Sink or Swim – A Case for Employee Orientation

Scenario

Jill and Ben have accepted positions as business consultants with two different Fortune 500 organizations. Both have MBAs and at least five years of experience as business consultants.

On Jill’s first day, her manager greets her in the company lobby with a warm smile and firm handshake. He escorts her to her new office. Jill is pleased to see that the office is clean, has a working computer, and is stocked with supplies. After putting her things away, her manager gives her a tour of the building and takes her to get her employee badge. When they return, he briefly introduces her to her colleagues, most of whom are already familiar with her because of an introductory e-mail sent out the week before. Next, they go to his office, where he provides her with her schedule for the next three weeks. It includes a number of “getting to know you” meetings with her new colleagues and clients, and outlines a series of online orientation courses and in-person workshops where she’ll learn about the company’s values, mission and consulting methodologies. The team then takes Jill to lunch, where she is introduced to her mentor. She spends the remainder of the day settling into her office and beginning the schedule prepared by her manager.

On Ben’s first day, he is greeted by the department’s administrative assistant, who profusely apologizes that Ben’s manager will be unable to meet with him until 11:00 a.m. She is in a meeting that is running longer than expected. The administrative assistant escorts Ben to his office and hands him about 20 sheets of paperwork to complete. She tells Ben that she will be back in about an hour, and shows him the restroom as she hurries back to her cube. Ben looks around his office and notices that it lacks supplies or a computer, so he uses his own pen to complete the forms.

Ben finishes his forms in about 15 minutes and waits patiently for his manager. A few people pass by his office, but they seem rushed, so Ben doesn’t introduce himself. After about an hour and a half, Ben’s manager comes by. She apologizes again for not being available to greet him and hands him four large binders, one for each project he’ll be working on. She asks him to spend the remainder of the day reading the content in the binders. They will meet the next morning to discuss his next steps for each of the projects. She also gives Ben a list of 20 online orientation courses and asks that he complete them within the first two weeks, but explains that IT is backlogged and won’t be able to get him a computer for a couple of days. In the meantime, he’ll just have to keep himself busy with the project binders. She tells him that there is a deli across the street that he can go to for lunch, and then scurries off to another meeting.

After six months, Jill is thriving. She’s made some valuable connections with her colleagues and is extremely productive.

Ben is a different story. He is still struggling to learn the corporate culture and the processes associated with his responsibilities. He has decided to post his résumé on an Internet job board. He is not the only one to do so in his department; in fact, employee turnover at Ben’s company is at an all-time high. The cost of recruiting, hiring and developing employees who resign within the first six months is negatively affecting the company’s bottom line. The CEO has asked the vice president of human resources to appoint a task force to investigate the high turnover and create a strategy for retaining top talent.

1. What are the key differences regarding the first day of work for these two employees? 2. Are these differences really important elements for recruitment and retention of employees? Explain. 3. What are the employee perceptions involved in these two scenarios? Are they important? 4. Who in the company do you think has the responsibility for the outcomes of these scenarios?