New Employee Orientation (STARTING a Tree Care Business)

One of the more hectic tasks during the middle of the busy season is new employee orientation. I found it extremely difficult to focus on new employees while there were upcoming sales appointments, issues with production crews and other fires to put out. Streamlining the orientation process made it much easier. Having a specific outlined process that every new employee went through eliminated the thought process for me. It also allowed other key employees to handle the orientation process so I could focus on other management tasks. Over the years, orientation ranged from a 1-hour to an all-day event. I decided to eliminate the process of watching safety videos and keeping the process to a 2-hour maximum. Following the 2-hour orientation, new employees joined the crew for the remainder of the day. As a company, I felt any employee I thought was worth hiring, was worth the 2-hour investment. It also allowed the crew to give immediate feedback day 1 to see any potential in the new hire.  Generally, by the end of the first week, we knew what kind of employee we had.

The Orientation Process

After an opening welcome or meeting the other employees, the first task for orientation is to expose new employees to the company Mission, Vision and Core Values. I always felt this set the tone for the rest of the orientation. Understanding what the company is about should be known and posted immediately for all employees, but especially for new hires.  Following this company introduction, the information shown below was handled one item at a time.    Much of this were discussion points with the exception of the Company Handbook and required sign-off forms relating to company safety policies.  No employee should be allowed in the field without signing company policies.

Here is a Sample Outline for New Employee Orientation:

Sample of New Employee Orientation (Page 1)

Importance of New Employee Orientation

It is always exciting to bring new employees on board, but it is always a tricky game knowing how much to invest right away. For me, orientation is really about 2 things, which is covering the company’s policies and getting a vibe for the employee. Getting good questions and feedback during these 2 hours always made me feel positive about the hire. Not hearing one question, comment or any feedback raised immediate red flags.

Sample New Employee Orientation (page 2)

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