like a crash course in working with you. Not only can a new hire orientation make your employees feel welcome, it can reduce anxiety and clarify expectations right off the bat. It sets the stage for what they can expect and can prepare them for their new positions while boosting their engagement and reducing the risk of turnover.

New Hire Orientation vs. Onboarding

Despite the fact the terms “orientation” and “onboarding” often get used interchangeably, there are key differences between them. Onboarding is an ongoing process that begins during the hiring process and continues until new hires have settled into their positions. Orientation, on the other hand, is part of the onboarding process.

It’s usually a one-off event that’s hosted on a new hire’s first day. While orientation gives new employees a high-level overview of your company and team, onboarding goes into the details and dives into role-specific processes and procedures. You can think of new hire orientation as a first date and onboarding as the process of dating.

To ensure your new hire orientation is a success, keep these tips and tricks top of mind.

Be strategic about when you schedule your new hire orientation. If you know Mondays and Tuesdays are the busiest days for your company, for example, host your orientation later in the week on a Wednesday or a Thursday. You should be able to focus on your new hires throughout the day with no interruptions. After all, they deserve your undivided attention.

A few days before the orientation, send your new hires the agenda. Make sure it breaks down exactly what it will entail. This can prepare new employees and reduce some of the jitters and uncertainty that come with starting a new job. Also, don’t forget to set up their work areas in advance with a thoughtful welcome note as well as all of the supplies and equipment they’ll need.

Most orientations take place in a group setting. While this gives new hires the chance to meet one another and socialize, one-on-one time is also important. Managers should meet with new employees individually to get to know them on a more personal level and help them feel more comfortable before they begin working.

Before new hires can officially work for you, they’ll need to fill out various legal forms, such as W-4 tax forms, I-9 employment eligibility forms, state tax forms, direct deposit forms and nondisclosure agreements. Since completing all of this paperwork can be tedious and time-consuming, use software that will allow them to automate it.

A physical or digital welcome packet can be a huge asset during your orientation. Depending on your company and goals, it might include an organizational chart, a list of key contacts, your employee handbook and a glossary of terms you frequently use. To take your packet up a few notches, add a few branded items to it, such as a T-shirt or coffee mug.

If possible, get managers and supervisors involved at the start of orientation. By introducing your new hires to them, they’ll be able to put names to faces and feel more comfortable interacting with higher-level colleagues. Managers and supervisors can also go over your company’s mission and get new hires excited about what’s to come.

The last thing you want is an orientation that overwhelms, rather than excites new hires. That’s why it’s a good idea to split orientation sessions over several days, incorporate plenty of breaks and divide extensive topics into digestible chunks of information. Ideally, each session should last no longer than an hour. Not only does this reduce disruption, but it also gives your new employees the chance to absorb each set of information and recharge before the next session.

When your new hires are engaged, they’re more likely to retain information better. While you can stand in front of them and talk the entire orientation, doing so is ineffective. Instead, try to incorporate a mix of presentation styles, such as live lectures, recorded presentations, quizzes, games, explainer videos, Q&A sessions and group discussions. Your goal should be to make the orientation process fun and exciting so it doesn’t feel like a chore.

Even if your new employees will be on a hybrid or remote schedule, it’s important that they know their way around your office, building or campus. Orientation is the perfect time to introduce them to common areas, including the cafeteria, on-site gym, restrooms, vending machines and conference rooms. With an office tour, new hires will be less likely to wander around aimlessly on their first few days.

Your orientation is not set in stone. In fact, it can and should evolve over time. Ask your new hires for feedback so you know what’s working and what needs to be changed. By listening to them, you can identify content gaps, redundancies and other areas for improvement. Also, don’t be afraid to connect to key stakeholders in other organizations to learn more about their orientation process.

There’s no denying that hosting an orientation can be overwhelming for your company. With a new hire orientation checklist, you can stay organized and ensure you don’t forget anything important. Our free orientation checklist is worth exploring whether you’re a startup or have been planning orientations for years.

Bottom Line

Your employees are your greatest assets. That’s why it’s essential to ensure they get started on the right foot. Not only can new hire orientation help you get all of the legalities out of the way, it may engage your new hires, reduce turnover and increase productivity. Remember that new hire orientation is just one part of the employee onboarding process.

What are some tips for a virtual orientation?

A virtual orientation involves many of the same aspects as an in-person orientation. To increase its chances of success, send your employees everything they need in advance, create an agenda, initiate a few icebreakers, schedule breaks, plan a virtual lunch and leave some time for new employees to socialize.

How long should orientation take?

Many human resource experts believe that an orientation program should be anywhere from three hours to a full workday. If you keep it short, sweet and to the point, you’ll be less likely to overwhelm your new hires before they even start their jobs.

Should employees get paid for orientation?

Absolutely! The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) states that the only time you don’t pay employees for onboarding is if the event is outside business hours, it’s not work-related and no work is being done. For example, a happy hour at a local restaurant does not require payment.

What are the five Cs of employee onboarding?

The five Cs of employee onboarding can make new hires feel welcome, valued and comfortable at their new jobs. These include compliance, clarification, confidence, connection and culture. Companies that incorporate them tend to enjoy greater onboarding success than those that do not.

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New-Hire Orientation

This sample presentation is intended for presentation to all new employees. It is designed to be presented by a member of the leadership team, a member of the HR team, and others as needed based on your customization of the presentation.

New-Hire Orientation  (PPT)

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New hire orientation: 10 ideas to welcome your employees.

After cracking multiple interview rounds, a person is enthusiastic about joining their new job. They wake up with excitement and anxiety on the joining day and reach the office on time. But, soon, they realize they have no idea where to go, who to talk to, and what their day will look like. Nothing is prepared, no one knows even knows they are starting.

And there it goes: The first doubts are coming in - right on day 1.

"If this is how my first day is, I wonder how this organization treats me in the future, " they murmur to themselves.  

Suppose your new hires go through something similar at your company. In that case, you need to make massive improvements in your new employee orientation and onboarding process. As per  research , 93% of employers agree that a good onboarding experience is critical in influencing an employee's decision to stay longer. 

But who is accountable for ensuring that a company's orientation process is excellent?

Many companies run a monotonous and boring orientation process, as People Ops teams are busy - and swamped with other tasks. 

In this article, we will discuss new hire orientation ideas that will make the job for HR easier and create an engaging experience for new employees. 

🧭 What's new hire orientation?

New hire orientation (also called new employee orientation)  is the process of welcoming new employees to an organization . It's the formal introduction of new hires to 

• the company,
• its policies, 
• and its culture.  

It's an opportunity  for employees to know their new environment and coworkers, understand their roles and responsibilities, and become familiar with the available benefits.

The goal  is to help ensure that employees feel comfortable, have what they need to do their job well, and know whom and how to ask for help.

The orientation is part of the onboarding process, and it happens during the first or initial days of joining. 

❓ Why does new hire orientation matter?

According to a  Digitate's survey , new hires who experienced a negative onboarding are two times more likely to search for other jobs. Since a new hire orientation is an integral part of the onboarding process, it plays a massive role in the retention and engagement of your new employees. 

A successful employee onboarding process can make or break their perception of their new company and is an opportunity for HR to make a good impression. 

Moreover, a well-executed and planned orientation makes an employee feel an integral part of the team and vice versa. Once they become an essential part of the team, it becomes easier for them to catch up on their tasks and goals, making them more productive and less likely to make mistakes.

💡 10 ideas for your new employee orientation

While having a plan for your orientation process is vital, it doesn't have to be complicated or expensive. There are many ways to make your orientation process fun and informative for new hires. 

Here are  new employee orientation ideas  that HR can use to run an engaging program:

🪄 Welcome with style

📈 explain the company's mission, structure, and culture, 📝 describe the company policies, 🏢 give an office tour, 👩 introduce new employees to the team, 📦 create a welcome gift, 📅 schedule a 1:1 meeting with the manager , 🗺️ provide a roadmap for the upcoming weeks, 🥘 take new hires for lunch, 👬 set them up with an office buddy.

Welcome each new hire with a welcome beverage or snacks like muffins or donuts.

While it's great to offer these traditional snacks, not all employees may prefer muffins or donuts. Some might appreciate healthier options. So, consider also catering some meals packed with protein , such as sandwiches with lean meats, veggie wraps, or smoothies with a protein boost. Offering a broader range of food choices show your employees that you value their different dietary needs and preferences.

If your company culture allows it, maybe you can greet a new employee with a glass of champagne.

Send a snack or gift box for remote employees using gifting services like  SnackNation  or  Snackmagic . 

Doing this will make the employee feel special and thrilled to join your company. 

Before going over policies and procedures:

• Ask open-ended questions on topics like how their commute was and if they had any trouble finding the office.
• Use this time to introduce yourself and share your positive experience within the company.
• Give employees an overview of the next few days (ideally, you should send the orientation schedule before the joining date).

It will help put the new employee at ease.

Introduce the new hire to the company's mission, the values it stands for, and the organizational structure. Explain to them how different departments and roles are interlinked and what their  career progression  could be like within the company. 

Briefly introduce them to the  company's culture  and tell them how it differs from or is similar to other organizations'. 

For example, if your organization has a culture of addressing everyone by their first name, tell the new employee not to call anyone "Sir/mam." Informing them of such things will deepen their understanding of the new environment and make them feel inclusive.

You can watch the video of the Amazon Logistics Onboarding Program given below to take inspiration for your orientation program. 

Fancy a useful template for your orientation presentation? We got you covered.

Each organization functions differently, and some might have policies unique to them based on the type of industry. For example, a consulting firm like McKinsey & Company that grants employees access to confidential client data may have stricter policies on data confidentiality than a toy manufacturing company like Lego. 

The leave policy and benefits vary across companies too. And new hires might be hesitant to ask you questions about leaves on the first day. 

During the new employee orientation, explain the policies that revolve around: 

• Code of conduct
• Compensation & payroll structure
• Attendance and leave policy
• Benefits like health insurance
• New hire and separation policy
• Workplace safety 

Describe all the nuances for each category and conduct a Q&A session to address any queries. The orientation facilitator must make the new employees feel comfortable asking questions freely. 

We all need access to office spaces like the pantry or the photocopier. But if you don't give an office tour to a new hire, navigating the workplace facilities becomes tedious.

Show your new hires around to give them a feel for what the office looks like, where everything is, and where they'll be working most days. It can make them feel more connected to the organization from the first day.

Welcome your new employees by allowing them to check in using a QR code , providing a positive first impression and minimizing wait times.

If possible, include visiting other relevant locations such as nearby cafes or restaurants where employees often eat lunch. Show newcomers the parking spots, how the parking management system works, and who they should go to with any questions regarding payroll and benefits, etc.

The camaraderie between teammates is vital for an effective and productive team. But, it can take time for an employee to build a relationship with every member. You can help the new hires socialize faster by making introductions. 

Try adding some icebreakers to make introductions enjoyable. Here are some  new employee orientation ideas for icebreakers:  

• Take a picture: Let everyone in the team choose a picture in their gallery and share a story. 
• Jenga with a twist : Grab the Jenga blocks and use a marker to write some fun questions on them. Assemble the blocks into a Jenga tower and ask every team member to pull a block. If the employee knocks off the tower, they're supposed to answer the question. 

• What's your life song: Ask them to choose a song that resonated with their life so far. Music is a great way to bind with your peers.

These are just a few fun ways to make your new hires feel more comfortable with their new team.

Here are  17 more ideas to make employee onboarding fun .

Welcome gifts posts by new hires on LinkedIn are hard to miss. Since the pandemic's start, it's almost become a tradition to onboard employees using gifts. Employers use these kits to show new (and future) employees that the company cares about its workers. 

Gifting things like coffee mugs, stationery, and stickers -- all with the company logo -- has become very common. There is nothing wrong with onboarding employees with company-branded gifts, but how do you stand out?

You customize the gifts. 

Before the joining day, send all the new hires a questionnaire asking about their favorite:

• TV shows and movies
• Snacks and cuisine
• Interests and hobbies

After you gather data about your new employees' favorites, welcome them using customized gifts like:

• A snack box
•  An accessory of their favorite TV show 
• Or anything that aligns with an employee's hobbies

You can use the services of companies like  Caroo  and  Swagup  to make gifting easier. 

For more ideas on welcome boxes for new employees, read:

➡️ Welcome package for employees - 10 ideas

A one-on-one or 1:1 meeting with the project manager or team lead allows new hires to ask questions freely without fear of judgment by other employees.

It also enables the manager to give undivided attention to a new team member, making the hire feel respected. Managers can also use this time to share the technical aspects of the job and resolve any doubts simultaneously.

A 1:1 meeting might not be possible on the first day at big companies as they usually onboard multiple people on the same day. But the benefits of adding one are immense. Moreover, a meeting with the manager can help employees start their role on the right foot.

A roadmap gives the new hire a plan of action for the upcoming weeks. 

But why share one in the first place? 

A roadmap can help recently joined employees avoid confusion about their responsibilities and thus improve productivity. It gives the new employees direction to work towards their and the organization's goals with enthusiasm. Failing to provide employees with any advice can cause the failure to channel their spirit and energy into the job.

Netflix  shares the roadmap for the first week of their new hires. The roadmap is clear, broad, and specific, making it the perfect start for every employee. Their new hires feel motivated to return the next day and perform well.

Do you know what's worse than utter confusion on the first day?

It's feeling like the new kid during lunchtime. And it's not anyone's fault.

Most people like to stick to the people they know. But it means the new hire may feel excluded. If many people join on the same day, you can take the new hires to lunch and ask the company's leadership to accompany them.

The idea is to make socialization easier and avoid the feeling of loneliness. And just like the icebreakers, group lunches may also boost friendliness, which is beneficial for your company and the new hire.

And for continuous lunch dates across the whole organization, consider setting up lunch roulettes.

Who's a buddy? 

A buddy is an existing employee who understands the company's culture, is at a similar or identical designation as the new hire, and can help the new employee with ad hoc tasks. They can meet the new hire on their first day, show them around the office, and help them with their doubts about the work and the company. 

A buddy program is a great way to make the new hires feel comfortable and reduce the anxiety associated with joining a new workplace. 

Companies like  Microsoft  consider having a "buddy program" a significant part of ensuring a positive onboarding experience. 

Want to know how to create an onboarding buddy program? Read:   How and Why to Create an Onboarding Buddy Program (Free Template + Checklist)

❌ 6 Mistakes to avoid during new hire orientation

A new hire orientation is not just about what you should do but also what you must avoid. All your effort will go wasted if you commit these mistakes in your new hires' orientation program.

Disorganization

Nobody likes chaos, especially in a new company. If the processes and schedules are always a mess, the employee will feel like that's how the company functions. And no one likes to work in a chaotic environment. 

New hires will feel valued and prepared for the role if the company's orientation is well-prepared. Have a plan for new hire orientation, stick to a schedule, and send employees the orientation schedule before the joining date.

Poor first impressions

First impressions matter. 

If the HR manager is late, it will communicate that the company doesn't emphasize punctuality. Or suppose the team and HR managers act rude or busy in the first interaction; in that case, the new hires will feel unappreciated. And it might affect their enthusiasm for their work and reduce their productivity. 

Aspire to deliver the best orientation experiences to new employees. 

Making assumptions

Even though you may assume that experienced professionals would know how things work around your office, it's vital to start every orientation by explaining how your business operates. Describe your operations in detail so that new employees know what's expected of them.

Lack of clarity about the expectations

Orientation is a great way to lay the groundwork and be honest about the job's full scope. If you're unable to share clear goals, it may leave the new employees confused, and that's not the best way to channel their enthusiasm. 

And clarity is not the only crucial factor. Don't understate or exaggerate an employee's responsibilities in contrast to what the company communicated during the hiring rounds. Miscommunication is known to hamper team productivity and bonding. 

Overflow of information

It's tempting to speed up the orientation so that new employees can start working at the earliest. But an excess of information can cause new hires to feel overwhelmed and confused.

Planning an all-day event may result in your new hires zoning out by lunchtime. And, who can blame them? No one wants to sit through an entire day on their first day attending presentations.

So, instead, break up the day into several shorter sessions spread over several days. 

Go slow and give them time to settle. Take a few days to complete the orientation process rather than speeding through it in one day.

Neglecting to collect feedback

For a good reason, many people stress the need for feedback. It helps you iterate and make the process better. Whether it's  candidate experience  or the orientation for new hires, it's crucial to know whether it's effective or not. 

How would you know if your process is outdated?

By asking for detailed feedback. 

At the end of orientation, ask the new employees for their input and what things could have been better. Ask the facilitator to speak briefly with each new hire to understand their opinions about the orientation process. 

⏱ How often should you change your new hire orientation?

If the feedback consistently suggests changes, you need to look at your processes deeply. If the input is good, there is no need to change the orientation process significantly. 

Many professionals might have joined your company after working at a competitor's. Use this opportunity to understand how employee orientation and onboarding are done at other successful organizations and improve accordingly.  

Keep updating your orientation process based on the latest trends and data. If something promising catches your eye, implement it. 

Since you've integrated feedback into your process, you can see how effective each activity is for the engagement of your new hires.

❤️ Create an onboarding experience your people will love

Are you also wasting hours inviting every single new hire to their respective orientation events - depending on their location, starting date, department, etc?

With Zavvy, you can set up your orientation events once - and invite new hires on autopilot.

• Based on the exact criteria you set
• And with data from your HRIS system
• Along with engaging journeys for preboarding and onboarding.

Learn how Zavvy's orientation event scheduling software works

Zavvy also lets you deliver unique onboarding experiences on autopilot. With its time-saving features for HR professionals, you can onboard, train, and connect with your new hires on autopilot.

Boost and channel your new hires' enthusiasm, eagerness, and productivity through our tried and tested software. 

How Is employee orientation different from onboarding?

Employee orientation is a subset of employee onboarding and is used to officially welcome an employee to the organization. The goal of orientation is to communicate an organization's mission, culture, and policies to a new hire. It's also an opportunity for an employer to clarify any doubts about payroll, benefits, and the general code of conduct. 

Orientation is the first phase of onboarding and usually happens on the joining day and ends within the first week.

Employee onboarding is a long process compared to orientation and includes training and bringing the employee up to speed. Onboarding starts with an employee accepting the job offer and continues for many weeks or even months in some cases. 

Who is responsible for conducting a new hire orientation?

Ideating and coordinating a new employee orientation is primarily the HR department's responsibility. But every stakeholder (from project manager to a buddy) should take ownership of it by working together to create a welcoming experience for every new employee.

Alex is a marketer at Zavvy. On this blog, he mainly shares insights gained from discussions with selected experts and from helping our customers set up and improve their onboarding or learning programs.

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New Hire Orientation Icebreakers That Are Actually Good

May 5, 2022 - 10 min read

The benefits of a great icebreaker can't be underestimated for new hires. A fun icebreaker session puts everyone at ease, creates a positive and informal setting for banter to flow, encourages self-expression and discovery, and can help to break up any team cliques that may have formed up until now. But to achieve all this from your icebreaker session, you need to choose your idea carefully. 

Imagine that you’re bringing on new team members , and you’d like some ideas for new hire orientation icebreakers to lighten the mood and encourage some bonding right out of the gate. But here’s the problem: Everything you’ve found so far is...well, a little cheesy. 

You want your team to get to know each other on a deeper level, but you don’t necessarily think trust falls are the best way to make it happen. Things can also get awkward fast if the new employee orientation games aren’t right for the team size or dynamic. 

Now what? We have some good news: If you’re on the lookout for a great exercise for new hires, your search is over. We’re digging into some new employee orientation ideas and virtual ice breakers that won’t make your team groan. 

Want to make new employee onboarding even smoother? Grab this free checklist template .   

New hire orientation games for small teams

Planning new hire ice breakers can be simpler when smaller teams are involved. Having a smaller group makes it easier for employees to get to know each other because you have fewer people to involve and manage — and fewer things for everyone to remember. 

Here are a few new hire ice breakers that will help your team get to know each other on a deeper level. 

1. Two truths and a lie

You might also hear this one called “fact or fiction.” Everyone should write down three things about themselves on a piece of paper. Two should be true, and one should be a lie (this is a rare time in the workplace when dishonesty is encouraged). 

Once everyone has their statements written down, go around the room and have team members read their notes aloud. The rest of the group then has to guess which statement is a lie. Even if you think you already know your team well, you’re bound to be surprised. 

2. Name that person

Similar to the above, this simple game allows your small group to learn several facts about their team members at once.

Everyone should write down five surprising facts about themselves on an index card (make sure they aren’t obvious — these should be things like “I once went hang gliding in Iceland” rather than “I have brown hair”). Once that’s done, put all of the cards in a pile and mix them up.

Take turns grabbing a card and reading the facts. It’s up to your team to decide who that card is describing. Make sure you keep track of how many you get right! 

3. Word link

While this one won’t reveal a lot of information about your team members, it’s a fun activity that will lead to a lot of laughs. 

Have your group sit in a circle and pick a starting person. They should say a word (for example, “big”). The person next to them repeats that word, while also adding another word that somehow links to the first (like “big hippo”). The next person repeats those two words and adds their own… and so on. See how long your team can keep the chain going. 

New hire ice breakers for big teams

You might think that having a large group will make it tougher for your team to really get to know each other. However, there are several new employee orientation games that are even more fun with a big group. 

1. Superlatives 

Split your team into smaller groups of around eight players. Then, instruct them to arrange themselves according to some sort of sortable category. Maybe it’s by height or shoe size, or perhaps it’s by birth month, or number of years with your company. The sky’s the limit!

Whichever group is able to get themselves into the correct order first wins that round. 

2. Mingle mingle mingle

Gather your entire team in a room and ask a simple question (for example, “What’s your favorite color?”). Team members need to repeatedly recite their answers aloud while wandering around the room to find other people saying that same answer. 

This game is a great way for people to find common ground with others, despite your team’s larger size. 

3. Name aerobics

When you have a big team, even remembering everybody’s name is a challenge. This simple game helps with memorization in an active way.

Arrange team members in a big circle and ask for a volunteer to go first. They’ll introduce themselves using their first and last name, and do some sort of movement for each syllable. 

Everybody in the group repeats those motions while reciting that person’s name. Repeat that with each member of the circle. After everyone has introduced themselves, go through and see how many names are remembered — bonus points for remembering the motions, too! 

New employee orientation games for virtual teams

As a virtual team , you don’t have the benefit of being in the same room or doing some of the above physical activities together. But, that doesn’t mean that new hire ice breakers are off-limits for you. Here are a few virtual ice breakers you can try in virtual onboarding programs . 

1. Emoji questions

This is one you can easily do via email or your instant message platform. Ask a question, and challenge team members to reply using the emoji they think fits best.

Anything from “what’s your favorite food?” to “how are you feeling?” could work here. Don’t be afraid to get creative! 

2. Photo sharing

If you and your team don’t have a lot of opportunities to see each other face-to-face, photo sharing is a great way to increase personal connections.

Set a photo theme for the day. Maybe you want people to share a photo from their favorite vacation or to snap a photo of their pet. Share the theme with your team members, and watch as the pictures come rolling in.

3. Shared playlist 

Here’s a chance for your team to collaborate on something together. Even better? This shared initiative has nothing to do with their work projects .

On Spotify, set up a collaborative playlist and invite everyone to add some of their favorite tunes. Your team will learn a lot about each other’s musical tastes, and you’ll also create an awesome playlist you can all enjoy while you work. 

New employee orientation ideas to avoid

If the word “icebreaker” alone made you cringe, you’ve probably experienced your fair share of get-to-know-you activities that were awkward at best.

Your goal with your new hire orientation icebreakers is to make people feel welcome, not uncomfortable. You can make sure your activities don’t backfire by avoiding anything that:

• Gets too personal: Remember, this is still a work team — you don’t want to get into details that are too intimate or sensitive.
• Invades personal space: Not everybody is comfortable with physical contact, so don’t make that mandatory.
• Unintentionally excludes team members: Your team is full of employees of varying abilities, and you need to keep that in mind. An icebreaker game that involves a lot of running, for example, won’t be doable for your team member who’s on crutches. 

One way to ensure your chosen icebreakers are inclusive and effective is to invite your team members to suggest them. Ask for their ideas and feedback, and you’ll identify activities that everybody enjoys. 

How to make new staff feel welcome: Don’t skip out on fun

Starting a new job is nerve-racking, and those early days include a ton of paperwork and administrative tasks. 

Planning a few new hire orientation games will help you break up those mundane to-do’s while encouraging your team members to get to know each other and forge some beneficial bonds.

Think you can’t pull this off with your own group? Think again. Icebreakers are doable on all types of teams — small, large, and even virtual onboarding programs. Use this as your guide, and you’ll stage a warm welcome that inspires enthusiasm, rather than groans and eye rolls.

Kat Boogaard

Kat is a Midwest-based contributing writer. She covers topics related to careers, self-development, and the freelance life. She is also a columnist for Inc., writes for The Muse, is Career Editor for The Everygirl, and a contributor all over the web.

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New Employee Orientation: 9 Best Practices To Apply

In this article, we dive into new employee orientation. We look at its definition, benefits, and best practices and we’ll give you an example of what orientation can look like. We’ll also share a new employee orientation checklist. Here goes!  

Contents What is new employee orientation? Onboarding vs. new employee orientation Benefits of employee orientation   New employee orientation best practices   New employee orientation ideas New employee orientation checklist   Wrapping up   FAQ

What is new employee orientation? A definition 

New employee orientation (NEO) is the process of introducing new hires to their jobs, colleagues, and the organization. It’s about who you are as a company , about how new hires fit in, and about why they are important.  

A proposed framework for designing a new employee orientation program is called ROPES, an acronym for Realistic Orientation Programs for new Employee Stress ( Wanous & Reichers, 2000 ). Fun fact: it was John Wanous who came up with the term ‘ROPES’ in 1992 since newcomers need to ‘learn the ropes.’ 

We’ll discuss some aspects of the ROPES model in more detail in the best practices section of this article. 

Onboarding vs. new employee orientation 

A word on the difference between onboarding and new employee orientation is in order since one can easily be confused with the other. 

The onboarding period starts as soon as a candidate signs the offer letter – and hence becomes a future employee. It ends when the employee is able to autonomously do the job they were hired to do. 

New employee orientation, on the other hand, focuses on newcomers during their first day/week. As such, NEO is (an essential) part of the onboarding process.  

In other words, when it comes to onboarding vs. new employee orientation, the former involves a (much) longer process than the latter. Both, however, have the same goal; to familiarize new hires with the organization, the people, and the job. 

Benefits of new employee orientation

Frequently named benefits of employee orientation include: 

• Reducing stress and anxiety. This is probably the number one benefit of new employee orientation. No matter how well you’ve prepared candidates during the recruitment process, they’ll still be nervous on their first day. A well-organized orientation helps to reduce that stress and provides clarity about what’s on the agenda for people’s first day and beyond. 
• Increase commitment to the organization. A proper orientation will make new hires feel welcome, appreciated, and needed right from the start. This will increase their commitment.
• Increase productivity, decrease mistakes. When done well, new employee orientation will help employees get up to speed faster. It will also help in avoiding (unnecessary) mistakes.  
• Reduce turnover. As a result of the three benefits just mentioned, employee turnover should go down; employee orientation shows people the organization cares and provides them with the tools they need to do their job well.      
• Contributing to a positive relationship and communication between the new hire, their colleagues, and manager.

9 New employee orientation best practices 

Let’s have a look at some new employee orientation best practices. According to Wanous and Reicher , new employee orientation should first of all focus on teaching coping skills for the most important stressors that newcomers are facing. This leads to the following best practices:   

• 1. Include realistic information. This is to manage expectations and avoid disappointment – once again. I say once again because ideally, you have already presented candidates with a realistic job preview during the recruitment process to avoid unrealistic expectations in the first place. Include information about what you expect from the new hire, for instance in the form of a 90-day plan. 
• 2. Provide general support and reassurance. Starting a new job is (very) stressful for most of us. The purpose of new employee orientation is to take away this stress and to reassure people.  Research has found that one of the best ways to cope with stress is to have social support (Fisher 1985, Nelson et al. 1991). One way to create this kind of support is by assigning every new hire a buddy or peer mentor . Not only can they play a big role in socializing newcomers, but they can also help them find their way around the organization. 

New employee orientation, however, involves more than teaching people how to deal with stress and managing expectations. Other best practices include: 

• 3. Include the organizational culture. While certain ways of doing things (as simple as having lunch and addressing colleagues by their first name) might seem obvious to those who are already in the company, they probably won’t be for newcomers. Make sure to include this so-called organizational socialization in your employee orientation.  
• 4. Prepare for the first day of orientation. This is true for the organization, the manager, and the new hire. Before orientation starts, make sure the new hire’s workspace is fully ready (this means hardware and software) and that the manager is fully ready (this means present on d-day) too. As for the new hire, make sure they have all the information they need to get to the office, park if necessary, and that they are able to actually get into the office. This already takes some uncertainty/anxiety away. 
• 5. Colleagues, fun, and games. Make sure the new hire’s future colleagues know he or she is arriving and plan some quality time during orientation. This can be when the newcomer gets in first thing in the morning, during lunch, or during an office tour. Someone’s first day is one of those moments they tend to remember so try to add some fun elements to the mix. Like new employee orientation games. There are plenty of games you can come up with but one example is a game called Photo Hunt. The idea is to give the new hire a picture of other employees and a list of names which they have to match.   
• 6. Explain the software. Employee orientation should include a part about the software and tools new hires will be using. This will for sure involve an explanation about the tools everyone in the company uses (think of internal chat systems, email, expenses forms, etc.). Depending on the role-specific software someone will be working with the software training will be more or less elaborate. 

The aforementioned best practices are related to the content side of new employee orientation. We’ll conclude with a few best practices regarding the process:

• 7. Use checklists. Checklists are a great way to create structure and to make sure that all the necessary steps are done.  
• 8. Be consistent. Creating structure is all well and good, but if people don’t consistently use the checklists provided it’s useless. In other words, make sure managers use (the latest version of) your checklists for every new employee orientation.   
• 9. Evaluate & improve. Gather feedback from new employees, improve your process, and keep optimizing your new employee orientation. 

New employee orientation ideas 

When it comes to new employee orientation ideas there are heaps of examples. Here are some ideas from our own orientation at AIHR on the first day and in the first week. We’ll take you through them as if you just joined our company.

On the first day 

• Around 9 am: The new hire arrives at the office and is welcomed with cake, donuts and (or) champagne. To make the day as festive as possible, we start it off with a cake, donuts, or a few bottles of champagne. The idea is to share these sweet snacks with everyone in the office as it provides a great, informal opportunity to meet the whole team. It also introduces people to the company culture and makes them feel warmly welcomed into their new work family.
• Around 9h30: Discuss the agenda for the day. Once the first pressure is off and the new hire feels more at ease, they sit down with their manager to look at the agenda for the day. The goal is to provide the employee with structure so they know what to expect.  
• At 09h45: Give an office tour. This is a key part of new employee orientation as knowing their way around the office helps people feel more at home immediately. Therefore it’s good to do the office tour within the first hour. Show new hires the kitchen/canteen, how the coffee machine works, where the bathrooms are (crucial information!), the offices, printers, and how to close the office if one day they are the last ones to leave the building.  Introduce to colleagues + team. During the office tour, when you show the new hire the actual office(s), we introduce them (again) to everyone including their team. While they’ve already seen many of their colleagues during the cake/champagne celebration in the morning, there are always people who couldn’t be there. Since they’ll be working closely with the other members of their team, we always plan a one-on-one with each team member during the first week of orientation (more on that later).
• Around 10h30 (depending on the size of your office and number of colleagues):  90-day plan. Here, the new employee receives his or her 90-day plan including an elaborate explanation of all the different elements. This helps with managing their expectations and providing structure.   
• Around 11h30:  A moment to breathe. For the remainder of the morning until lunchtime, give people a moment to sit down and process their first impressions – and information – they’ve received so far. 
• Between 12h00 and 14h00: Have a team lunch. Organize a team lunch to make people’s first day even more memorable. This provides both the new hire and their colleagues the chance to get to know each other a little better in a more informal setting. 
• Around 13h30 (or whenever lunch is finished):  Company presentation. Kick off the afternoon in a fun, yet informative way with a company presentation. At AIHR, this is done by the company founders and mostly focused on how the company works in terms of teams and roles, and its culture. This is also when we share the company’s goal, mission, and vision.  
• At 2 pm: Weekly + monthly structure. This is when the manager sits down with the new hire again. The idea is to present them with the company’s weekly and monthly structure. For us, this includes our weekly and daily standup meetings, monthly drinks and business update, and our weekly lunch surprise.   Invite to team calender events + holiday calendar. During this ‘structure sitdown’ the new hire is added to the calendar for the above-mentioned activities and also gets access to our company holiday calendar.    Provide access to Employee Resources Folder. (handbook, expenses form, etc.) These are more boring activities but no less relevant and they can also be ‘ticked off’ during the same meeting. 
• Around 3 pm: End the day early. The official agenda for the first day of orientation is closed. Give people the freedom to either go home early to celebrate or, if they want to, stay in the office and start working on a project or chat with colleagues. Be cool!

In the first week

New employee orientation ideas for the first week could be: 

• Pick a restaurant. Let the new hire pick out a restaurant for lunch. This can either be a restaurant you go to or take away if you prefer having lunch all together in the office. 
• One-on-ones with team members. You can also include these individual sit-downs in your first-day orientation but if the agenda gets too full, or if certain team members weren’t around, schedule a quick meeting for the first week. 
• Sit-down with the hiring manager. On top of, ideally, a daily sit-down with the new hire, the hiring manager should have one to recap the first week too. What went well, what could be better, is there anything else that needs to be addressed? 
• Plan a company pitch. Personally, I like this idea a lot. Asking every newcomer to pitch the company to the rest of the organization helps them to get an even better understanding of what the company they just joined is and does. 
• Add the new employee to the company page. Adding them to the ‘About us’ team page helps in making them feel part of the family. 
• Introduce newcomers on LinkedIn. The same thing goes for introducing people on LinkedIn as your newest colleagues. This also helps to build a closer connection with customers.
• Plan 90-day plan check-in meetings. The 90-day plan you discussed on the new hire’s first day needs to be evaluated – schedule monthly meetings for this during the first week of orientation.  

New employee orientation checklist

Below you’ll find a new employee orientation checklist both for the first day and the first week. You can use these as a source of inspiration for your own employee orientation, literally copy and paste them, or pick and choose the elements that are relevant for your organization.

And here’s a checklist example for the first week:

Wrapping up

New employee orientation is an exciting time both for the new hire and the organization. A well-structured and thought-out process that doesn’t compromise on the emotional and human side of starting a new job goes a long way in building a lasting relationship with your people. What are your employee orientation experiences? Any good ideas you’d like to share? Don’t hesitate to do so in the comments below.

New employee orientation (NEO) is the process of introducing new hires to their jobs, colleagues, and the organization.

Benefits of new employee orientation include reduced stress and anxiety, an increased commitment to the organization, increased productivity, less mistakes, reduced turnover, and a more positive relationship with colleagues and managers.

New employee orientation should: provide realistic information about the job and what you expect from the new hire, include the company culture, reassure newcomers, make room for fun with colleagues, and teach about relevant software and tools.

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How to Create a Successful New Hire Orientation Program

The initial weeks or months on the job are especially pivotal for new hires in establishing attitudes about their duties, their colleagues and your company. New hire orientation planned for this early period must not only provide job-related information but also foster a clear understanding of your firm’s philosophy and core values.

Many businesses do not have the resources — including the time or money — necessary to develop an extensive new hire orientation program. But such a program is essential to make sure new hires are successful and to boost employee retention in the long run.

The big-picture goal of new hire orientation, of course, is to help you create a rigorous, ongoing process of acclimating employees to their new work environment and expectations for the role. The devil is in the details, however. Here are some ideas about how to start your new hires off on the right footing through the development of a new hire orientation and mentorship program.

Onboarding new hires

New hire orientation is not a stand-alone event, but part of a bigger process, often called employee onboarding . Some view onboarding as just a new buzzword for orientation, but it’s actually your opportunity to do far more to ensure that new employees become productive and satisfied members of your staff.

Depending on your company’s size and the complexity of the work, an onboarding program can last from several weeks to several months. It covers matters related to training, scheduled milestones, mentoring programs and interactive meetings where employees can ask questions about corporate or departmental initiatives.

5 basic steps of new hire orientation

• The first day: Ease anxieties — It begins from the very minute new hires walk into the building or onto the job site. Offer a first-day welcome to begin the process of making them feel at home. Have an agenda for the first couple days so the newcomers know what to expect. Personally introduce them to other members of the team. Schedule a lunch with the new employees and their managers on the first day.
• The first week: Reveal more about the company and the job — The first few days on the job are the best time to reinforce what you talked about during the interview process and build a sense of connection with the company. In a survey by Robert Half, 35 percent of executives whose firms offer an onboarding program said the greatest benefit is that it helps employees better understand the company’s values, guidelines and expectations.
• Provide the rules of the road — Make sure that new employees are aware of policies regarding their immediate work areas. Don’t take anything for granted, particularly basic considerations such as where employees park, how they sign in and, for nonexempt employees, how they clock in and out for work shifts and meal periods — and the importance of them doing so properly. It is also helpful to discuss office etiquette.
• Give a clear sense of tasks and set concrete goals — During the first week of work, newly hired employees need to sit down with their supervisors for an in-depth discussion about job responsibilities and goal setting. New employees should come away from this discussion with a crystal-clear understanding of expectations, tasks and priorities. In the process, the employees and supervisors will clarify the job’s objectives and, most important, work together to set specific, concrete goals for the newcomer.
• Align individual goals with corporate strategy — Managers must ensure that new hires fully understand the company’s strategic goals and are properly prepared to deliver through individual objectives that support this higher-level vision. When employees are aware of what they’re being evaluated for and what’s expected, they tend to do a better job. And when they’re encouraged to create goals that are in sync with something larger, workers tend to feel more of a sense of purpose and importance, which leads to a happier workplace .

The importance of mentoring in new hire orientation

Mentoring programs have become a popular way for firms to assist new hires during the initial months on the job. By being paired with appropriate mentors (more experienced employees who act as a new hire’s guide to your workplace), newcomers gain valuable, real-world experience and skills that are difficult to transmit in classroom settings or workshops.

Businesses that implement employee mentorship programs as part of their new hire orientation find a lot of benefit in them. Learn strategies for including these opportunities into your new hire orientation program.

Beyond new hire orientation

A key part of the onboarding process is thorough follow-up. You or supervising managers should meet with new hires at predetermined points: two weeks after the first day on the job, a month after, two months after, or at intervals that work best for each job’s complexity and take into account any changes in responsibilities.

Following the lead of performance reviews , these meetings allow you to check in with new hires to find out how things are going. You could ask some of these questions:

• How well do they understand the company and their role?
• Do they have any questions that haven’t been answered?
• How has communication been with their managers?
• Do they feel prepared for their new role?
• Have the job-specific training programs the company has provided been helpful? Do they address the right areas? Are they worth the time being spent on them?
• What future developmental experiences would they like to see?

The company values and best practices you stressed during the new hire orientation period should come through loud and clear, month after month — through the actions of role models such as supervisors and mentors, as well as through internal communications, such as employee publications and your company's private network. In ongoing training activities, continue to make it plain that values such as respect for colleagues, commitment to quality service, and doing what’s right rather than what’s easy or convenient aren’t just first-day lip service but essential elements to your philosophy of doing business.

New Hire Orientation

What Is New Hire Orientation?

Orientation versus onboarding, why it’s important to have a great orientation.

• Make new employees feel welcome . Orientation is a new hire’s first experience as an official member of your team. They may be nervous about entering a new work environment, so it’s important that they are met with a welcoming environment.
• Prepare new hires for the role you hired them for . No matter how experienced a new hire is, you have to set them up for success in your organization. Tailoring your new hire orientation to the specific role you’ve hired for can help ensure they get the right knowledge and resources to perform their job.
• Cover all federal and organizational legal requirements . New hire orientation should include completing mandatory paperwork . This includes federal documents like their W-2 and organization-specific documents like the employee handbook .
• Increase engagement. Orientation programs that help new hires feel comfortable in their work environment can increase their engagement early on, making for a happier, more productive employee.
• Reduce turnover. A new hire that experiences an orientation that prepares them for their new role and makes them feel like a valued part of the company is more likely to remain with the company.

What to Go Over in New Hire Orientation

1. organizational history, 2. introduction to executive leaders, 3. policies and procedures.

• Information about your company's commitment to equal employment opportunity (EEO) policies
• Harassment policies
• Safety and security procedures
• Disciplinary policies
• Paid time off (PTO) policies
• Other policies important to the organization

4. Payroll Procedures

5. department or division-specific information, 6. frequently asked questions (faqs), 7. any additional questions, sample new hire orientation schedule, before their first day - welcome message.

9:00 AM - Orientation Check-In and Welcome Breakfast

10:00 am - welcome presentation and agenda review, 10:30 am - company history, mission, and values, 11:30 am - breakout sessions to meet with division-specific managers, 12:00 pm - catered lunch break, 1:00 pm - executive team welcome, 2:00 pm - review policies, procedures, and employee handbooks, 3:00 pm - office tour, 4:00 pm - payroll procedures and faqs, orientation for remote employees, provide a schedule, familiarize them with the company culture, help them feel like part of the team, other tips for leading a great employee orientation.

• Don’t try to cover everything in one day . Cramming all of the information in one day is likely to overwhelm new hires and they will probably forget some of the information. Instead, break orientation into several days that allow them to absorb as much information as possible.
• Keep it light . New hires are typically nervous and anxious about starting a new position. Make it easy for them. Keep your orientation program light and welcoming.
• Utilize software and technology . Some orientation tasks can be completed independently using HR software and technology. A few tasks, like mandatory paperwork, can even be completed before the first day.

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