We are excited to announce the launch of the OIT Peer Onboarding Program!
With an organization as large, diverse, and geographically-separated as OIT, it can be tough enough for new hires to learn the ropes and find their place in the workplace without the hurdles of remote working and the COVID-19 pandemic.
To better connect new employees to our team in these challenging times, we developed an onboarding program that provides them with valuable context and a tight-knit network, benefitting the organization in many tangible and intangible ways.
The Peer Onboarding Program is designed to create an engaged, culturally-adept workforce by welcoming new employees with a dedicated peer-to-peer network and by sharing resources and guidance for big and small questions and needs that arise.
New hires will be paired with a peer guide outside of their team and at the same or similar professional level. To support the new hire’s onboarding, it is critical that pairs maintain the relationship for a minimum of 3 months and up to 6 months.
NOTE: This program is NOT an orientation, mentorship, or job training.
- Employees that onboard with a guide or buddy experience a 36% increase in satisfaction. An employee serving as a guide in the first 100 days of employment is vital for new hires to feel connected and supported
- A holistic and personal onboarding experience boosts employee engagement
- The most crucial opportunity to set expectations and advance organizational culture takes place when onboarding new employees. By introducing values and expectations on day 1, we set cultural transformation into motion
The OIT Peer Onboarding Program and the processes that support it are designed to:
- Limit new employee’s feeling of being ‘lost’ when starting a new role
- Set expectations of organizational culture from day one
- Conduct organizational knowledge transfer, providing valuable context to new employees
- Provide a social “in” to new employee by providing access to social and professional networks, both in and outside of OIT
- Be beneficial for both peers and new hires
In doing so, we hope that new employees will feel comfortable, welcomed, connected and set up for success in their new role in OIT and at UCI with a deeper understanding of OIT culture and values.
- Volunteer Peer Guides can include their involvement in this program as an Engagement Goal for ACHIEVE check-ins
- Gain unique perspectives from individuals outside your team and the organization that offers depth and diversity to your work experience