Onboarding and orientation are both essential when integrating new employees into an organization, but they have different purposes and different activities.
Orientation:
Orientation typically refers to the initial process of introducing new employees to the company, its culture, policies, and basic procedures.
It is usually a one-time event or a series of events that occur within the first few days or weeks of employment.
Orientation often includes activities such as filling out necessary paperwork, providing an overview of the organization’s history, mission, vision, and values, as well as introducing employees to key personnel and departmental structures.
The primary goal of orientation is to familiarize new hires with the organization and its immediate expectations, ensuring they have the necessary information to start work.
Onboarding:
Onboarding is a more comprehensive and ongoing process that extends beyond orientation and continues for a longer period, often several months. At ThryvX we recommend that our clients implement a 90-day onboarding process.
It involves integrating new employees into the company culture, facilitating their socialization within the organization, and providing them with the tools, training, resources, and support they need to succeed in their roles.
There is a heavy focus on helping new hires understand their job responsibilities, team dynamics, performance expectations, and career development opportunities.
The goal of onboarding is to accelerate the time it takes for new employees to become productive and engaged members of the organization, reducing turnover and increasing job satisfaction.
Orientation is typically standardized for all new hires and is usually completed within the first days of new employment. In fact, companies hiring multiple employees at the same time may hold full-day orientation sessions with all new hires regardless of their specific role. Onboarding is tailored to the individual role, skill level and career aspiration and involves frequent check-ins between the employee and their manager for the first 30, 60 or 90 days.
