Onboarding and orienting new employees

The manager's role

Employee orientation is a collaborative process, meaning all of us have a role in helping new employees become successful members of our UVic community.

As a team leader, you have an important role to play in a new employee’s introduction to our organization. In addition to ensuring the new employee participates in and completes various policy and learning objectives, you have a responsibility to provide a series of positive experiences that welcome them to their job, to the people they work with, and to the university.

A new employee orientation is far more than a checklist. The steps you take to welcome a new employee directly impacts how that employee feels about their experience of working at UVic. That employee experience can determine how fast they learn, how productive they are, their approach to client service, and how long they choose to stay working here.

Tools and resources to get you started

These tools will help you deliver a consistent, successful and enjoyable orientation experience for both you and your new employee.

The UVic New Employee Orientation Toolkit serves as a guideline for supervisors bringing new team members into any UVic unit. It is not an exhaustive list of everything that will comprise the employee orientation experience, but it is customizable allowing for job and departmental specifics.

New Employee Orientation Toolkit

One of the tools in the above kit is a customizeable checklist. Click the link below to download a word version of the checklist so you can easily add and delete items.

Download the checklist only for your New Employee Orientation

The Employee Handbook and Indigenous Employee Guide will provide your new hire with general information about working at UVic.

Manager's responsibilities

Although organizational systems, policies and culture impact employee satisfication and commitment, studies illustrate that the employee-manager relationship is key to the employee's decision to stay with an organization.

As a manager, you have a critical role in creating a healthy working environment for the new employee and for ensuring that the new employee's first impressions are positive.

You will be:

  • helping to develop a positive employee-manager relationship;
  • establishing an environment of trust and honesty;
  • ensuring effective two-way communication between manager and new employee; and,
  • influencing the new employee's impressions and attitudes about the workplace.

Probationary/Trial Review

The performance development process is a strength-based approach that focuses on employee growth, existing strengths, enhancing performance and developing new skills and knowledge.

June 2022 Update: The probation form and probation process have recently been reviewed. There is now one (1) form and one (1) process which applies for all employee groups. Please download and review below.

Additional information

Select university policies