A Successful Employee Orientation Setup

At almost every company there is some type of employee orientation. Employee orientation is a time when the company can introduce new employees to the company and welcome them into the family. In fact, a well developed employee orientation can often lead to high employee retention rates because the employees feel like they are part of something special. Here is an overview of the setup of an employee orientation that has been proven very successful.

Welcome. It is important to make the employees feel as if they are a welcome addiction to the company. Give all employees a hearty welcome and let them know how excited you are to have them on board. Many companies even has a small welcome packet that includes a welcome letter to the employees.

Tour of the Facilities/Policies. It is important to familiarize your new employees with the company layout and set up. Most employee orientations will include a tour of the facilities. It will also include an overview of the policies that the company has. If there are a lot then the company will overview the important rules and policies that should be followed. This is also a time where the company will overview payroll and human resource policies.

Benefits. During employee orientation a company will take the time to lay out the benefits that the employees will receive while they work for the company. These benefits can range from company incentives, discounts, health care and other incentives that can come from working with the company.

HR Questions. It is important to allow new employees to take time to ask questions. This is usually done at the end of the orientation.

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Ways Employers Can Keep Employees At Their Company

When you are hiring a new employee for a company you always want to try to pick the employee that will last the longest. Long lasting employees are not only cost effective for the company but it also looks great to customers when you have employees that have been with the company for years. Here are some things a company can do to make their employee retention higher.

Look Over the Resume of New Employees. An employee’s resume can tell you a lot about them. It can show you if they completed college and how long they were employed with other companies. While these might not be signs of a good employee may companies will want to look for completing college courses or training programs and staying with companies for a decent amount of time. These are all signs that you might be hiring a good employee that will stay for a while.

Offer Incentives. Many companies have started to offer incentives for employees who stay a certain period of time. These might be monetary incentives, stock incentives, office incentives. Having these incentives put into place will allow employees to have something to look forward to and encourage them to stay with a company longer.

Employee Appreciation Day. It might seem corny to offer an employee appreciation day but research has shown that companies that offer this day have higher employee retention. Employee appreciation days show employees that their work and service to the company is appreciated and it could encourage them to stay with the company for a longer period of time.

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Questions Employers Can Ask to Assess Employee Training

Companies often feel as if they know exactly how employees need to be trained and what they need to learn. However, no one knows better what needs to be focused on when it comes to employee training than those that actually do the job. This is why many companies and human resource department utilize an employee survey on employee training and education. If you are conducting an employee survey on training and education here are some areas you can focus on to get quality survey results.

Basic Training. Employee surveys can ask employees how they feel they were trained when they first joined the company. Survey makers can ask questions such as “Were you prepared properly for your job” and “What do you feel you should have learned during the training session”. These answers will allow companies to know what to add to their new employee training sessions.

Continuing Education. Employee surveys can ask employees if there is anything that they feel they should be learning. It can also focus on certain skills that might need to be updated or relearned. These answers will allow employers to know what type of continuing education courses they should offer to their current employees.

New Employee Training. Employee surveys can also ask employees if they notice new employees are coming in prepared. This will allow veteran employees to assess the new employees and their knowledge. It will also allow companies to determine where they need to focus their energies when it comes to new employee training.

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Employer Benefits of Offering Safety Training

It might seem as if it was common knowledge how to be safe at work but recent research shows that employers that offer their employees constant safety classes and training may actually benefit in the long run. There are many benefits that employers receive by offering employee safety courses periodically throughout the year.

The first benefit that employers get from employee safety courses is the ability to save money. When employees are properly trained in how to be safe on the job and how to properly do their job they avoid the risk of getting injured while on the job. Injuries on the job can cost a company thousands of dollars because the employee will file for worker’s compensation which the company will eventually have to pay the government for. The more employees that get injured over a certain period the higher the rates a company pays. This is why it is beneficial to teach employees safety.

The second benefit that employers receive from employees that know the proper safety standards is a higher level of work productivity. When employees are afraid of their work conditions they will work at a slower rate. However, if they are trained in how to be safe they can work faster and more efficiently. Safety courses also help to reduce the amount of injuries in employees which can lead to decreased amount of workers and therefore less productivity of the overall company.

The third benefit that employers receive by teaching their employees proper safety standards is the ability to retain a high number of employees. Many employees view employers who do not offer safety courses in a bad light. By taking the time and resources to offer safety courses an employer stands a chance of retaining their employees because they are viewed favorably and in a good light.

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Benefits of Offering Computer Based Training

One of the hardest parts of creating a company wide training session is figuring out exactly what time works for all employees. Employers have the problem of trying to coordinate everyone’s personal and work schedule in order to offer a simple training session. This seemingly impossible task has been made easier by computer based training software. Computer based training software is computer software that offers the training sessions that employers wish to have their employees go through. Employers stand to benefit greatly by offering a computer based training system.

The first benefit that employers get with a computer based training system is the ability to customize the training sessions. This means that employees are not wasting their time sitting through a training session that has nothing to do with their job. Employers can submit certain training sessions to individuals so that it is targeted to their specific job needs.

The second benefit that employers get with the computer based training system is the ability to have everyone trained without having to interfere with everyone’s schedule. A computer based training software program can be accessed on any computer, anywhere. There is no need to have to force everyone to sit down for a specific time frame and listen to a lecture or watch a video. Instead everyone can do it on their own time and not have it interfere with work or personal lives.

The last benefit of a computer based training system is the ability to have everyone learn at their own pace. Some employees learn quicker than others and will get bored quickly with the training session. A computer based training system will allow employees to learn at their own pace so if they learn faster they can get through the training faster and if they need time to focus on certain elements they can do so.

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Benefits of Offering Employer Funded Training

Many employers assume that once an employee is trained in the job that they are going to perform they do not need any other training. However, that is not the case. Studies have shown that employers who offer employer funded training have a higher retention rate of employees as well as a more efficient workforce. In fact, these are just some of the benefits that come from training employees. Here is a look at some of the other benefits that come from training employees.

The first benefit of offering employer funded training is the ability to invest in that particular employee. Employers who offer training to the various employees are investing in their company’s future. Employees who are trained in various areas are more likely to want to succeed with the company that trained them and will try to do their best work in an effort to advance. Employers who offer training get hard working individuals who are dedicated to the company.

The second benefit that comes from offering employer funded training is an overall improved job skills. Every employer wishes to have the best of the best when it comes to their employees. This will entice customers to want to choose that particular company in the future. When an employer offers employee training it not only helps advance the employees skills but it ups the level of work that they do so that customers will get the level of care and quality of work they need.

The last benefit that comes from offering employer funded training is the overall satisfaction of employer and employee. When employers and employees are satisfied they are more likely to do a better job than when they are dissatisfied. Satisfied employees will also stay with a company longer than those that are unsatisfied.

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Ways Employers Can Continue To Train Their Employees

Employee training doesn’t just end the day the employee stops learning the basics of the jobs. For many businesses and employers, employee training is something that is done on an ongoing basis. Continual employee training ensures that all employees are kept up to date on the industry that they work in and the techniques that are being used.

Employee training can be done in a number of ways. Here is a look at some of the resources that employers can use to train their employees.

Internet Based Courses. Internet based courses are a great way to offer employees a way to brush up on the industry that they work in. Many employees love Internet based courses because it allows them to learn at their own pace. If they already know material it’ll fly by quickly and they can focus on newer material and learning new items. Internet based courses are also good for the employer because they can assign specific courses to meet the individual employee’s needs so employees are not learning about skills they will not use on their job.

Training Videos. Videos or DVDs are a great way to train a group of employees. Training videos offer an interesting way to present the information that the employees need. Training videos are usually purchased for items that can be utilized by a large group. The most common types of training videos include safety videos, sexual harassment videos and industry specific courses.

Training Manuals. Training manuals are a great way to lay everything out there for the employees. Training manuals allow companies that are larger in size to make sure that everyone is getting an across the board training in specific topics. This allows the company to present a unified front no matter where the company is located.

Situational Models. Situational models are basically hands-on training in specific industry related areas. Employers will create situations for the employees and have them react to it. Other situational models include presenting new items or technology and having the employees learn about it with hands-on training.

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On the Road but Never Beyond Reach

The decision to place business cell phones in the hands of employees can be a matter of necessity. In a cut-throat world, the use of technology to keep businesses ticking and to minimize wasted time or human resources becomes indispensable.

Clearly, not every employee will require this item in their toolkit. Office-bound staff, switchboard operators and very junior employees are likely to be under direct supervision and easily contactable via the company’s landline. Those with a roving brief – who perhaps, deliver, sell, negotiate or carry out consultancy work in the field – are the subjects to target when weighing up the merits of different cell phone plans. It makes sound business sense, after all, to equip members of sales teams and other traveling workers with a means keeping in touch.

However, it isn’t just head office that benefits from having staff fully kitted out for communication. Clients are perhaps the more important beneficiaries. The loss of a customer’s business always hits companies hard, and it can come about through very trivial oversights, such as the failure to let the client know of a delay. With a business cell phone, a simple message apologizing for a hold-up and giving a revised delivery or arrival time can spell the difference between retaining and losing a customer.

Not all cell phone plans offer the same deal. There are a number of things to consider.

  • Compare your landline bills to the projected cell phone costs that have been quoted.
  • Estimate how much texting will take place and select a business cell phone plan offering unlimited text messages.
  • Ask yourself whether the Internet access offered is sufficient.
  • Check the length of contract period being proposed. Is it in line with your needs?
  • Lastly, where budget concerns are paramount, look into the advisability of a shared cell phone, to be taken out on the road as and when necessary.
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Why Hands-On Training Works for New Employees

Employers want to make sure that all their employees before they start working are properly trained. The ability to have properly trained employees who enter the workforce allows employers to have a successful business and operate at a high level of efficiency. If you are about to enter the workforce in a job that requires manual labor or physical work chances are you will be undergoing a hands-on training session. Here is a closer look at hands-on training sessions provided by employers.

Hands-on training sessions are extremely popular for employers who offer physical or manual labor. It has been proven that the best way to learn the job is by showing the employee what they are expected to do and have them physically do it. All of the work is done under the watchful eye of a skilled employee who can help direct the new employee in what to do.

Hands-on training is especially important for those jobs that cannot be properly explained via a handbook or textbook. While an employee can spend hours reading up on how to install a carpet they will not truly understand the process until they get out there and start doing the job. This hands-on training allows employees to see where they might be lacking in skills and what they need to further study.

Research has been conducted on the efficiency of hands-on training. Many researchers believe that those that engage in hands-on training are more likely to learn their job than those that studied from a book. This is because these people are thrown into the workforce and are actually seeing how things operate and what they need to do. In fact, hands-on training has become so popular that many companies will either offer hands-on training or a combination of textbook/handbook studying and hands-on training as this allows for efficiency amongst new employees.

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What an Employer Can Do if They Find Out An Employee Has a Criminal History

When hiring a new employee many employers are leery of hiring someone with a criminal past. While it is illegal to ask specifically if you have been arrested that does not stop an employer from finding out about any criminal past you may have had.

All criminal records from citations and convictions are public record. This means that anyone who has your name has a legal right to research it and find out what type of criminal past you may have had.

So what does an employer do if they find out that a new employee or a potential employee has some type of criminal past? There are a few options that are available to the employers.

The first option that the employer has is to check on the state laws. Some states allow for employers to terminate their relationship based on criminal history. Some states only allow the employer to terminate the employee-employer relationship if the employee lied or it is a crime that could put others in the workplace at risk. It is important to know what your state allows before terminating an employee for a criminal history.

The second option that employers have is to consider if the criminal history or crime puts the job the person needs to do at risk. All states have laws that make it if the conviction or crime has a direct relationship to the job at hand it could be grounds for automatic termination. Crimes and convictions that fall under this category include theft, fraud and embezzlement charges. It is also common if a person is convicted of a child-related crime they may not work around children.

It is important to know that as an employer you can only judge based off of incidents that lead to a criminal conviction. Even if the potential employee is undergoing a trial or waiting to be convicted you cannot terminate the relationship against them at that point in time.

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