Employee Orientation Education

Our employee orientation education is about supporting a positive employee and supervisor experience as they move through the onboarding journey. It advocates for the shared responsibility between employee and supervisor for onboarding and fosters a consistent, coherent experience. Programming provides timely information, tools and hands-on learning that sets employees up for success and helps supervisors lead the onboarding process with confidence and clarity.

Orientation Curriculum

U of A Employee Orientation Course for Full-Time Staff: Prepare, Discover, Learn

The University of Alberta Employee Orientation Course is designed to help you copilot your onboarding journey and set you on a path where you can thrive and grow in your role. Combined with the U of A Onboarding Program, this self-paced, multimodal and interactive course provides you with a structured overview of the community expectations at the U of A along with education about our current priorities. Throughout the course, you will be equipped with tools and resources to support your onboarding journey.

Learners also have access to optional modules that deepen their understanding of the U of A and how you can set yourself up for success.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Explain the components of a 90-Day Plan
2. Recall important elements from U of A policies and procedures that guide our behaviour
3. Recognize your role and responsibility in creating a safe and healthy work environment
4. Match employee categories at the U of A and the associated collective agreements
5. Outline key components of Indigenous Initiatives and Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity at the U of A
6. Define the seven service excellence principles and six service competencies

Audience: This course is intended for FTE Support Staff, MAPS, APOs, and TLAPOs. Staff from these employee categories will automatically be enrolled in this course. Any U of A employee can also self-enrol . To support your success, employees are required to complete this course within 30 days of beginning their appointment.

Estimated time for completion: 2.5 hours 

U of A Orientation Course For Casual Employees

Recognizing the diverse needs of employees, the U of A Employee Orientation Course for Casual Staff is a streamlined version of the course completed by full-time employees. It covers mandatory topics about the expectations at the university and our service cultures. Throughout the course, you will be equipped with tools and resources to support your onboarding journey.

Learners also have access to optional modules that deepen their understanding of the U of A, its history and current priorities,and how you can set yourself up for success.

Learning Outcomes

• Explain the components of a 90-day plan
• Recall important elements from U of A policies and procedures that guide our behaviour
• Outline what your role and responsibility is in creating a safe and healthy work environment
• Match employee categories at the U of A with the associated collective agreements
• Define the seven service excellence principles and six service competencies

Audience: This course is intended for all casual staff, including Casual 1 FT Students. Casual staff will automatically be enrolled in this course. Any U of A employee can also self-enrol . To support your success, employees are required to complete this course within 30 days of beginning their appointment.

Estimated time for completion: 1.5 hours

Staff Virtual Orientation Event

The Staff Virtual Orientation Event is an optional complement to the self-paced, online U of A Orientation Course. In this virtual event you will have the opportunity to build your sense of belonging through opportunities to network with other members of the campus community. You will also connect your learnings from the orientation course to your work by thinking about how you will create impact in your role and Lead with Purpose.

Learning Outcomes:

• Review the University of Alberta for Tomorrow (UAT) model
• Critically reflect on how you will contribute to the university and Lead with Purpose
• Connect with other U of A employees and build a sense of belonging

To get the most out of this virtual session, have access to a microphone and video. This session builds on the knowledge developed in the self-paced Employee Orientation Course. It is strongly recommended all session participants complete the online orientation course prior to attending this live, virtual session.

Note: This session previously targeted both faculty and staff. To better support the diverse needs of staff and faculty, the session has been streamlined to support staff, MAPS, APOs, and TLAPOs. 

What's Not Covered

• Employment questions such as access to payroll, benefits, pension, etc. If you have questions about these aspects of your onboarding, reach out to the Staff Service Centre.
• Orientation to your specific role and work area (i.e. job-specific orientation) is not covered in this session and is the responsibility of your supervisor, manager or leader.

Starting Strong: Orientation for Supervisors Onboarding Employees

Did you know that employee turnover can be as much as 50% in the first 18 months of employment (Gallup)? At the U of A, we have heard that there is a need for an improved onboarding experience across faculties and units to support higher retention and job satisfaction. The U of A Onboarding Program is an institutional process that bridges employee success during the first 90 days and complements unit onboarding activities.

The program is focused on the supervisor and employee experience. It is designed to help supervisors foster employee performance and to create a consistent and coherent onboarding experience​ that helps new employees become fully immersed into their role, their team and the broader organization.

Supervisors lead the onboarding process and play the most important role in an employee’s onboarding journey. The degree of supervisor support felt by new employees impacts role clarity, job satisfaction, retention and engagement. In this interactive session you learn about the roles and responsibilities associated with onboarding. You will engage with the tools and resources that support supervisors and encourage employee accountability and performance.

Learning Outcomes:

• Describe the roles and responsibilities of those leading and supporting onboarding at the U of A.
• Identify and locate onboarding resources and tools.
• List the key steps in onboarding a new employee.
• Describe the employee onboarding programming and how it supports supervisors.
• Summarize the components of a 90 day plan and draft a plan for a new employee.
• List factors that support employee performance, engagement, and motivation.
• Initiate a 90 day plan for a new employee.