Any orientation requires a lot of good material. Brochures, videos, manuals, and even computer question and answer sessions can provide a good start on an orientation program. The brochure's great virtue is that employees, not outside consultants, wrote it, and as a result it is more accessible and responsive to what other employees want to know. Worzalla Press, an employee-owned printing company in Wisconsin, followed a similar process, but there employee teams worked with a local small business development center to learn how to prepare training manuals. Not everyone responds to written materials, however.
Videos are a popular alternative.
Southwest Airlines may have the best one. A 15-minute video shows employees singing rap songs about their own jobs, led by their CEO Herb Kelleher. After watching the video, it would be impossible to miss the emphasis Southwest puts on the importance of humor at work. Mentoring One of the best approaches is mentoring. It is difficult to design an orientation program that fits everyone equally well.