Employee Orientation Versus Employee Onboarding

Employee Orientation

Employee orientation is often a brief, one-time event that quickly introduces the employee to the company. During the orientation, an employee will receive key information that they will need right away. Orientation is actually just a small part of the longer onboarding process.

Orientation can also include things like touring the workplace, doing team introductions, setting up logins and security clearances, discussing safety procedures, filling out new hire paperwork, and learning the company policies and values. Employee orientation not only provides new hires the tools they need to get started, but it also helps make them feel welcomed.

Employee Onboarding

Employee onboarding is a longer process of integrating new hires into the workplace. It starts as soon as a new employee accepts a job offer and can span over a few months. During this time, the onboarding offers ongoing support and check-in’s that help the employee learn more about their role within the company.

The onboarding process can include a lot of different hands-on experiences, like one-on-one training, team building activities, and meetings with supervisors. The employee onboarding process can be customized to the specific needs and position of the employee, unlike employee orientation that is usually more generalized. Employee onboarding evolves as the new employee learns and develops the important skills that will make them successful in their role.