Onboarding New Employees

At the University, we believe onboarding a new employee is more than just the traditional first-day orientation experience. It is an ongoing process that helps a new employee understand the culture and expectations of their new job and gives each new employee the tools they need to be as effective in their new job as possible.

Our goal is to provide each new employee with the information they need to become engaged in their work and understand how they contribute to the overall mission and vision of the University of Minnesota.

The New Employee Orientation (NEO) team developed the following tools and resources you can use to welcome your newest employees into the University community and help them become successful, productive members of your team:

1. The Onboarding Toolkit for HR Professionals (pdf) – this is a set of information and tools that will support HR professionals in setting up or expanding onboarding for their unit or department.
2. The Onboarding Toolkit for Managers (pdf) – these pieces are meant to be used in conjunction with the Toolkit for HR Professionals. But if you are a manager who wants to learn more about improving your own onboarding processes, you can look here and talk with your HR professional as you look to make changes.
3. Onboarding Templates – these documents can be modified to meet the unique needs of your department.
4. Strategic Positioning at the U – this link will take you to information about the University’s process of strategic positioning called “Transforming the U.” This may help you help your new employee to understand how their job fits into the larger mission and the strategic goals of the U. It is that line-of-site that can help a new employee become a fully engaged, long term member of our working community.
5. The University Code of Conduct (pdf) – this link will take you directly to the University’s Code of Conduct. This umbrella policy reaches across the entire University to every employee and it is a good idea to be sure all new employees understand what it means for them.

The OHR NEO team is here to help if you have any questions about onboarding, at the central level or in your own work unit. Feel free to contact us at newemployee@umn.edu or at 612-626-3490.