I agree with you that new employee orientation program is widely used in organizations, but effectiveness is not guaranteed. I like the orientation process of army that you mentioned as I get the idea that there is employee motivation and creativity in the process, which are necessary in order to ensure success of an employee and organization. Do you think that army has reflected their culture in orientation program? Westwood & Johnson (2005, p.6) have mentioned to, ‘ensure that all aspects of your orientation program reflect the unique culture of the organization and that messages about values are both explicitly and implicitly woven into the material’. In order to make orientation program effective, it should be carried out in a timely manner. Do you believe that time plays an important role in making orientation effective? I believe that organizations should conduct orientation in a way that it creates an impression on employees. From the facts that you mentioned regarding army, I can analyze that army created a good impression on you via orientation. You have also rightly mentioned that new employees have expectations regarding how they will be treated in the organization. In order to foster realistic expectations of employees communication is most important element. It is indicated by Cassidy & Kreitner (2010, p. 126) that ‘the key is to communicate frequently and in detail’. I noticed that army has properly communicated with employees that are why you are satisfied with its orientation program, do you agree? Moreover, organizations should invite questions as well as feedbacks so that realistic employee expectations can be encouraged. For motivation of employees, organizations should provide information regarding the benefits and incentives that are available to employees, and they should be intimated about their tasks. The organizations should make tasks interesting, especially for first day of employee in order to improve employee confidence and ultimately employee commitment to the organization. What is your opinion regarding making tasks attractive for employee motivation?
References
Cassidy, C., & Kreitner, B. (2010). Supervision: Setting People up for Success. Nelson Education Limited: Canada
Westwood, R., & Johnson, L. (2005). New Employee Orientation: Information Lifeline. ASTD Press, New York
