Onboarding for New Employees at the Health and Human Services Agency

About the Program

Category: Personnel Management, Employment and Training (Best in Category)

Year: 2018

As a complex matrix-style organization with over 6,000 employees, the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) was facing the challenge of ensuring new employees understood HHSA’s vision, values, culture and structure. Historically, the onboarding process was the responsibility of individual departments – this resulted in inconsistencies in training and the time period in which a new employee was able to become fully productive. Research shows that the first 90 days are critical to an employee’s morale, performance, and tenure. The HHSA Onboarding Program (HOP) was created to ensure that 100% of new employees experienced a welcoming atmosphere that values, engages and integrates all into the shared vision of HHSA. New employees participated in HOP on their first day of employment, spending 8 hours exploring the following areas: • Live Well San Diego vision and motivation to contribute to the vision • Trauma-informed system of care • Their role in maintaining a culture of ethics and compliance within the workplace • The importance of safety and proper ergonomics in the workplace • Their role in HHSA and how they contribute Data collected before and after a new employee’s participation in HOP demonstrates tangible results in employee motivation and an increase in learning.