Onboarding Hiring & Orientation

How can you make sure there is a smooth and efficient transition for the new employee? This is where a well thought out Hiring and Orientation plan comes in. It’s that crucial time from when they accept the job to when they start and through their first few weeks. In their first few days they will be signing all the employment documents and gaining the necessary tools to do their job. It goes beyond signing paperwork though! This time is all about introduction to the culture of your organization.

First impressions are everything and a great hiring and orientation process makes a great first impression. It provides a comprehensive experience that will have impact beyond the initial orientation by helping the new employee really get to know and become part of the organization’s culture. It’s a time to set the tone by ensuring they understand where they fit in; that they are part of the puzzle. All of this will help them know how to succeed, and as a result, you will find greater engagement and alignment with your organization’s strategy and mission.

This can start as soon as possible after they accept the job. Once their first day is scheduled, you can get to work with your administrative functions, like HR, so that you have plenty of lead time to prepare. If there is a fair amount of time between the new employee accepting the job and their start date, it can be a good idea to keep in contact with them so that you can communicate excitement about them joining the team and make sure they don’t have any logistical questions for their first day.  This is also a good time to consult your department’s Reasonable Accommodation Policy and make sure to begin the interactive process as soon as possible if applicable. It’s important not to ask for the employee to do anything job related to any of these communications, however, as we want to make sure they aren’t working before their official start date.

Once the employee begins work a great way to respect them as a person is to find out how they like to be referred to (a nickname they prefer, pronouns, etc). The first few days after the employee starts is also a great time to schedule a meeting to go over the organization’s mission, vision and goals.

This is also the perfect time to think about accessibility. It’s helpful to include instructions for the new employee on how to make accessibility requests and this is also a great time for ergonomics evaluations of their workspace.

• CalHR Forms​
  • ​You can use this page to find employment documents along with other helpful forms.
• Checklist
  • ​Your administrative functions can help you create a checklist of paperwork. You can also create a checklist of tasks for the new employee.
  • Sample Onboarding Checklist​
• ​​Schedules can be helpful during this time. Here is an example.
  • State Compensation Insurance Fund Sample Onboarding Schedule
• Important contacts within the department
  • Including the role and why they would be important for each of these contacts can be helpful for the new employee.
• Demographic surveys (race/ethnicity, disability) are optional but important for statewide data.
  • Disability & Veteran Status Survey​
• • Race & Ethnicity Questionnaire​
• Savings Plus ​
  • It’s helpful for the new employees to check if they are aware of the great benefits available to them over at Savings Plus.
• Statewide Model Policy on Reasonable Accommodation (Disability)​
• CalHR Benefits Page​
• CalPERS​​

• Welcome Packet template
  • Consider developing a basic template so that you do not have to reinvent the wheel each time you have a new hire. These examples may be helpful for building your own.
    • Helpful Hints Checklist
    • California Department of Water Resources New Employee Orientation Handout​
• Customize division orientation
  • You can develop an orientation process for your division as well.
  • This can help new employees have a greater sense of connection to their own division.
• HR coordinator to help with HR questions
  • An HR coordinator can help the new employee get all their HR questions answered.
  • Sample HR Email RE: Pay and Benefits​​