For a long time, higher education institutions have employed a simple orientation strategy to welcome new members as part of a longer faculty onboarding process. Orientation usually includes a one-day program filled with an introduction, talks from tenured staff, and maybe a campus tour. New hires face multiple challenges in their first year, and these orientation days are essential for their success.
With a clear purpose and vision, orientation programs can adequately prepare new hires for their roles, integrate them into the campus community, and set them up for success. When new hires do well, your institution and its students benefit, making it well worth the effort.
Read on to discover why comprehensive faculty orientation programs are important and the best practices you can follow to create one for your institution. With an effective program in place, you can help new hires hit the ground running.
The impact of orientation on new faculty
Faculty orientation programs are your institution’s chance to give faculty the tools and information they need to start their new roles. They are also a chance for faculty to learn about your institution, network with faculty, get set up, familiarize themselves with the campus, and understand their new role requirements.
Creating a supportive and effective orientation program helps:
- Reduce stress: Starting any new job can be daunting, even if faculty have lots of information from onboarding. It’s their first day in a new environment with new people and responsibilities, so stress and anxiety levels can be high. Orientation can reduce stress, provide a clear overview of what’s to come, and allow new hires to acclimate before classes start.
- Increase productivity: Including training activities in orientation helps new hires start work knowing what to do. Learning your institution’s processes and systems while on the job could lead to mistakes, delays, and frustration. An orientation program filled with resources and training can increase their productivity and reduce the chances of unnecessary mistakes.
- Enhance commitment: Orientation programs highlight that you care about faculty and want them to succeed. They’ll feel welcomed and appreciated from day one, creating a positive association with your institution. These positive feelings can boost commitment and loyalty and make faculty happier with their new job choice.
- Foster relationships: Faculty relationships are vital to work ethic and morale, as they support each other and share experiences and advice. New hires also bring fresh ideas and perspectives to your institution, which can improve teaching practices with tenured staff. At orientation, your institution can encourage faculty to network and socialize, increasing the chances of relationships forming.
- Boost confidence: Orientation is a powerful way to increase new hire confidence from the start. The program can be full of socializing and fun, helping faculty fit into your institution’s culture. It also helps them prepare for their responsibilities and feel ready to take on whatever challenges come their way.
- Decrease turnover: The ultimate goal of orientation is to acclimate faculty to their role and your institution. When your orientation program achieves this and makes faculty feel appreciated and less stressed, they’re more likely to love their job. Consequently, implementing an effective orientation program can decrease employee turnover and help you form a positive company culture.
Understanding the issues new hires face
While orientation programs can benefit your institution and its new employees, they may fail to address relevant issues. To make your orientation program as effective as possible, you must understand these issues and learn how to help faculty overcome them. When starting a new role, faculty may have difficulties:
- Balancing responsibilities between lecturing, researching, and service.
- Motivating students to learn and managing their behavior.
- Understanding the tenure and advancement process.
- Incorporating new technology into teaching methods.
- Discovering the realities of being a professor.
- Forming connections with colleagues.
- Navigating institutional culture and fitting in.
- Finding opportunities to participate in decision-making.
15 new faculty orientation best practices
Understanding orientation best practices can help you create an orientation program that effectively meets new faculty needs and improves retention rates. Whether you’re creating a new orientation program or refining an existing one, consider these tips:
1. Gather faculty feedback
Current faculty likely have ideas on how you can improve the new hire process based on their experience. Their feedback is invaluable and can make the experience better for future hires. Conduct a needs assessment survey to identify faculty needs and plan to address them in your new orientation program. Feedback from your most recent hires is a good place to start, but longtime tenured faculty may also have advice.
2. Develop program structure
One of the best things you can do to improve your institution’s orientation program is to create a comprehensive program structure. What exactly will the orientation program look like? Include information about the program’s length, location, and topics. Consider a multi-day orientation program to cover everything without overwhelming new hires.
3. Create checklists
With the orientation program outlined, you can create checklists for new faculty to use when they arrive. Instead of feeling unsure of what to do, these checklists will give faculty step-by-step instructions for the entire length of the program. Orientation checklists should clearly list what tasks they need to complete with deadlines and descriptions. Your institution’s checklist could even include pre-arrival tasks to prepare hires for their first day.
4. Introduce the institution
While new hires most likely have a basic understanding of your institution, outlining key information during orientation is beneficial. Highlight your institution’s mission, values, and goals to ensure new hires understand what to strive for. You could also organize presentations with institutional leaders to introduce them and inspire faculty. Campus tours are also necessary for new hires to become acquainted with their new workplace.
5. Demystify organizational culture
Current faculty will have a clear idea of campus culture, which includes their shared values, beliefs, and behaviors. These filter down to the way faculty act and communicate with one another on campus. Think of how faculty greet each other, dress, spend lunch, and share information. These things are obvious to staff but not to newcomers. Being transparent about campus culture helps new faculty members quickly acclimate, feel comfortable, and connect with colleagues.
6. Define expectations
In the name of transparency, orientation is also a good time to outline expectations for new employees. After onboarding new faculty, they should have a solid understanding of the institution. However, the orientation program can reiterate primary expectations and clear any confusion. Cover their core responsibilities and give a realistic overview of what their days will look like. This strategy ensures faculty are fully prepared for their job and can perform what’s required.
7. Present student feedback
Many new faculty members are lecturers who will need to work with students. An effective way to prepare them for lectures is to request student feedback and present it during orientation. New hires will feel grateful to have information about their students they can use to improve their teaching methods.
You can ask students questions like:
- What are the best qualities of your favorite professor?
- In what ways can a professor support you?
- What advice would you give to a new professor?
8. Offer new faculty training
Your institution hired new staff members for their skills and expertise. However, many new hires may still be unsure how to engage students and create an effective learning environment. Your institution most likely has teaching best practices and advice to offer, which you can include in orientation through training workshops and demonstrations.
Training new faculty can improve student outcomes and ensure education quality stays consistent across departments. Faculty will appreciate the guidance, and students will benefit from more knowledgeable teachers. Some examples of training topics include:
- Crafting effecting assessments and feedback.
- Creating a lively online learning environment.
- Engaging and motivating learners.
- Advising and mentoring students.
- Managing time and balancing responsibilities.
9. Cater to diverse backgrounds
New hires will have varying knowledge and experience, making it challenging to create one universal orientation program that meets every individual’s needs. To cater to the diverse backgrounds of new staff, you can include tailored elements and activities. Some parts of orientation can be the same for all employees, but then they can split off to attend events specific to their experience, role, or department.
10. Provide support resources
To combat stress, your institution can provide plenty of support and resources to new hires during orientation. The goal is to showcase your dedication and prove they’re not on this journey alone. If you’ve completed faculty need assessments, you may have an idea of what support new hires find useful.
However, a simple way to make the start of their career easier is to provide comprehensive guides on how and where faculty can find support. These should outline resources for professional development, research funding, wellness services, and contact details for people they can reach out to with questions.
11. Include current faculty
Including experienced faculty can make a significant difference in the new hire experience. Their support and guidance can help new faculty feel at ease and better prepared for their job. That’s why mentorship programs during onboarding are so effective. If you’re planning on introducing a mentor system or have one in place, orientation is the perfect time to organize meetings and activities between mentor pairs. You can also encourage faculty to host panels or discussion groups to share their advice and answer questions.
12. Allow time for setup
While orientation can be a blur of activities, it’s vital to give new hires time to set themselves up for their first workday. Before they arrive, ensure their parking, workspace, and equipment are ready to go. Then, create a timeslot during orientation for faculty to sit and create accounts, find space for their things, and get used to their new environment.
13. Introduce software and tools
Along with setting everything up, it’s always a good idea to include training for anything faculty need to perform their duties. For example, you can allocate time during orientation to show faculty how to use the role-specific software and tools. You can also review best practices and explain any associated policies and procedures. Walking them through these things in person can get them up to speed and reduce confusion and mistakes.
14. Arrange social events
Another way to support faculty is to provide opportunities to connect. Orientation is the perfect time to host events for new hires to interact and get to know one another. They’ll allow faculty to relax and create memorable moments from their first week on campus. Some ideas for social events you can use for orientation include:
- Lunch: If your orientation program extends through lunchtime, consider hosting a lunch event. You can provide free food to the staff to encourage them to attend and make the atmosphere comfortable with seating options and music.
- Games: Including some fun activities during orientation can make the day more relaxing, especially if you’ve planned lots of talks and training. Try games like scavenger hunts, bingo, and trivia.
- Tours: A group tour is also an opportunity for socialization. You can include games to make the tour more exciting and encourage faculty to chat.
15. Conduct post-orientation surveys
Every orientation offers a chance to improve if you utilize the power of data through post-orientation surveys. Send these surveys to new hires either on the last day of orientation or shortly after, and offer an incentive for completing them to increase response rates. Ask clear, specific questions and keep the survey short to ensure you gather valuable data. Then, use the feedback you receive to adjust future orientation programs and boost their effectiveness.
Support faculty from orientation and beyond with Warkmark Faculty Success
Effective faculty orientation programs help increase loyalty and retention rates at your institution. However, faculty need more support than just a few days of orientation to succeed and grow. That’s one of the reasons we created Faculty Success, a central hub for faculty activity data. This innovative tool helps you minimize the administrative burden, simplify the review process, and support faculty career advancement.
Our recently launched Faculty Career Pathways module allows you to create guided career pathways to support faculty. As soon as you hire someone new, you can set up a transparent road map for tenure and promotion, letting them know what they need to do to progress. Career pathways can also save you time and reduce errors by removing the need for manual processes and disjointed tools.
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