A few days back the Majherhat Bridge collapsed disrupting the traffic of the affected area along with the rest of the city. After that incident authorities have been paying attention to all the bridges across the city. Coming back to the Majherhat bridge the police department is using 3D scanners to study the bridge in order to find the reasons behind its breakdown. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) uses this facility for investigations. Kolkata Police will buy three 3D scanners for Rs.60 lakh from a Florida-based company. Currently, they have been using the scanner they have borrowed from a Hyderabad-based company.
Your new employee orientation is your first impression. It can be a positive experience increasing enthusiasm and securing a long-term loyal employee within your organization. But if it is poorly done, the new employee will begin to doubt that they made the right decision and retention may be an uphill struggle.
In most organizations, someone greets the new employee and off they go to the Human Resources department to begin a lengthy paperwork process. The new employee leaves with a binder filled with the phone list, policies and procedures. And then what? A tour, introductions, videos, facts, procedures, meetings and presentations sweep the new employee along until the end of the first day.
What is orientation or onboarding? It includes all tasks necessary for a smooth transition into the organization. It should be simple, fun and interesting. It should be personal and allow time for the new hire to absorb the information. It should be approached from the new employee perspective rather than a corporate checklist.
How can you transform your onboarding process to include a fun, meaningful and organized orientation, acclimation and integration?
The press of business can easily take priority over an onboarding process. Let’s identify some common mistakes that most organizations don’t even realize are happening:
Showing signs of being unprepared such as leaving the new employee waiting for a long time in the reception area.
These questions must be answered by each individual company but the focus should be a meaningful integration into the organization and long-term retention as well as orientation.
Paperwork – there is no getting around it. Every new employee in every organization must complete the necessary paperwork and benefit forms and receive the policies and procedures manuals. But, wouldn’t it be nice if at least some of the paperwork was handled before the start date so the first day is simpler and more exciting.
The Internet is a powerful and helpful tool. It allows you to create a standardized, streamlined web-based onboarding system that new employees access with their username and password. You can create an online resource for all the materials the new hire will need. Before their start date, they can review documentation, policy and procedures manual, download and complete forms. On the first day, you can send them an email reminding them where they can find materials as they need them and encouraging them to visit the resource frequently for information. The company saves money with a paperless process that replaces binders stored away on shelves.
With a streamlined process for paperwork, the start date is already much simpler and more fun. You can continuously improve your onboarding process by asking each new hire to provide feedback and make suggestions.
Think of your onboarding process as one of your competitive advantages and work to make the process enjoyable, shorten the time to new hire productivity, reduce mistakes and increase retention. Include the onboarding process when reviewing the company’s competitive advantages.
It may be helpful to keep some types of metrics in the onboarding process such as time to productivity, new hire retention/termination rates, new hire error rates and program ROI. Hold the hiring managers accountable by including onboarding success in their performance appraisals and their bonus formula.
Nothing says welcome better than having everything set up before the new employee even arrives on that first day. The following are some suggestions of things to do before the start date for the new hire:
Stay in touch with the new hire after they have accepted the position to answer any questions and to reinforce their decision with stories, facts and differentiators. After all, as soon as they resign they will receive calls and emails from coworkers and friends as well as receive counteroffers.
Paperwork and forms can be completed prior to the first day allowing more time for orientation and integration.
Email an orientation schedule so the new hire knows what is expected on the first day, first week, etc.
Set up the designated office or workspace including a computer complete with required software installed, phone numbers, email accounts, usernames and passwords.
Call the new employee ahead of time and ask how they want to have their name appear so that you can have name plates and business cards already printed and set up in the workspace.
Make sure coworkers know the start date and encourage them to introduce themselves to the new hire on the first day.
Remember to include a celebration of the first day that involves coworkers. A casual lunch set up in the conference provides an opportunity for employees to get to know the new person. A fun ice breaker exercise can get the conversations started.
Let the new employee know that you are glad that they are there and that you want them to succeed. Most people spend more time at work than they do with their friends and family, so making emotional connections with coworkers is important. These personal connections can contribute to employee retention.
Make sure that another member of the organization is scheduled to have lunch with the new employee each day throughout the onboarding period and include persons from different departments so they build their network quickly.
Include the new hire in events or activities such as the company picnic or company softball league. This information can be posted, updated regularly and easily accessed if it is on a web-based onboarding process.
Try to give the new hire a positive experience that will make them feel valued. Most likely the new hire will discuss this with their family at the end of the first day.
The new hire’s family should be included in the welcoming process. You can send them a welcome letter inviting them to visit the company and informing them of upcoming company events and activities. Send them a sample of company products, company t-shirt, company pens or a small gift. Make a list of what you can do to ease their transition and make them feel comfortable with the community.
Starting at a new company means that everything is new and different. The new employee must learn new people, systems, the language and the culture. You can provide tools to help the new employee acclimate quickly and efficiently.
Phone lists can include useful information about existing employees including photos, short bios, description of responsibilities, location of offices and organization charts.
Assign the best employee available to be a mentor. The best employees are usually the busiest and the ones who contribute the most to the organization.
Teach the new employee the informal nuances and traditions of the organization such as casual Friday.
Assist the new hire’s family to acclimate, particularly if they have relocated to a new area. An old fashioned welcome wagon approach is a warm welcome and a big help to acclimate. In addition to friendship, include a list of schools and shopping as well as phone numbers for local utilities and services.
Employers frequently overlook the most fundamental concerns of the new recruit. New hires want to know how their work contributes to the overall success of the company and how it related to other departments. Your new employee orientation should include an overview of the corporate goals and objectives as well as each department’s function, what goes into each department and what comes out of each department. You can provide examples of how these functions relate to the employee’s job. Be sure to point out how new employees can offer feedback for making improvements.
Consider a multi-level approach that includes corporate mission, vision and values, region or facility where the new hire will be working, everything related to the department in which the new hire will work, the team on which the new hire will work as well as the diverse and unique needs of the individual
Open the process up for the new hire to share their concerns, who they want to meet, what they would like to learn, how they are best motivated and managed, their expectations for training, promotion and communication.
Communicate the company and department expectations, success measures, strategies, tactical plans, goals, how performance will be assessed, bonus and promotion criteria. Make sure to communicate what is expected during the first week or month on the job. Clarify key accomplishments that define success.
Create a personalized learning, challenge, and growth plan that include immediate training and long-term. Personal instruction is generally the best training but helpful training aids include short online training modules, process diagrams, and checklists.
Identify “go to” persons by categorizing by function or process a list of names and emails of employees who can help answer questions
Create several opportunities for the new employee to meet employees beyond their immediate scope of work duties.
Encourage the new employee to contribute their fresh perspective and experience as they learn the products and processes.
In fact, if your corporate culture includes some type of innovation process in which every employee is encouraged to give feedback for improvement, discovery and networking, all employees will be proactive in increasing productivity and customer satisfaction.
Taking the time to develop and execute a well-planned, nicely paced orientation and integration process that includes making your new employees feel welcomed as well as getting to work immediately will increase retention.
IInd List of Provisionally selected candidates for BHM & J&K Girls' Hostel, Begum Hazrat Mahal Hall of Girls' Residence for the Academic Session 2018-2019
2nd List of Candidate called for Interview / Interview Schedule for Admission 2018-19, Begum Hazrat Mahal Hall of Girls’ Residence (J&K Hostel)
List of Candidate called for Interview / Interview Schedule for Admission 2018-19, Begum Hazrat Mahal Hall of Girls’ Residence (J&K Hostel)
Notice: Online Applications are invited for accommodation in BHM Hall of Girls' Residence (J&K Girls' Hostel) for the Academic year 2018-2019
List of Candidate called for Interview / Interview Schedule for Admission 2018-19, Hall of Girls’ Residence (Old)
Notice: last date extended up to 5thSeptember 2018 for submission of Online applications for female students for accommodation in Jamia Girls’ Hostel for the academic year 2018-19
NOTICE regarding Online applications are invited from female students for accommodation in Jamia Girls' Hostel for the academic session 2018-19
List of Ph.D. & M.Phil candidates called for interviw for accommodation in Begum Hazrat Mahal Girls' Hostel
Notice: Applications are invited from bonafide female students enrolled for M.Phil and Ph.D Courses, for accommodation in Begum Hazrat Mahal Hall of Girls' Residence, JMI
2nd List of provisionally selected Female Students for New Begum Hazrat Mahal Girls' Hostel 2017-2018
List of Provisionally Selected Candidates for New Admission to Hall of Girls Residence (Old) for Academic Session (2017-2018)
Schedule of Interviews and IInd list of Students called for Interview for Accommodation in BHMG Hostel, 2017-18
NOTICE reg. Online applications are invited from female students for accommodation in Jamia Girls' Hostel for the academic session 2017-18
List of the candidates called for interview (Ph.D. Admission Schedule) in Begum Hazrat Mahal Girls’ Hostel, Jamia Millia Islamia
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List of provisionally selected B.D.S Applicants for New Admissions to Hall of Girls Residence for Academic Session (2016-17)
II List of Provisionally selected Applicants for New Admissions to Hall of Girls Residence (2016-17)/ List of Provisionally selected Foreigner, NRI, Physically challenged and sports category Applicants
List of the candidates called for interview in Begum Hazrat Mahal Girls’ Hostel, Jamia Millia Islamia
NOTICE: List of the candidates called for interview in Begum Hazrat Mahal Girls’ Hostel will be displayed on the Jamia Website on Tuesday, October 4, 2016
Notice: List of candidates selected for accommodation in New Hall of Girls' Residence will be displayed on Jamia Website tomorrow i.e. September 24, 2015.
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Notice: List of applicants called for Interview on 27 - 29 July 2015 in the Office of the Provost (Hall of Girls Residence)
Re-immersion is hard. In fact, a year ago, one of our faculty members sent us off with the reminder that, "Tuesday is going to suck." After the chuckles died down, he explained that the weekend is full of last-minute farewells to Nova Scotia and travel home. Monday, friends and family want to hear about your trip and your project. And Tuesday, no one cares anymore and you're on your own. He wasn't entirely wrong.
Perhaps that's why the first thought that comes to mind on the way out of any residency, particularly the summer sessions on the rocky Nova Scotia coast, is the ending of Where the Wild Things Are:
It's difficult to disconnect from daily life and commit to two weeks of focused writing craft studies and work on the book. It's even more difficult to step back out of the bubble and into the real world. I haven't decided yet whether my friends' flights in and out of reality are better, or whether my two-day drive in each direction really eases the way.
In fact, my travel plan has been governed by finances, not convenience. Thankfully, the road between here and Halifax is pretty picturesque, for the most part. There are some stunning views along the Bay of Fundy that peek out between the hills and then are gone.
This year, the drive home was largely occupied by consideration of the changes in my book that took shape through fantastic chats with my mentors (current and past/future). I often do my most productive processing when I'm away from the keyboard, so I sorted out the new structure of the book in my head, mentally cataloging the ramifications for research and writing.
I might ordinarily have used my hotel night in the middle of the trip to write, but this time, it came at the end of a very long day, so I used it to organize myself, instead. My assignments are planned out and noted in multiple places so I can plan around them.
This next chunk of the year is very full and very important. My to-do list includes a wide range of tasks related to life, not school or work. It also includes my regular school assignments and work on the book, plus added research efforts, plus an increased focus on my pitch, proposal, and platform-building leading up to our winter residency and publisher introductions in New York. Then, of course, there is the work that actually pays the bills, none of which lives on the same term schedule as the MFA.
It's no wonder, then, that I started Saturday with a mochachino and bagel at the Coburg Cafe with my mentor group, attended a debrief with all of my classmates, shared hugs and humor with friends I won't see until January (horrors! my people!), and then got in the car and drove for nine hours. By the time I crossed back into the U.S. in the late afternoon, I was suntanned on my left side, my mirrored sunglasses had given me mild raccoon eyes, and I had decided to onboard another caffeine infusion in the interest of staying alert.
For the 90-mile freeway intermission (it's a regular two-lane road between Calais and Bangor), I boosted the volume and seat-danced while singing along at top of my lungs. Portions of the Pitch Perfect soundtrack. Nearly the full Great Big Sea discography. Bonnie Tyler. Great White. Darius Rucker. "Call Me Maybe." "500 Miles." You name it, I sang it, as long as it was upbeat.
That brought to mind a conversation with a couple of friends over dinner our first week on campus. One of them told me she knew exactly what kind of guy I should find. I cringed. I was sure I knew what she was going to say. After all, I've been misread so many times, I practically have a script: "Yes, he has to be smart or he probably won't 'get' me. But he has to be a normal human. Smart for the sake of smart is exhausting." Instead, she surprised me, saying that she thinks the key is finding a man who understands and appreciates my relationship with music. Maybe shares that passion. Maybe has a passion for some other pursuit.
My other friend and I stared at her. This is someone who knows me as a writer, not a fully faceted human being (except via The Facebook). And she's right. I've often said that an equal and opposite preoccupation is a desirable thing. But I kind of take for granted that music appreciation (and the ability to clap on the beat, please) is part of the whole package. It's nifty to see how people pick up on things that we don't always state outright.
On that note, I'll leave off this post with the song that launched day two of my travels. Although the video portrays "Mama" as quite the floozy, I've always thought the lyrics better reflected a female truck driver. So you might want to close your eyes while you listen. Unless you're driving. In which case, you probably shouldn't be reading this, either.