© 2010 Jones and Bartlett Publishers, LLC

Umiker's Management Skills for the New Health

Care Supervisor, Fifth Edition

Charles McConnell

© 2010 Jones and Bartlett Publishers, LLC

Chapter 10

Orientation and Training of Orientation and Training of

New EmployeesNew Employees

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New Employee Orientation --

-- Presents the best opportunity to establish open lines of communication with new hires; at this time they are:

free from the distortions of peer groups have not yet formed strong opinions

about the job, the organization, or the boss, and

they are eager to please.

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An Orientation Program Should:

Create a favorable impression of the organization, department, and supervisor.

Establish responsibilities and accountabilities.

Ensure they learn everything they need to perform their work.

Provide full information about pay scales, benefits programs, etc.

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An Orientation Program Should (more):

Describe policies, rules, and regulations

Provide checklists of tasks to ensure that all topics are covered.

Encourage employee feedback. Emphasize the importance of

teamwork, flexibility, innovativeness, and the ability to adapt to change.

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An Orientation Program Should (more):

Facilitate satisfaction of their need to be accepted

Provide initial experiences that result in early successes

Identify the kinds of customers and emphasize the importance of satisfying them

Initiate the newcomers into the rituals and practices of the work group

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Hospital Orientation Programs

There is usually a general orientation to

the hospital, presented by human

resources and others.

General orientation is ideally followed

with a department-specific orientation.

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New Employees Want to Know:

Where is my workstation? And the cafeteria, restrooms, and parking areas?

What are my duties and responsibilities? How do I answer the telephone, get

supplies, and operate the computer, etc.?

How will I know if I am doing satisfactory work?

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New Employees Want to Know (more):

Why do I have to do the things that have been assigned to me?

Why must we do things this particular way?

What are my starting and quitting times and breaks, when is payday, and when does my probationary period end?

To whom do I report?

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Getting Ready for Orientees

Send letters of welcome and reporting instructions.

Arrange your schedule so you can devote most of the first day to the newcomer(s).

Review the orientation and training check-off lists.

Prepare an agenda covering the first week.

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Getting Ready for Orientees (more)

Prepare an orientation packet that includes:

 1. statement of departmental vision, mission, values, and goals

 2. a department organization chart  3. a job description and standards 4. the personnel policy and procedures

manual  5. orientation and training schedules

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Orientation packet (cont’d)

6. checklists and program evaluation forms

7. performance appraisal forms 8. probationary evaluation form9. safety, infection control, and quality

assurance policies, procedures, and rules

10. names, titles, and locations of trainers 11. key telephone numbers

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With New Employee, Discuss:

Mission, corporate values, and goals of the organization. Explain how the functions of the department relate to these.

Employee’s position description and performance standards. Describe both acceptable and unacceptable behavior.

Survival information: work hours, overtime rules, compensatory time, vacation and sick leave policies, etc.

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With New Employee, Discuss (cont’d)

How performance is evaluated and

reported.

Current managerial initiatives. These may

include reengineering, quality programs,

etc.

Current educational or marketing programs

relating to customer service

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With New Employee, Discuss (cont’d)

You may also want to cover:

1. how you prefer to be addressed

2. that you expect innovativeness

3. that you welcome suggestions and insist on hearing about any complaints or other comments from customers

4. things that annoy you (for example, tardiness, abuse of sick leave, chronic lateness for meetings, etc.)

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Keys to Exceeding Customer Expectations.

Be a risk taker, willing to make tough

decisions and take action for customers

that may be against policies or rules,

provided they are legal, moral, and

ethical.

Be friendly.

Be sincere.

Relax and have fun.

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Colleagues

Introduce the newcomer to the staff

over a short period of time, without

presenting the person with many

names and feces at once.

Re-introduce the newcomer to the

group as a whole at a staff meeting.

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Get Help from Your Specialists

Trainer or educational coordinator

Safety coordinator

Quality assurance or quality

improvement coordinator

Mentors (use willing and experienced

employees)

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Training the New Employee

Instill good work habits, behavior, ethics,

and attitudes before bad ones develop.

Assign your best people to do your

training.

Tailor the training during the orientation

phase to each new employee’s needs.