It’s that time again. You’ve just hired an individual or a group of new employees and they start within the next few days.
You may be asking yourself, “What should I do? How can I make this experience worthwhile for both the new employees and myself?”
If you’ve had thoughts along these lines, then you are in the right place. This blog post will cover what NOT to do. Next week, we’ll tackle the dos and best practices for new hire orientation. Let’s get started.

Practices to Avoid During a New Hire Orientation

1. Don’t Make Employees Learn Through Trial and Error – “Yikes… I forgot to mention….” Do you remember in high school how a lot of people got lost during their first few days and showed up to class late? It was embarrassing, to say the least, so don’t make your new employees go through the same process. In other words, don’t make them learn the rules through trial and error. Brian Platz comedically points out not to let them find out about casual Friday by arriving to work in a suit and tie. Tell them what’s going on and regularly check in to see if they have any questions.
2. Get Involved in the Training Process – “Not my job….” If there is a new employee in your department or your team, it’s up to you to help them! Many companies leave this process up to the Human Resources Department. There are two downsides to this. First, the HR department doesn’t know the specific skills that are required and how to teach them for each position. Second, you are missing valuable time and experience that will build trust with the new hire and help assimilate them into your team.
3. Allow Enough Time to Learn – “Read The Odyssey by tomorrow. Good luck.” There was nothing more infuriating in high school than when a teacher assigned 100 pages or more to read in one night. Didn’t they understand there was other homework to do? While more is expected in the business world, don’t be that boss who expects the new hire to be up to speed with “policies, forms, documents, and handbooks…” on the first day. Give them time and even quiz them on the important policies to remember; don’t expect them to memorize 400+ pages in a week.
4. Continue to Check in With New Hires After Training – Rome wasn’t built in a day. Have orientation events that occur throughout the first week to get them situated, and then check in with them as often as possible to see how they are adjusting.
5. Provide a Holistic Perspective With “Dos and Don’ts – A lot of companies try to emphasize the rules during the first few days to make sure the new hire doesn’t do anything wrong. However, if you only focus on what prevents problems, how will they know what facilitates quality work and engagement? Tell them what they can do in the office, including fun things or ways to improve their work; don’t just focus on what not to do. There are dos and don’ts to everything, and it is important to provide these together to give a holistic viewpoint.
Are you avoiding these common new hire orientation mistakes?