Basic Elements of New Employee Orientation

Best Practices page 1 of 2
Basic Elements of New Employee Orientation

Excerpted and adapted from The Architect’s Handbook of Professional Practice, 13th edition
Contributed by Laurie Dreyer-Hadley and Kathleen C. Maurel, Assoc. AIA
Revised December 2006
The AIA collects and disseminates Best Practices as a service to AIA members without endorsement or recommendation.
Appropriate use of the information provided is the responsibility of the reader.
SUMMARY an employee’s initial orientation. Overlooking these

New employee orientation provides firms with an basics can cause a new employee to think that the
opportunity to impart valuable information to new firm is poorly managed, a first impression that may
hires. Some aspects of the orientation occur during be difficult to dispel later.
the first few days of employment while others extend • Review and assist the employee in the
over a period of weeks or months. completion of all necessary payroll, tax, and
employment-related forms; verification of
FIRST IMPRESSIONS ARE LASTING employment eligibility; emergency notification
An individual’s experiences during the initial few forms; and home contact records.
days or weeks in a new position will often determine
• Introduce the employee to the studio, project
whether he or she becomes a satisfied long-term
team, or other relevant work group. Consider
employee. An employee’s introduction to the firm is
asking the employee to share his or her portfolio
the beginning of the employment relationship, and
or work samples with coworkers.
as such should be carefully planned and executed.
• Give a complete tour of the firm, including
ORIENTATION AND EDUCATION introductions to support service teams—
While certain aspects of employee orientation take reception, shipping, payroll, and information
place in the first few days of employment, an services.
effective orientation process may extend over weeks • Review all employee benefits and assist the
or months. Among the information a firm may wish to employee in completing all necessary benefit
impart to employees are the following: enrollment forms and payroll deduction forms.
• Mission, culture, and values • Provide the employee with a copy of the
• Markets and projects employee handbook, and review all
employment policies and office procedures,
• Available internal resources and support including items such as use of company cars,
services travel reimbursement, meeting room scheduling,
and safety procedures.
• Available technology and other special tools
• Review telephone systems and messaging
• Employee policies, handbook, or guidelines
programs, computer equipment, software, and
• Compensation and employee benefits networks, e-mail systems, and CAD standards.
• Job responsibilities, project team organization,
ENTRY LEVEL DESIGNERS
organizational structure
In addition to general orientation, when hiring a new
• Professional development and learning graduate into an entry-level position, it may be
opportunities necessary to orient the individual to the business
environment and to his or her responsibilities as a
INITIAL STEPS professional in the firm. Architects beginning their
Beginning work in a new environment can seem first job need to learn what makes a firm profitable,
alien to anyone; covering the basics early helps new how to manage their time, and how to work
employees understand the “rules of the road” and effectively in an environment that is very different
feel comfortable in their new firm. The following from academia. Work processes, billable percentage
activities are among the more prosaic elements of targets, reporting and accounting systems, and role
© The AIA Knowledge gained from experience immediately applicable to a task at hand. BP 07.02.02
Best Practices page 2 of 2
expectations may need to be explained to

employees just entering the profession.
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS

Laurie Dreyer- Hadley is vice president of human
resources at Gensler, where she is responsible for
all human resources functions. Kathleen Maurel,
Assoc. AIA, is director of human resources for
Callison Architecture, an international design firm
based in Seattle.
RESOURCES
More Best Practices
The following AIA Best Practices provide additional
information related to this topic:
07.05.01 Five Factors of Employee Satisfaction
07.02.01 Sample Interview Questions
07.03.01 Definition of Architect Positions
For More Information on This Topic

See also “Recruiting and Hiring,”
by the same authors, The
Architect’s Handbook of
Professional Practice, 13th
edition, Chapter 9, page 229.
See also the 14th edition of the

Handbook, which can be ordered
from the AIA Bookstore by calling
800-242-3837 (option 4) or by
email at [email protected].
Feedback
The AIA welcomes member
feedback on Best Practice articles.
To provide feedback on this article,
please contact
[email protected].
Keywords
• Practice
• Personnel management
• Employment
© The AIA Knowledge gained from experience immediately applicable to a task at hand. BP 07.02.02

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Best Practices page 1 of 2

Basic Elements of New Employee Orientation

SUMMARY an employee’s initial orientation. Overlooking these

expectations may need to be explained to

ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS

For More Information on This Topic

See also the 14th edition of the

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