Onboarding the Next Generation: A New Approach to Employee Orientation

By Wendy Christie, EmployerESource

The world of human resource management is a lot different today than just a few decades ago. One space that has seen the most change — and is still changing — is onboarding.

In the early years of my career in human resources, the onboarding process was rudimentary at best. The process usually involved handing out stacks of payroll forms to new employees and showing them to their desks. At the time, getting an employee handbook or a formal introduction to your new supervisor was a luxury. Recruits back in the day were thrown into the deep end of the job without much preparation.

Things couldn’t be any more different today.

According to a 2022 Gallup poll, 54% of Generation Z employees are ambivalent or disengaged. This has bred a generation of employees with very little interest in their jobs and no problem leaving their jobs at the slightest inconvenience; gone are the days of employees sticking to a job.

Handling the new generation of employees requires a different approach to onboarding — an approach that focuses on engagement right from the first day of employment.

Onboarding the Modern Employee

When considering today’s employees, particularly those from the millennial and Z generations, it’s crucial to acknowledge that many of them were raised by “helicopter parents” who excessively monitored and intervened in their lives. This parenting style has resulted in the emergence of two generations often characterized as the most demanding and needy of our time.

Managing these employees is no easy feat and requires a different onboarding and orientation approach. With the right employee program, human resources personnel can increase employee retention and develop a dynamic team environment best suited for engaging this generation.

Orientation vs. Integration: Building a Team

Building a team of employees in this generation requires more than an orientation program; today, it’s about an employee integration program. Such a program should encompass several key components to integrate new hires into the company effectively.

Here are four pillars that can help you build a successful, engaged team:

1. Foster a Big-Picture Perspective from Day One

Your onboarding process should start with an orientation process that introduces each new employee to the big picture of the company’s operations, including mission, vision and values. Today’s employees want to be engaged and feel like what they are doing matters, so let your integration process do just that.

Take new employees around the company to give them an overview of how the entire operation works. Then, provide a more detailed tour of their specific department to give them a better understanding of how they fit into that big picture. When done right, this simple step can help your employees understand how they fit within the company and that what they do for the company is important — and, by extension — makes them feel valued.

2. Adopt an Integration Process That Encourages Camaraderie

According to Gallup research reports, a friendly work environment increases employee retention. When employees make meaningful connections at work, it can drastically improve job success.

Creating an integration process that fosters camaraderie in the workplace can help you achieve this. Make an effort to introduce new employees to others who share common interests and encourage employees to build connections with one another as part of your company culture.

3. Create a Mentorship Program

Mentorship is integral to effective career development, something practically every employee values. According to a recent CNBC workplace happiness survey, more than 91% of employees who are active in a mentorship program are satisfied with their jobs. More than 57% are very satisfied. Introduce a mentorship in your integration process. During orientation, identify experienced colleagues who can guide your new employees if they need help or have questions. Mentorship programs are also a great way to help new employees learn new skills, gain more experience and grow in their roles.

Traditionally, mentorship programs are directed at employees looking to put in the extra work to climb up the corporate ladder, but your strategy here is to introduce and make it available to everyone right from the get-go. Doing this will enhance employee satisfaction and retention and contribute to a positive company culture where knowledgesharing and collaboration thrive.

4. Build an Effective Mentor-Mentee Relationship

Mentorship programs can be a very effective tool for improving job satisfaction and employee retention, but they can also go very wrong when not done correctly. Human Resources’ job doesn’t stop at creating the mentorship program; it’s important to curate the program to ensure its success.

While there are various mentorship programs you can adopt, you’ll want to ensure that the program you choose is ideal for your company and then customize that to fit your current recruitment’s unique needs.

You’ll also want to choose the ideal mentor for your recruits. When selecting mentors, choose someone knowledgeable about their field and optimistic about the company. Remember, the goal here is to improve employee retention as well. Check in on mentees and mentors regularly to ensure that the partnership is going smoothly. Sometimes, certain mentors might not be a good fit for certain recruits.

Realizing this early can help prevent disaster down the road. Don’t be afraid to connect a mentee with a different mentor as situations and needs change.

Off-hand onboarding programs don’t work well with today’s younger employees. The trick lies in employee engagement. Creating an engaging environment for these employees, one that fosters camaraderie, trust and knowledgesharing, is going to be more critical than ever as the values of our industry’s employees shift to more personal fulfillment and growth.

Wendy Christie, owner and founder of EmployerESource, has over 20 years of experience in employee relations. EmployerESource is a software program that develops a company handbook based on company requirements, state law, federal law and industry practices. As a human resource consultant, Wendy helps companies develop legally compliant employee handbooks and documentation, and she has handled over 100 different employee relations investigations. Learn more at www.employeresource.com.