MARICOPA COUNTY TRIAL COURTS NEW EMPLOYEE ORIENTATION: ASSIMILATING NEW EMPLOYEES AND PROMOTING COURT MISSION AND VALUES

The trial courts in Maricopa County, Arizona, faced a problem-a tight labor market and increasing employee turnover rates. Recognizing the problem, and realizing that the courts could not earn employee loyalty by matching private-sector salaries, administrators sought alternatives to attract and retain a skilled workforce. They began by changing the way they welcome new employees to the court system and made dramatic changes in the way they acculturated new employees into the court environment.

Many employees make the decision to leave or stay in an organization within the first few days in their new job. During this "getting to know you" phase, the new employee develops opinions about the position, coworkers, management, and the overall organization. Are their positions valued and an essential part of the overall success of the department? Who will assist them in navigating their new work environment?

Because orientation programs are the primary tool for organizations to acculturate new employees, the principal court administrators charged the education department with assembling a group to assess the then-existing orientation program. The education department formed a team composed of educators, human-resources specialists, and civil- and criminal-court administrators. Surveying orientation programs in both private- and public-sector agencies, the team found that effective orientation can reduce turnover rates by as much as 25 percent. Where did Maricopa County's program fall, they asked? Was the program successful in acculturating the new employee and in presenting the court as an appealing employer?

The team found that the program was loaded with content yet was missing clearly articulated goals. The program covered court and county structure, judicial branch mission and vision, and benefits-all in four hours. If new staff were not intimidated before having the orientation, they were guaranteed to be overwhelmed after completing the course. This examination persuaded the group that orientation needed an overhaul; indeed, it needed to be completely reinvented. The court's leadership charged the group with creating a new employee orientation with an explicit goal of assimilating new employees and fostering commitment to the court and to the judicial branch's mission and values. The new orientation would assist new employees in their transition from being members of the public to being members of the court community.

The team designed an education experience that would help new employees understand the purpose and structure of the judicial branch, better assimilate them into the court environment, and help them understand their roles in promoting the organization's mission and values. New employee orientation in Maricopa County is more than a civics lesson. It aims to be a transformative education experience where new employees are welcomed into the court community and in turn become committed to the organization's mission and values.

We consider the orientation experience as two people dating; they are exchanging information to determine compatibility. The new employees shared information about themselves in the job interview. Orientation is an opportunity for the court not only to share information but also to sell its attributes.

CREATING THE FOUNDATION: NEW EMPLOYEE ORIENTATION'S SIX CORE ELEMENTS

Court operations are mystifying to most new employees. Like many members of the public, they view the court as an episode of Law and Order. Most new employees are not familiar with court administration and certainly not with its complexity. To a new employee, entering the court environment is like traveling to a foreign country. Like so many organizations, the court has its own vocabulary, using legalese and acronyms as shorthand. One new employee remarked that the language of the court sounded "a lot like Shakespeare," antiquated and difficult to understand.

The challenge for the development team was to portray the "big picture" of the court without overloading the participants with context and to ground the new program in a common language that was easily understandable. Thus, the team needed to decide what information, resources, and tools were essential for the new employee.

Through its survey of successful public- and private-sector orientation programs, the development team identified six core elements:

* Description of the organization, mission, structure, and customers

* Discussion of how a new employee's position fits into the organization structure

* Review of ethics codes and organization policies

* Information on compensation and benefits

* Logistical information about the work environment, facilities, and security

* Information on career growth and professional development, training, and mentoring programs

With content and core parameters generally defined, the team and administration established program goals.

Next, the group asked who should serve as faculty for the program. Because employees often perceive court administration as inaccessible and removed from the frontlines, use of court leadership as faculty is a key program innovation. In Maricopa County, the trial courts presiding judge and senior court administrator welcome the new employees and teach the first session. By committing to serve as faculty, the presiding judge and senior court administrators send the powerful messages that introducing new employees to the court is a priority and that each new employee is a valuable member of the court team. Their presence also conveys that administrators are interested in hearing from new employees and seeking an ongoing dialogue.