Orienting New Employees to Your Company Culture

Marcianne Kuethen

July 15, 2013

It was Thursday, the day we all had to turn in our time cards to our boss, Martha. I grabbed a box of work to take home, slung my purse over my shoulder, and headed out through her office. “Bye, Martha,” I said with a smile, placing my time card on her desk. “Have a great weekend.”

Instead of replying with the expected, “You, too!” Martha crossed her arms and looked at me soberly. “Why is it that you never stop to chat with me when you come through? It feels like you’re not very friendly. Every other employee visits with me when they come by, but you never do.”

I stopped dead in my tracks, my mouth gaping. At my previous office, time-draining chitchat was frowned upon. Having been here only a month, in what was proving to be a very independent environment, I had missed being clued in to an important aspect of my new workplace’s culture! Needless to say, I put down my box, took a seat, and began a conversation to get to know my new boss.

Here at Amtec, we’ve learned that the hiring process doesn’t end with the acceptance of an offer letter. It continues all the way through employee orientation. Our passion is to see every person we place become engaged in their work and succeed right from the first day of the job. But this doesn’t happen by accident! Employee engagement and success are generated when the company creates a method for educating each new employee about things like company culture, SMART goals, expected outcomes for that specific position, inter-office communication styles, key clients, and so much more.

Employers, do you have a performance acceleration tool to assist your new hires in their first 90 days? If not, do yourself a favor and create one today. Read this thorough article on how to create your own great start tool to enhance new employee engagement. And if you’re an employee about to start a new job, this article can help you, too, to learn exactly what you need to know to guarantee yourself a better start. It’s like your GPS for the next 90 days!