Stop 3: Orientation and Socialization

One of the aspects of Hospitality Human Resources that I think is really interesting but also very important is the orientation and socialization. I think orientation and socialization are really important to keep a happy staff and a high retention rate. 

The purpose of orientation is to relieve the stress that new employee might feel coming into a new job. An orientation welcomes and familiarizes the new employees to their new job environment Every company does their orientation differently because of the company’s size, culture, etc. Socialization is similar to an orientation but its purpose is more to introduce the employee to its “values, norms, and behaviors consistent with success in the organization” 

I personally have not worked for a big company, therefore have not really been to a “real orientation” myself. However,  I have been to a job shadow which is quite similar to an orientation. When I attended the job shadow at a restaurant, I met all the workers, toured around the whole place including front and back of the house, watched the operation in the kitchen. If I were one of their new employees and were thrown in that environment without an orientation like the one I had gotten, I would have been really scared and intimidated. Before I was introduced, everyone in the kitchen stared me down and whispered things. It made me feel extremely uncomfortable and I can only imagine how much worse it would be if I were actually going to be a new employee there. According to the Human Capital Institute, " 28% of Millennials report quitting a job because they did not feel connected to the organization." This has a lot to do with the orientation for its purpose is to familiarize the employee to his or her new surroundings.

In terms of socialization, I think it is really interesting how MGM's Senior HR VP, Michelle DiTondo along with her team, made a musical performance as their company's socialization. Even as someone that was just watching a screen of another screen, I was really really really into the show. Whenever I was watching the clips of the performance, I found myself smiling, tapping my feet, and feeling goosebumps down my spine. With a few of my previous jobs, I really wish we had a socialization event because I would have liked to know more about my company's values and such.

Here's a video that I found of an interview with Google's VP of operations -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRsJbpppvEU. I know the checkpoint asked for a video of hospitality management HR but I think this is a really informative interview for HR managers of any industry.