General Chat

Hi Alison,

I hear you about week 1 - you want to make sure they have good context for the organization they are joining and not overwhelm them with too much information. We introduce our new hires in week 1 to our key departments and I think it is helpful to plant seeds and provide memory hooks for further learning. Ours is more time consuming (and I think more detailed than it should be) so I don't recommend the approach we use. It was in place long before I was hired and it will take a significant initiative to change it.

Here's what I might do with your situation, knowing that you'll be virtual and have a variety of new hires from different departments:

• Do a starting activity that helps them think about what they already know and share it with others (i.e., a digital whiteboard with pre-set areas for them to share what they know about the various departments you'll be covering and another section they can use for questions).
• Use images of the departments, their leaders, their locations (i.e., on a map) as you go through them - that will help visual learners.
• Can a story or metaphor be used to tie the departments together and create a cohesive thread for them to understand at a high level the purpose of each department you cover?
• Use an interactive gamified quiz (i.e., a trivia game to test their retention) or another fun activity that reinforces the key objectives.
• Toward the end of the presentation, use breakout rooms to have them spend a few minutes sharing what they've learned and how it will help them in their role. They can also share outstanding questions or clarification that is needed. A scribe or facilitator can share follow up questions on behalf of the group and, if time allows, they can be addressed before ending the session. 
• You can also use a poll at the end (or beginning) to capture questions people have.

I look forward to seeing what everyone else comes up with. This is a great forum to post this question.

This might not be an option for you, but we use asynchronous learning modules hosted in our LMS. New employees are assigned to a new employee orientation program consisting of numerous courses they need to complete on their first day, first week, and first month. We use the online modules to provide the type of information you listed (the company’s organizational structure, descriptions of the key departments, teams, and leadership roles, and the type of work they do, how they work together, etc.) They are easy to update when there are changes. We include a video from the CEO to welcome folks to the company, and include quotes from key personnel about their teams, etc. We also discuss key successes and innovations. It seems to work well for us. 

We have each department leader do a brief (30 min) overview of their unit, how it fits into the organization, who its team members are, the department mission, etc. Some occur monthly, others occur every other month. We think it is important for new hires to meet the leaders in each area (and vice versa). We are an organization of 360 employees. 

Hello, 

At a previous employer, we had 3000+ employees, spread over 76 office locations (in the tiny state of Montana), 13 divisions with 50+ programs and 5 hospitals. Each division has a Division Administrator, each hospital has a their own admin team, then there Bureau Chiefs, the Director, and their programs. This is a state agency by the way. 

So what we did was create a game, kind of like a scavenger hunt or geocaching, but on the website and intranet. Our onboarding process was completing in three parts. Part one was completed online and was from the State Dept. of Administration. Part 2 was also online, it was a Captivate course hosted on our LMS system. As they searched both the website and the intranet, they had to answer questions, and complete activities to show that they were on the correct page. The third part was a 3 hour long session with HR/Admin online (teams meeting) where we introduce the executive team and the division administrators. They would talk about their divisions and take questions, they would also ask questions of the new employees about what they learned through their search through the online onboarding program. We would schedule the 3 hours session as needed. Sometimes that was once a month, sometimes it would be 3 months. It all depended on how many new employees we had. The agency online portion was done during the first three days of employment (it contained all the necessary paperwork the new employee needed to submit to HR). Usually the longest a new employee would wait for the virtual session was about 3 weeks. 

Initial thoughts on what you could do. Without further knowledge of Sourcewell. Split the new employees into teams. Have them research and present on the different departments. Have the leaders of these departments on the training. They (and the other teams) could ask/answer questions. Let the learners develop the content. If they miss anything then the leaders of the departments can fill in what is missing. The research could be a 10 min research, each team has a series of questions to answer. This would introduce them to the departments, and if the teams contain members of the different departments they start learning about the departments. The could also answer a question related to how the individual is related to the other department if they are not in it. Then report out. 

As for when, maybe week 2. Give them the first week to acclimate. Then week 2 send them the instructions, and list of teams. Instruct the team members to reach out to each other and work on the questions before the meeting. Then at the meeting go over the answers. Do some homework first, then do the classroom. 

Just a thought, I haven't fleshed it out or put too much into it. 

Scott Burnett, IDPT M.S.

Manager of Training: Compliance and Standardization

Update: New Program Overview

Thank you to everyone who shared feedback! Based on your input, I designed an introductory session as part of our new orientation program—and the results have been phenomenal. Here’s an overview:

Background

We recently launched an extended, cohort-style orientation program. New staff complete education, setup tasks, and collaborative activities as a group throughout their first week, with dedicated time for independent work.

Session Details

• Title: Organization Overview
• Format & Length: Live, synchronous session via video conferencing (45–60 minutes, depending on Q&A)
• Timing: Week 1 of onboarding

Purpose & Outcomes

The goal is to help new employees:

• Understand our mission, vision, and strategic goals.
• See how these goals align across our three divisions.
• Apply this understanding to their own role within the organization.

Session Structure

The session is a facilitated conversation led by an Orientation Leader and includes three parts:

1. Mission, Vision, and Goals

   • Starts with audience interaction: “How did you explain your new role to family or friends?”
   • Defines mission, vision, and strategic goals to ensure clarity.
   • Walks through each component with mini-discussions.

2. Division Alignment

   • Explores how each division’s goals connect to the organization’s strategy.
   • Reviews teams within each division using a visual graphic.
   • Participants share how their role supports these goals and the audiences they serve.

3. Leadership Introduction

   • Provides an overview of our leadership team and board.
   • Explains how employees will interact with leadership during their tenure.

Impact

By framing the conversation around why we do what we do, rather than memorizing lists of departments, we’ve created a narrative that resonates. New staff leave with:

• A clear understanding of our divisions and their purpose.
• Insight into how their work contributes to our shared vision.

Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with participants reporting stronger connection and clarity about their role in the organization.