Perceptions of organizational leaders and employees on the role of new employees orientation: Lessons from a selected Non-Government Organization in Gaborone, Botswana

New employee orientation is considered an important strategy in employee retention. Effective new employee orientation programme has been shown to reduce stress and anxiety in new hires, reduce staff turnover, improve performance, reduce boredom and absenteeism in the workplace. It is reported that about 60% of new hires look for new jobs within six months. This has negative effects on organizational performance and delays achievement of organizational goals and vision. The research questions together with theoretical framework guided the study to understand the perceptions of organizational leaders and employees, the challenges and benefits, interventions that can be adopted to enhance new employee orientation, and compare and contrasting perceptions of leaders and employees. The study embarked on an enquiry into the effectiveness of orientation programme at a selected non- governmental organization in Gaborone, Botswana. The study used case study design as it helps with gaining in-depth understanding of challenges and mitigations of new employees’ orientation in Gaborone, Botswana. The population of the study are the managing director and employees. Purposive sampling through heterogeneous sampling technique was used to select participants who can provide rich data in the study. Data collection was conducted through in-depth interviews, and document analysis through the lens of uncertainty reduction theory and Path-Goal theory. Trustworthiness criteria that were used are credibility and confirmability in addition to researcher's reflexivity and piloting. Taguette software was used to analyze the data to generate meaning using codes and themes. Ethical considerations were adhered to when gaining access for field work. The results of the study might benefit the non- government organization in Gaborone with recommendations to implement effective orientation programme for low staff turnover, high retention, and high organizational performance. The results of the study show that leaders and employees perceive that new employee orientation has an important role in welcoming new employees into the organization. Furthermore, the study made recommendations to improve the pre, during and post orientation sessions.