The Power of Orientation

My daughter started high school this week, and as such we attended the “New Student Orientation”.?If you have not been to one of these in a while, I highly suggest you glom on to a friend and their kid and attend one this back-to-school season.?Why??I’m so glad you asked.

The confusion starts in the parking lot, and the random thoughts start being muttered – where do I park, which direction is this lane going, these spots are numbered, can I park here, these spots are elaborately painted, why are they painted, better not park there, on and on until you finally settle on a spot where you may or not be towed.

Scrambling into the building, along with a mass of other wild-eyed adults and teens, you take a “follow the crowd” approach.?Cheerleaders are bopping by, flyers are being shoved in your hand, no one is directing traffic and all the while, you have no idea where you are headed.?

Eventually you are herded into an auditorium where the requisite PowerPoint is up on a screen.?A crude map is displayed presumably intended to demonstrate the car line, but sadly there are no labels or arrows on said map, rendering this particular visual aid useless.?

Key staff are introduced; a variety of guidance counselors, various teachers, the lady in the office and the school resource officer (who is roughly the size of a linebacker & does not crack a smile – maybe that’s a good thing?).?Some are smiling, happy, welcoming, waving and cheering for the kids.?Most just stand there, not a facial expression to speak of, dead pan.?Others are visibly annoyed, one looked at her watch and one particular prize literally walked away when the student volunteers put the spotlight on her.?I kid you not – WALKED AWAY!

Some high-level cultural items were covered, start and end time, the credit breakdown to graduate, then we were dismissed to walk around the common area to explore extracurricular activities, teams, clubs, sports, etc. Some groups just stood there, behind the tables, only speaking to each other.?Other groups were giving out lollipops if you signed up for more info.?Others relied on the video they were playing and could not answer questions because they were assuming we knew what they were taking about.?There was one particular group that really stood out - the theater troupe – these kids knew how to recruit.?They were welcoming, warm, making introductions, sharing snaps (or is snapchats?) with the incoming freshman, explaining the benefits of the program, handing out flyers with QR codes for all you need to know about theater troupe.?They even had an adult sponsor speaking to the parents, who shared the QR code to the google form to sign up and give permission.

At some point in this mayhem, I realize I don’t have access to the parent portal.?I make my way to the office, where a long line of other parents stood, who also do not have access.?Couldn’t this have been handled ahead of time??

We left the “Orientation” without:

• A class schedule
• ?Homeroom assignment
• Locker assignment
• A lock
• Having a conversation with one teacher
• Any idea of where to enter the car line

So why do I recommend HR professionals experience such an event??Without a comprehensive, meaningful orientation and onboarding program, your new hires will have the exact same feelings of a new student in a new school:

• Disoriented
• Confused ?
• Staring at a meaningless PowerPoint with no context
• Unwelcome
• Insecure
• Unwanted
• Unprepared
• Directionless?

How does your orientation stack up against this New Student Orientation?

Share your best orientation and onboarding programs in the comments. ????