Management

Difference Between Orientation And Onboarding

Difference Between Orientation And Onboarding

Orientation and onboarding are vital components to integrating a replacement employee into a corporation or organization. The corporate holds an orientation program so as to tell the new joinee about the company’s fundamental details about its mission, vision, objectives, policies, etc.

On the contrary, within the case of onboarding, the worker gets to grasp about his/her role within the company and everyone other detail which is relevant to the work or position are provided. The first goal is to acclimate the new hires in such a way that they’ll want to stay with the corporate for the future. In any corporation, turnover is expensive and negatively impacts the underside line.

Orientation and onboarding training aren’t mutually exclusive. It is not a matter of selecting one over the opposite. They add conjunction to supply a comprehensive training experience for new hires.

Definition of Orientation –

Orientation is an initiative within the onboarding process. It’s the initial welcome and introduction to the organization’s history, mission, vision, values, and organizational structures. Common orientation activities include completion of recent hire paperwork, benefits enrollment, and introduction to payroll procedures, administrative and technology services, and policies. The human resources department usually leads the orientation process, which generally lasts one or two days.

In general, orientation is conducted on the very first day or week of the joining, in a conference type event, wherein all the newly appointed employees of the various departments are brought together, and necessary information is provided in the form of presentation. It provides the following information:

  • Basic information about the day to day work.
  • Overview of the firm’s history, founders, etc.
  • Mission, Vision, Objectives, Operations, Offerings, etc.
  • Employee’s health and safety, company policies, compensation and benefits, attendance, and leaves.

During orientation, employees receive their identification cards or badges and keys and security codes, learn where to travel for office supplies, meet team members, and browse and log out on policies. As valuable as these activities are to the whole onboarding process, orientation alone doesn’t liken to covering the depth of topics or engagement that an onboarding program does and it had been never meant to.

Definition of Onboarding –

Onboarding is the ongoing, comprehensive process of integrating new employees with an organization and its culture. The process, which can last up to a year or more, mainly occurs at the department or campus level between supervisors and employees. It is a strategic process that is concerned with assisting the new hire in transition with the new environment. It is a crucial element to the talent acquisition, development, and retention strategy of the firm.

Onboarding is customized as per the wants of the individual employee, i.e. his/her role, training, mentoring, and employee engagement. During the method, the worker learns what’s expected from him, concerning the talents, communication, abilities, and attitude.

Successful onboarding allows new hires to be told the social and performance aspects of the work while securing the tools and data needed for his or her new positions. Advantages include, but aren’t limited to, quicker employee assimilation into the organization, higher productivity within the job, and increased probability of retention for the organization. An effective onboarding lasts up to one year or so, which covers continuous communication, feedback, and performance measurement of the employees.

Key Differences between Orientation and Onboarding –

There are some fundamental differences between the two; Orientation should be considered a one-time event, while onboarding training is an ongoing process.

  • Orientation is viewed as one component of an onboarding training system. It is a one-time event that a new hire participates in to learn important information that is specific to the company, but not necessarily their distinct role within the company.
  • Onboarding is a process that begins when a new hire is extended an offer for employment and doesn’t end until the employee is considered to be fully functioning in their new position.
  • Orientation means to introduce and guide the new employee, so as to help him/her in adjusting to the new environment, workplace, activity, and so on.
  • Onboarding can be defined as the strategic process which helps the new employees in gathering the essential skills, attitude, knowledge, behavior, and expertise, to become a committed and competent member or insider of the firm.
  • Common orientation activities include completion of new hire paperwork, benefits enrollment, and introduction to payroll procedures, administrative and technology services, and policies.
  • Onboarding’s advantages include, but aren’t limited to, quicker employee assimilation into the company or organization, higher productivity in the job, and increased probability of retention for the company or organization.
  • Orientation usually takes place in a classroom-like setting, with a one-way flow of knowledge. The person leading the orientation is going to be the one speaking and providing the particulars of the company or organization.
  • Onboarding may be a two-way exchange of data and will involve several sessions with different department managers. The new hire is inspired to ask questions and share experiences over time.
  • In orientation, the employee gets to know about the company’s guidelines, rules, policies, procedures, and other important information, which all the employees must know.
  • In an onboarding, the employee is familiarized with job/position-related information from the manager, supervisor, colleagues, and subordinates.
  • Orientation is conducted in groups, which means that all the new joinees are brought together and the program is convened in a conference style.
  • Onboarding is tailored specifically for the particular employee and his/her role.
  • When an orientation day is finished, the new worker is still considered a “new hire.” He or she will still need to rely heavily on the help of other employees and their department heads to learn the day-to-day details of the position.
  • At the completion of the onboarding training process, a new hire is now a fully integrated and contributing member of the company workforce.
  • The objective behind orientation is to supply the new joinee with the essential tools and fundamental information that are required to perform the job.
  • As opposed, onboarding aims at assimilating the new joinee into the organizational culture.

Both employee onboarding and employee orientation are necessary components of helping employees succeed. Just remember that they’re designed to specialize in different aspects of that success. In orientation, the worker learns about his/her role within the organization. Contrastingly, in onboarding, the worker gets to understand his/her role within the respective department.

 

Information Sources:

  1. designingdigitally.com
  2. trainingindustry.com
  3. keydifferences.com
  4. tasb.org