Orientation Mad Libs

When I was hired as a Development Associate for a mid-size nonprofit I had an interesting orientation…

On my first day the HR/Finance Director said that he had a “fun way” for new employees to get to know the organization. Grinning, he gave me a sheet of paper which had a series of “fill in the blanks” associated with company policies and things around the office.

Things like “To learn how to print using the bypass tray, tray # ___, ask ______, who is also great at calligraphy!” or

“To learn about your wellness benefits and getting your steps in, ask _______, who recently ran a half marathon!”

He told me that I needed to go around the office and find which colleague matched the series of hobbies/random facts/trivia, and they would share what office information I needed to know. What I didn’t know at the time is that the organization had recently experienced over 70% turnover.

So, of course, the first colleague I asked said “Ohhh, he’s still doing that? Here.” And, with the help of two other women in nearby cubicles, she promptly filled out the majority of the fields. She then explained that those staff members had quit, so I wouldn’t be able to find out that information unless I talked to the ones who stayed after “the great escape”.

A few more colleagues helped me fill out the rest, leaving one last field for the HR/Finance Director because, of course, he was part of it, too. I don’t remember the details of the whimsical “prompt”, but I do remember the answer was showing me how to log in to my ADP account. Cool.

I should give some credit to the creativity behind matching employee-specific ice breakers with tedious information about the office and then making a scavenger hunt/mad lib game out of it - but never updating it? That was just sad.

- Heather

Texas