Orientation vs. Onboarding: The Main Differences

Episode 60


Episode Overview

Pete and Ricky discuss orientation vs. onboarding on this episode of the Hire Calling Podcast. While some use the two terms interchangeably, each has unique responsibilities and characteristics. Ricky gives listeners an overview of both of these important areas, including timelines, goals, and tips for success. 

Pete and Ricky both agree that the value of onboarding and orientation is immense, and it is crucial that hiring professionals put forth the same amount of time and effort into both experiences for their new employees. 

Tune in to this episode for a great explanation of the difference between employee orientation and onboarding and some helpful tips to ensure your new employees get started on the right foot!

33 minutes

View transcript

Tips for Conducting Onboarding

  • Communicate everything your organization has to offer. People have bills to pay but also want to feel warm and fuzzy inside. Share your vision, capture their emotion, and personalize their core values to yours.
  • Stay in contact throughout the entire process. Get them involved and excited to come to work. Let them know what to expect on their first day and answer any questions they may have along the way.
  • Be their mentor. As their point of contact, introduce them to their new co-workers and help them out with all their paperwork. Get them through orientation.

Advice for Conducting Orientation

  • Expect new employees to show up. Be ready to receive them and orient them properly. Make an effort to ensure they feel welcomed on their first day.
  • Prepare in advance. Make sure they have everything they need to get started. Set up their login credentials and workstations, and gather any other materials they might need. 
  • Bring the same energy. Employees want meaningful connections with their employers, so continue showing them the same enthusiasm that got them through the door.

Additional resources

Pete Newsome

About Pete Newsome

Pete Newsome is the president of 4 Corner Resources, the nationally acclaimed staffing and recruiting firm he founded in 2005. His mission back then was the same as it is today: to do business in a personal way, while building an organization with boundless opportunities for ingenuity and advancement. When not managing 4 Corner’s growth or spending time with his family of six, you can find Pete sharing his sales and business expertise through public speaking, writing, and as the host of the Hire Calling podcast.

Ricky Baez

About Rick Baez

Efrain “Ricky” Baez Jr. is a published human resources professional specializing in strategically aligning HR competencies to business goals with a down to earth, common sense approach. Ricky is a four- year veteran of the United States Marine Corps and holds a Masters degree in Human Resources (MHR) from Rollins College and an SPHR certification from the Human Resources Certification Institute. Ricky is also a faculty member for the Master of Human Resources program at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida.

Transcript

Pete Newsome  00:01
Let’s go live on Facebook and LinkedIn this Friday morning.

Ricky Baez  00:07
It’s Cinco de Mayo by the way. 

Pete Newsome  00:21
The description is required on Facebook well.

Ricky Baez  00:59
Now let me put myself on do not disturb.

Ricky Baez  01:12
Right?

Pete Newsome  01:16
Okay, let’s see if that makes. Okay, I think we’re live. At least we’re live on LinkedIn and recording. So Ricky, welcome to the Hire Calling Podcast. 

Pete Newsome  01:30
All things hiring, staffing, and recruiting. It’s Friday morning. We’re in Florida. life’s pretty good. How are you today?

Ricky Baez  01:37
I’m excited. Today’s Cinco de Mayo the repeat what are you doing for the event? Anything?

Pete Newsome  01:42
Well, Rick, it’s Friday night, which means I’m going to the movies because that’s what I do on Friday nights. And this is a big one because the new Guardians of the Galaxy come out.

Ricky Baez  01:52
So I am looking forward to your review. I might check that out tomorrow, Sunday. But that one’s going to be I cannot wait for that.

Pete Newsome  01:59
The expectations are high. And as I often tell you when these conversations have come up over the last few weeks, hopefully, it’s not a big disappointment like Batman was which still is at the bottom of the list of 2023 movies so far.

Ricky Baez  02:17
Disappointment, a bunch of RAID. It was awful. 

Pete Newsome  02:22
What about you? What do you have planned?

Ricky Baez  02:24
Now? Well, well, you know tonight, which is doing Movie Night, because this weekend, we’re looking to go to Vero Beach. And we’re excited about that. 

Ricky Baez  02:32
But tonight, which is going to watch something we haven’t seen my mom staying with us right now. And we haven’t had a movie night in a long time. So they’re going to decide. 

Ricky Baez  02:40
So we’ll go from there. I’m excited. But again, I want to see your review. Because I saw the one get different app man I saw you want two different Mario, which had this agreement that was a little bit more than that.

Pete Newsome  02:51
Yeah, okay. Well, my reviews are a little controversial. I like it, it’s obligated to do them now. So this will be reviewed as number 13. For 2023. Hopefully not unlucky 13 We’ll see. 

Pete Newsome  03:05
But on today’s Hire Calling Podcast, which we know will get rave reviews. We are talking about an HR person’s dream. And as our resident HR person in this scenario, this is right up your alley. 

Pete Newsome  03:18
Employee Orientation versus onboarding. Oh, this is ours, and why there’s a need for both. What do you think is that up your alley or what?

Ricky Baez  03:28
That’s up my alley. But you said an HR person’s dream. I thought it was some payday Friday, and I don’t get a phone call. I mean faster dream. Calls after four o’clock, maybe Friday? That’s right. 

Ricky Baez  03:42
But yeah, no, this is definitely as well. Yeah, this is definitely up my alley. I love talking about this. Because if if business leaders get this, right, they’re going to severely affect in a good way. 

Ricky Baez  03:55
The tenure of a candidate who’s turning into an employee, so yes, I love this subject.

Pete Newsome  04:00
I don’t think this is these are terms that everyone necessarily understands the difference when they use them. 

Pete Newsome  04:07
I think they’re probably used interchangeably a whole lot. 

Pete Newsome  04:10
So let’s start by defining the two and what just from a high level how let’s go ahead and start with orientation. 

Pete Newsome  04:19
Well, no, I’ll start with the onboarding because that is the first step right after after an employee hiring decision has been made, is it not?

Ricky Baez  04:27
It is whenever I do any kind of HR class or webinar. I always ask the audience this question. When this onboarding started and I hear all kinds of different answers. 

Ricky Baez  04:40
It’s, they see it starts as soon as they set foot on a new employee orientation, or they set foot or they accept the offer letter. But I will. I’ll ask you, Pete, When this onboarding starts, in your from your point of view.

Pete Newsome  04:53
I would say from the moment the hiring decision has been made, as I said a few minutes ago, I feel, I feel like from your glare from those who aren’t watching on video that I probably didn’t hit that mark 100%. 

Pete Newsome  05:08
But that’s where I would say it begins.

Ricky Baez  05:14
Onboarding starts, as soon as the candidate applies for the job, okay, as soon as they apply for the job, if you know this more than anybody else, recruiters have a hard time these days, I mean, they can still do the job. 

Ricky Baez  05:30
But it’s becoming more difficult right to not just only bring people in, but to keep them on as well. 

Ricky Baez  05:36
So when I say starts as soon as they apply, that means that the recruiter who’s also a salesperson, by the way, needs to be on their A-game to communicate the opportunities that they can that the candidate can get in the organization, and how wonderful that is to work in the organization. That’s when it starts to me. 

Pete Newsome  05:55
I’m going to challenge you a little bit, okay, on this, the recruiter as a salesperson. Why?

Ricky Baez  06:05
Why? Because to me, in my opinion, when somebody decides how to apply or continue with the application process in an old foreign organization.

Ricky Baez  06:19
In my opinion, it’s a lot of that lies on the recruiter, or how well or not well, the recruiter communicated how well how awesome it is to work for the organization, they have to be a salesperson, you can’t just sit there at a job fair, and just be planning your phone. 

Ricky Baez  06:35
Because I’ve seen that before. Let’s just play on the phone all day and expect people to show up and give their resumes. 

Ricky Baez  06:41
Now you’ve got to get out, but you got to be in front street, you got to be the appetizer of the great meal to show what you’re what’s coming next. You know, so they have to be that cheerleader for the organization so people can get excited.

Pete Newsome  06:53
So I don’t disagree with you. But I also want to caution that salespeople at times have bad reputations for a reason I can say this as someone who believes that they have been a career salesperson. 

Pete Newsome  07:06
So I know this firsthand. And the reason is at times, salespeople look to oversell and that’s where I would just want to point out that a recruiter’s job should never be to overstate the attractiveness of a job or really overstate anything associated with the job. 

Pete Newsome  07:27
Because the goal of a recruiter the ultimate goal is not just to attract the candidates, but to attract the candidates who will stay and remain happy as employees for as long as possible for you indefinitely. 

Pete Newsome  07:43
So I just you know, I always interject that where I believe you’re right, and I support the statement, but to a limit, right? 

Pete Newsome  07:52
You’re not supposed to be you’re only supposed to be a salesperson in the sense of being pleasant and communicative and accessible and enthusiastic, all of that. But don’t be a salesperson. Don’t be a snake oil salesperson.

Ricky Baez  08:10
Well, that’s with anything right? But everything you just described, it’s exactly what I would want and you will want a recruiter to be. 

Ricky Baez  08:17
We know Yeah, I mean, it’s obviously there’s that 10% That gives the other 90% a bad name, right, you know, trying to sell somebody your bridge or, you know, because I remember back in the day back in the 80s. 

Ricky Baez  08:28
We bought Encyclopedia Britannica, from a door-to-door salesperson. So I think it’s one of those.

Pete Newsome  08:35
Well, we are all dead, right? 

Ricky Baez  08:37
How were our Google kids? That was our Google. 

Pete Newsome  08:40
Yes, I mean, that is Yeah, many, many homework reports. Were done using that right? Because otherwise, you had to go to the library crazy. That to think that that’s, that’s wasn’t that long.

Ricky Baez  08:54
So to you, to you, a recruiter shouldn’t be too salesy, but they should be salesy enough to be authentic in their communication about coming to work for the organization. Alright.

Pete Newsome  09:06
Maybe I can sum it up with a phrase that I’ve used more times than I can count and anyone around me at work has probably heard it more times than they would like, which is no recruiter should not.

Ricky Baez  09:17
And man sucks. Because I heard you say that a couple of times.

Pete Newsome  09:21
That recruiters should not be in the round hole square peg business, meaning your goal is to find the right fit mutually that always and as a good salesperson would do, you would approach it that way and really try to find the winning solution on both sides. 

Pete Newsome  09:39
Okay, so good. We got that out of the way back to the issue at hand. And that is when onboarding begins and you say it begins right from the moment. 

Pete Newsome  09:49
The line yeah, candidate applies. Are you engaged with the candidate on any level? Okay, so walk us through it. Then. Give us an overview of onboarding if you wouldn’t mind And then switch over to orientation.

Ricky Baez  10:03
So let me give you a short synopsis of what onboarding looks like to me. So somebody is at a new, not a new employer, I’m sorry, somebody’s at a job fair, right? 

Ricky Baez  10:10
They have the whole setup, they have a whole setup that tells the story of the organization. 

Ricky Baez  10:16
We don’t just want employees, we want people to come in and share our vision, we want people to come in and understand what our core values are, and make them their own personalize their core values to ours. 

Ricky Baez  10:27
And then we can have a really good work-employee relationship. So if you’re able to capture their emotion, their heart, and I know this sounds hokey, I completely get it. 

Ricky Baez  10:35
Because people don’t want to a job fair because they want to, they want to feel warm and fuzzy inside it, let’s be honest, they got bills to pay, the right, we got bills to pay, and less than let be honest about that. 

Ricky Baez  10:47
But there are other things out there in an organization that can be valuable for an employee that maybe they don’t know what’s valuable to them. So communicate everything that the organization can offer. 

Ricky Baez  10:59
Now, let’s say they apply, right, and they you the recruiter, give them a call, Hey, we liked your application, let me explain to you a little bit more about the organization, again, the cheerleader for the organization, the advocate for the organization, and how their skill set can work in the overall picture. 

Ricky Baez  11:19
As soon as a candidate feels that they fit perfectly, they’re going to continue with the interview process. 

Ricky Baez  11:25
And then if they go to the next step, you have a conversation with them, again, to let them know what they can expect the entire process, as the recruiter, you’re going to be that person’s mentor, that person’s first point, an only point of contact, and that person is a GPS, that works a lot better Pete.

Ricky Baez  11:43
And it retains a lot more candidates to continue on with the recruitment process than getting an email that says, hey, thank you for your resume. 

Ricky Baez  11:52
Either you’re going to the next step or you don’t you got to put the human touch to it and get them involved and really touch that emotion that gets them excited to come to work. So that’s the first part of it.

Pete Newsome  12:03
I know. I do because I don’t mean to take us in this direction again. But I think this is me as someone who’s been a third-party recruiter my whole career, where at what point, do you interject the not-so-good news? 

Pete Newsome  12:21
Now that is Do you consider that part of onboarding because by my definition or perspective on onboarding begins a little bit later, once the hiring decision has been made? 

Pete Newsome  12:33
But in the recruiting process, I always want to interject the downside of a job to a candidate in my philosophy on that being. Let’s get all the bad out if we do that correctly. 

Pete Newsome  12:50
And we’re honest and open and thorough about it, we’re only going to be left with good. So where do you suggest that being brought? And is that just that doesn’t sound like onboarding to you? 

Ricky Baez  13:01
Because not only does it, because you want to onboard the right person who’s going to stick around, right? A recruiter who thinks long-term is a recruiter who has the best interest of the organization at heart, right? 

Ricky Baez  13:12
And what does that mean? 

Ricky Baez  13:13
If the recruiter is worried about making numbers, a smart recruiter wouldn’t focus on the numbers who just come in, they’re going to focus on the people who are going to come in and be the best fit for the organization to stick around for the long haul where the organization can make a good return on investment, right at the end of the day. 

Ricky Baez  13:28
That’s why the organization is in business. Right? But you say a phrase that I believe in, and I’ve heard this a long time ago. But good news early, no bad news early is good news. Right? 

Ricky Baez  13:40
So get it out, you know, it says look, if you’re going to work at a call center, look, this is our call center. Here’s where we work, say, put out there all the things that the nitty-gritty of the organization. 

Ricky Baez  13:51
I mean, that’s everything, right? Because you get your 5% of employees who hate working wherever they are, but communicate what the good aspects and the aspects that might not be so, so desirable. 

Ricky Baez  14:02
So here’s a good example. In a conversation, let’s say I see a resume and I’m like, wow, this person used to work at a call center, and I’m recruiting for a call center. 

Ricky Baez  14:11
I think this person is great for this position to have a conversation about it at the very least. 

Ricky Baez  14:16
But the person tells me when I asked him, Why did you leave your last job? Oh, I hate working in call centers. All right. That’s a good example, the use of flagging the player, right?

Ricky Baez  14:24
Let’s have a conversation about that and say, Well, this is a call center. So I don’t think this is the right opportunity for you. And then go from there. So yes, communicate that information early.

Pete Newsome  14:34
Okay, I like it. So now we’ve done that. Employees getting ready to start, you know, keep going. And again, let us know when orientation kicks in. 

Ricky Baez  14:45
Well, they haven’t started yet. Right. So this is also part of onboarding, right? 

Ricky Baez  14:48
And then you let them know if they go to the next interview, what’s going to happen if they’re a second interview or a third interview? Right? You always keep in contact with them. 

Ricky Baez  14:57
Now here’s something that my previous organization did that I love. 

Ricky Baez  15:02
If we get to the point where we were down to three people, right, and you only need one, you’re gonna have to make three phone calls, one of them is happy to them, I’m not going to be as happy. Right? 

Ricky Baez  15:13
So that’s what you call the person who got the job first and you let them know, congratulations, blah, blah, blah, blah, here’s what’s happening, and you let them know what to expect. 

Ricky Baez  15:22
You’re going to start in two weeks, and I’m a bouquet of flowers, send them some nice wine glasses. 

Ricky Baez  15:27
Welcome to the team. If through the entire interview process, they mentioned the love, I don’t know, a Chick Fil A’s and then the Chick-fil-A plan or something to really personalize that experience. 

Ricky Baez  15:38
Now, I know this part may not be considered onboarding, but follow me here. You also should have a conversation with the other two people who didn’t get it. 

Ricky Baez  15:47
And let them know why to give them some feedback, right? But you got to give them the bad news early. 

Ricky Baez  15:53
Hey, want to give you a call wanted to let you know you were not selected, but I got some really good feedback for you. Are you open to that and send them a bouquet of flowers? 

Pete Newsome  16:01
Or are they’re gonna say send them to me? Ricky? 

Pete Newsome  16:07
Okay, that’s that is an extremely generous thing, in my opinion, which I’d be how many companies if you had to a percentage will send something of that nature to employees who didn’t who weren’t selected for CME phenomenal if they do, right? I mean, that would be I mean, what an amazing gesture. 

Pete Newsome  16:30
But how often does that happen? Well, I’m not familiar with that happening, really ever.

Ricky Baez  16:35
I know an organization that did that quite a bit, I was part of the process to implement that. Because here’s what happens instead, instead of having somebody to people feel bad that they didn’t get the position? 

Ricky Baez  16:49
Let’s make him feel some kind of way that because at dinner that night, what do you think they’re going to talk about? 

Pete Newsome  16:55
I mean, that would be it. As I said, a phenomenal amount. Sure. However, I don’t know how practical it is. 

Pete Newsome  17:01
I don’t know how common it is, is very rare, I mean, but what a great differentiator if you’re looking to build your reputation, and in a way that most will not be willing to do. 

Pete Newsome  17:15
But nonetheless, that’s a great thing. So that’s what you recommend to your clients to do. I suspect most don’t take you up on it.

Ricky Baez  17:23
They don’t, some don’t. Some don’t, some do. Some do. But the ones that do. 

Ricky Baez  17:27
Here’s what I tell them, because obviously, they’re worried about practicality, they’re worried about, you know, God, how much money is this going to cause not to not to market in dollars, people are going to talk about that experience. And people are going to remember that experience. 

Ricky Baez  17:42
And if you got people who advocate on your behalf on social media, that’s great publicity. It really is. 

Ricky Baez  17:48
And for the two clients that are actually doing it is working out pretty well, because that’s some people that apply because they heard from somebody else they know the process. So okay, so we’re there, we made an offer. 

Ricky Baez  17:59
Okay, now, this is all part of onboarding still. Right, you give those two-week notice to the person who gives those two-week notice. 

Ricky Baez  18:07
And you still keep in contact with that person to start giving them little pieces of information about what to expect for new employee orientation on your first day. 

Ricky Baez  18:16
Or maybe give them some homework, right? Give them a couple of videos to let them know where the organization is. It’s all about from an employee’s perspective, that way they know how do you know what to expect. 

Ricky Baez  18:26
Boom, come day one. There’s your orientation. That is when you come in on the first day. 

Ricky Baez  18:33
Now, from a recruiter’s perspective or company’s perspective, you should not start prepping for an under day the employee shows up, you should start prepping for it about a week early to make sure you get their login credentials to make sure they have everything they need, their workstation is set up, be ready for this person to come in.

Pete Newsome  18:51
I will I want to jump in on that because it’s such an important thing and it happens. 

Pete Newsome  18:57
That happens surprisingly with the surprising frequency when employees will start and the organization is not prepared to receive them properly to orient them properly, if you will. 

Pete Newsome  19:13
And we see that in our world of contract staffing because we have people placed in what where often HR is not involved. 

Pete Newsome  19:23
And that’s probably why it happens in contract staffing because we don’t have a lot of time for someone like you with your perspective and experience and way of looking at things to properly prepare to receive that new contract employee but here’s the reality the contract employee wants to feel that they’re treated well. 

Pete Newsome  19:40
Of course, everyone does. And to whatever as much of a degree as possible. They want to feel as if they’re treated the same as a direct employee meaning welcomed and anticipated and I’m just brought into the family so to speak. 

Pete Newsome  20:03
But it’s easy to see why it doesn’t happen always on contract staffing. 

Pete Newsome  20:06
So make the effort if you can, if you’re a hiring manager who maybe is not inclined to think like an HR person does, a professional does reach out to your HR team, and ask for some tips on that to make sure that your first day your employee walks in, there felt welcomed. 

Pete Newsome  20:26
And I mean, we have lots and lots of stories of this if I don’t have to order them a computer or a badge or even tell them how to get in the building. 

Pete Newsome  20:34
So a lot of the things that I think HR covers and takes you can take for granted because of that fall by the wayside. 

Ricky Baez  20:43
Sometimes the world of contracts does include Pete, I know, I know some of the rationale behind not having everything ready. Because there has been a history of you know, some candidates, ghosting employers, right? 

Ricky Baez  20:55
And they just wasted all these resources, all the sun, people with their HRIS system or their payroll system, get charged monthly by how many accounts they have open. 

Ricky Baez  21:06
So if they open three accounts, and three people don’t show up, that’s money that they’re wasting. I get that I completely get that. But the opposite is worse. 

Ricky Baez  21:16
No, I’m sorry, the opposite is better. Because here’s what happens. 

Ricky Baez  21:20
If you are not ready for this employee, this employee when they accept that job, Pete, you and I have had this conversation, they have a little voice in the back of their head that says God, I don’t know, if I made the right decision. I don’t know if this is the right thing for me to do. 

Ricky Baez  21:34
The evil I know is better than the evil I don’t know. And if they show up unprepared, you know if they show up and you’re not prepared for them, the organization has given credibility to those words, they’re giving credibility to those voices. 

Ricky Baez  21:49
So what I tell my clients it is our job to shut those voices up in that person’s head, make them feel welcome, and make them feel like the decision they made was 100%. 

Ricky Baez  21:59
The right one, I’ve seen people show up to the organization where the organization was unprepared, they just left their career with the organization was a whopping 18 minutes, 18 minutes, it wasn’t happening,

Pete Newsome  22:11
it happens a lot. And it’s easy to see why it’s understandable, especially in contract, staffing, image, and HR system, a lot of things are preset in there. 

Pete Newsome  22:20
So it will follow a process prompts will happen. 

Pete Newsome  22:23
So people are reminded to write, and take whatever steps they need, whether it’s ordering a badge, putting them in their ERP system, ordering equipment, having a workstation, whatever it might be, but on contract staffing in particular.

Pete Newsome  22:36
Because of course, that’s where so much of my thought often goes, it’s easy to see why since they’re never in the HR system in the first place, none of those triggers will naturally happen. 

Pete Newsome  22:46
So something to think about in that world. So they’re, but they’re but they arrive and we’re ready for them. Now what now, again, I’m going to keep pressing until you define it for us. What’s the difference? 

Pete Newsome  22:59
Or we’ve been talking about onboarding and then you said, well, now they’re ready for orientation. So where what’s Where’s where’s that different slide. 

Ricky Baez  23:07
So onboarding, remember, starts when they apply all the way into training. Orientation is one maybe two days, that’s its orientation. 

Ricky Baez  23:15
The only thing the whole purpose of orientation is to orient obviously, the brand new employee to the culture of the organization, and let them know about the handbook.

Ricky Baez  23:25
Let them know other benefits, and the most important thing of all their pay, make sure they know when they get paid what they need to do, they get all the faculties together all the tools together to get them started on the right foot for training right now. 

Ricky Baez  23:40
So orientation is that one day on day one when they get all this information? Right? 

Ricky Baez  23:46
That’s orientation the very next day, if it’s a, you know, just regular organization, they start training, onboarding is still going, right, because part of onboarding is to make sure we assigned somebody to that organization. 

Ricky Baez  24:01
I’m sorry, that part of onboarding is that, sorry, we have to make sure we assign like a big brother, big sister, and mentor to that employee because that employee is not going to know everybody right away, that employees not going to wait. 

Ricky Baez  24:15
So they need that one person above and beyond that recruiter to make sure that they can go to like a big brother or sister that helps so much.

Pete Newsome  24:24
Oh, for sure. Right. It all leads to the new employee’s comfort and having access to information knowing who to turn to I mean, what a great thing. It seems like a no-brainer probably doesn’t happen all the time. But it should. It should.

Ricky Baez  24:42
Can we talk about something why it doesn’t happen all the time? Because I think it’s important for us to address that. 

Ricky Baez  24:49
So a lot of people a lot of organizations say Ricky we just don’t have resources resource staff as it is right? We got other people pulling two or three different jobs because people have left and I get all I get it. 

Ricky Baez  25:01
But if you knew the value of making sure onboarding and orientation is done, right, you will make time for it. The value is immense. 

Ricky Baez  25:10
Because if you calculate how much time money and effort is spent on marketing, hiring, interviewing, and then paying this person while they’re in training, not getting a return on investment, and having that person leave within 30 days of starting. That’s not that that’s not the PnL the p&l. 

Ricky Baez  25:33
So, yeah, so so so yes, there’s a lot of organizations out there that are spread out thin. All I’m saying is to get creative and make sure you make the employee feel welcome.

Pete Newsome  25:44
Perfect. Okay, so orientation. The first day, right, one day, man, you’ve been pre-board, and is that a phrase? Do you use pre-boarding? 

Ricky Baez  25:54
I used Freeboard. When when we used to do this oh, actually, we still do a pre-boarding to me is when it we start getting everything ready. 

Ricky Baez  26:05
Like if I hear this person likes, Reese’s peanut butter cups or Mountain Dew, I’m going to have that waiting for me at that person’s desk. Right To me, that is rolling out the red carpet, and welcome that. To me. That’s pre-boarding.

Pete Newsome  26:19
Okay, so so so that’s, so that’s part of the onboarding process person gets there, they go through orientation, they meet the new co-workers who fill out paperwork, they are given a tour, these all sound like orientation things to me, right?

Ricky Baez  26:32
Given the tour. Yeah, I mean, yes, that we they know where finances, they know where their desk know where the bathroom.

Pete Newsome  26:37
So I need to know that we all have to know that it’s a way again, that’s all part of orientation, right? 

Ricky Baez  26:41
Orientation is still specific things. But onboarding is a much longer process that goes through training. 

Pete Newsome  26:53
So as long how long can it last? And so we’ve said orientation today or two, Max. But what about onboarding? What’s a normal timeframe?

Ricky Baez  27:00
It depends on the organization. I’ve seen onboarding that lasts a week, and I’ve seen onboarding the last two months, it depends on on on the organization, and how deep-rooted it is, with all different types of satellite offices. 

Ricky Baez  27:13
And it depends on the job as well.

Pete Newsome  27:15
I would say it is even longer, right as provided, the training program lasts longer. And that’s really the point where you, when you’re out of training, whatever that means to you as an individual organization. 

Pete Newsome  27:30
To me, that is the point where onboarding ends, where the new hire, the day they’re sitting at their desk, or workstation, wherever it might be then be led out into the world pushed out of the nest to behave autonomously. 

Pete Newsome  27:45
That is the point where I think it’s over. Is that fair? That’s fair.

Ricky Baez  27:49
That’s fair. Because again, it’s when I started my and I share with you how I started in HR, I got there by mistake. And when and when I told you, it associates, hey, I don’t know anything about HR, they said they’re going to train me. 

Ricky Baez  28:01
They trained me for three months, p three months, I didn’t know a thing about benefits. 

Ricky Baez  28:06
I didn’t know what an HMO was. Right? But they trained me they had an amazing onboarding process because they made sure I was never lost especially somebody who does have a background in it, the Asami, a mentor to make sure I was comfortable. 

Ricky Baez  28:19
And if at any moment in time, I didn’t like let’s have a conversation. 

Ricky Baez  28:23
Now, let’s go back real quick. I think we’ve talked about this before this is a company out there called Zappos, you’ve heard of it, right? Yes, they got bought out by Amazon about 10-15, about 10 years ago. 

Ricky Baez  28:36
But before they were bought by Amazon, there was a big story out there. 

Ricky Baez  28:40
And I’ve seen this firsthand, where when somebody wants to start at Zappos, at the end of orientation at the end of the training, they say if you don’t want to start, I will give you $3,000 right now to just walk away. 

Ricky Baez  28:57
And at first, you’re like what in the world, we just spent all this money on this, but it is a genius move, genius move. 

Ricky Baez  29:03
Because if the employee finds that $3,000 is more valuable, they’ll leave and they’ll save the organization money because they probably will stick around for six months to a year getting paid that salary that’s going to be way more than $3,000. It’s a genius move. I’m not saying we should do that.

Pete Newsome  29:21
No, I love the plan. It’s great foresight and an understanding of what you’re really looking for and a successful employee. I love the idea. I’m surprised it’s not more prevalent. 

Pete Newsome  29:35
As has been so obvious. So it’s a great organization. Know that it’s great specifically for that reason I still use them. I didn’t even realize they were bought by Amazon. So this brand and website haven’t changed.

Ricky Baez  29:49
No, it has not been owned by Amazon. Okay, well, remember I remember when it first happened. 

Ricky Baez  29:57
I was reading a story about this in the Wall Street Journal, everybody that was already a Zappos employee that became an Amazon employee, got stock, which they’re probably millionaires by now, because this was back a while back, and they got Kindles a Kindle Fire.

Pete Newsome  30:11
Well, okay, well, they got stuck.

Ricky Baez  30:16
I’m not making fun of you guys, but I bet.

Pete Newsome  30:19
Okay, so I think we’ve covered it. I think we’ve done a good job of defining, and you have done a good job of defining and explaining the differences. I appreciate that. 

Pete Newsome  30:30
Anything else you’d like to add parting? parting thought on?

Ricky Baez  30:33
Yes, parting thoughts. So So here’s one more thing, right? 

Ricky Baez  30:36
We bring the person on board, whatever energy, the organization had to bring the person on board, you’ve got to have that same energy, that same planning to make sure we retain the person less, get less, make sure that we put that person’s skill set in the right positions, right.

Ricky Baez  30:55
Let’s make sure we give them one, let’s not push them in any direction, just like the recruiter needs to be that GPS, that person’s manager needs to be the career GPS for that employee. 

Ricky Baez  31:06
That way they feel fulfilled. Employees today, employees today want to have a more meaningful connection with their employees bigger than before because a lot of Gen Z’s are out there. Yeah, Gen Z.

Pete Newsome  31:17
Employees with their employers, right? Yes, yes. I knew what you meant. I just want to clarify, what did I say? I’m sorry, what did I say? You probably set right. Got it? 

Pete Newsome  31:29
Yes. But the point is a is a great one. 

Pete Newsome  31:32
And so true, from my experience, and everything that I see, which is yes, employers have to portray themselves differently, to attract a large number, of young people in the workforce today where they want to find more meaning from that relationship than have it be just a job. 

Pete Newsome  31:53
So I think that that is something to be well aware of, for sure. And because it’s not going to change anytime soon.

Ricky Baez  32:03
And then what happens is you end up if you do everything, right, you end up with an environment that is that it is mutually beneficial. Right? 

Ricky Baez  32:12
The employer is happy and always has a goal. And the employees are happy and then you get up and you start recording podcasts, not knowing there was a memo for great T-shirts and look at that. Look at what happened.

Pete Newsome  32:23
It happens naturally.

Ricky Baez  32:24
So that’s, that’s perfect.

Pete Newsome  32:26
Awesome. Well, Ricky, thank you so much as always today. That was That was wonderful. You delivered what was asked, I appreciate it. So if you’ve been listening to this far. 

Pete Newsome  32:37
Please follow us on all our social channels. And give us a like, give us a review. Five stars only Of course, we would appreciate that. But if you have questions or comments for future topics, we love to hear that too. Respond to us on any of our channels. We do monitor all of that and thank you again.

Ricky Baez  32:55
Happy Cinco de Mayo folks have a good one.

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