New Employee Orientation

Overview

Reuters is the world’s largest international news and television agency. As the leading supplier of global information to news and technology groups, Reuters provides real-time financial data to currency traders. The Reuters International Financial Transaction Products division is part of the Reuters company. It designs, installs, and maintains the software and hardware used for the international foreign exchange currency market, using a large, complex network. Any downtime is extremely costly for Reuters’ customers. It is critical that new employees understand the scope of this vast organization and their critical role in it.

Business Challenge

Reuters wanted to provide all new employees with a consistent foundation for understanding their role in the larger organization from their first day of employment. The challenge was how to provide well-rounded employee orientation for every employee’s first day on the job, no matter where or when that first day is.

Reuters wanted their employees to learn about the many related jobs at Reuters, while also giving them a taste of the customer’s typical day. The training should also highlight the international aspect of Reuters.

Solution

New employees spend from six to eight hours of their first day at Reuters taking this course (entitled “First Day”). The learner arrives in a virtual city, and begins to explore. They interview key people throughout the Reuters organization who give their perspectives on the business. The learner also visits various customers who use the Reuters system, to gain empathy for their needs and challenges. Along the way, clear explanations are given through animated diagrams and personal anecdotes. By the end of the course, the learner has a complete view of the world of Transactions Products, and a good idea of where they fit in the larger whole.

Results

First Day has been a big success. Used in hundreds of Reuters offices around the world, it provides a solid foundation for employees by giving them an understanding of the importance of their position on the team. The course is more consistent and cost-effective than instructor-led training, and is always available.

The time new employees spend on this crucial first day gives Reuters a priceless advantage – employees who see where they fit in an otherwise daunting organization. The program has helped the entire division work as a team.

This program won the Gold International CINDY Award for New Employee Orientation.

Why New Employee Orientation?

Your organization is a team – a group of individual performers who must work together to achieve a goal. When a new member is added to the team, they need to hit the ground running – in step with your organization’s structure, and toward your company’s goals. That’s what New Employee Orientation (NEO) is all about.

Design Access has designed and produced many NEOs in a wide variety of formats. Just as each company is different, each NEO is unique. One common goal all NEOs share is to start each new employee off with a good understanding of the organization they have joined.

This particular NEO focused on one division’s business – selling, installing, and supporting specialized hardware and software for trading currency around the world. Reuters wanted to give the new employee a complete picture: the various parts of the organization, the software and hardware, and the customer. They wanted their employees to understand their role in relation to their peers, their product, and their customers.

Design Access created a virtual city which provided a well-rounded view of the product through the eyes of the people who sell, maintain, and use it. As the new employee explores the city, they meet various people, each with a particular perspective on the business. The learner can visit the system’s designers, the installation engineers, the help desk administrator, repair technicians, and various customers. Through these fully illustrated interviews, they learn all about the system – its design, use, and support. They emerge from the training with a detailed understanding of the company they have joined, and their part in that world.

Through video and audio, the new employee meets people they would probably never get a chance to meet in real life. Each employee gains an awareness of their role in the larger organization, so that every employee, from the lowly production assistant to the high-powered consultant, is aware that they are part of something bigger than just their job. Seeing “a day in the life” of each one fosters respect and unity within the team.

You only have one chance to make a first impression – an impression that can shape the new employee’s entire tenure at your company. The first days on the job are the perfect time to teach your new hire exactly what they need to know to be successful in your organization. He or she is starting anew, and is receptive to your message. A good new employee orientation program lets you deliver a specific, consistent message to every single person who joins your company.

If we were to design a new employee orientation for you, we would start with defining your message. Based on your message, we would suggest some possible approaches, and you would select one. We would design and test, deliver the system, and then gather feedback from your learners to improve it. We can work with your internal resources, or as a stand alone one-stop shop.

Design Access creates custom solutions that teach, inform, and inspire. We combine business expertise, design creativity, and technical mastery to develop innovative solutions to our customers’ business problems. We have partnered with over 60 Fortune 500 companies to help them achieve their communication goals. Let us put our experience, talent, and energy to work for you. Give us a try!