City schools officials are on a journey to dole out warm welcomes, and they’re taking Batavia Blue Devils on board for the ride.
Or make that, onboarding: an effort that more companies and organizations are making to fully integrate new employees. For Batavia City School District, this means tours, group sessions to complete required paperwork, and more down-to-earth greetings, says Trisha Finnigan, executive director of operations.
“When inviting them for an interview or screening, it starts with ‘thank you for applying to become a member of the Blue Devils family,’” she said during Thursday’s Board of Education meeting. “We start with that notion that we are a family from the get-go.”
Unlike traditional orientations, usually done in groups to review policies and procedures, onboarding is to acclimate new hires and ensure “they have access to the things they need from the onset,” Finnigan said. Whereas orientations are typically a one-time event, onboarding will be a process of 12 or more months, she said.
“It’s a process of integrating new employees over that period of time,” she said.
An informational page of new employees, or those that moved into different positions, and their photos will be included in this effort, she said. People will better be able to place names with faces and know those who work in other school buildings, she said.
Finnigan is scheduling one-on-one meetings with new employees to find out what they liked about the hiring process and what could have been done differently, she said.
According to Glassdoor research, a great employee onboarding program can improve employee retention by 82 percent. Human Capital Institute states that 87 percent of employers credit buddy programs for boosting new hire proficiency. Batavia’s onboarding agenda includes a mentoring buddy, Finnigan said.
The board later approved a slate of new employees, all of which will get to know the rest of the Blue Devils family soon enough.
Other board approvals went to an inter-municipal agreement between Livonia Central School District and the Batavia district for shared remote/digital learning and a revised agreement with Mary Cariola Children’s Center.
