Induction

2. Benefits of Induction

Most employers understand the value of settling a new employee into their role in a well-organised induction programme.  Induction is a vital part of taking on a new employee.  Whether you are the owner of a small firm, the head of a department in a larger organisation, part of a human resources team, or a line manager / supervisor there are a number of key reasons for carrying out induction effectively:

• It reduces the time for a new employee to become effective.
• It helps develop working relationships with colleagues.
• It will improve the new employee’s motivation and reduce turnover rates.
• It begins to introduce the concept of training and continuous professional development in the minds of both the employee and the organisation.

Remember: Induction is not just for new starters.  Staff changing jobs or returning to work may need to go through an induction or re-orientation process.

3. What does Induction involve?

Induction is… and is not

• a partnership between new employee, line manager, HR and key people in your business, and not the sole responsibility of HR.
• a way of getting the new employee to understand the overall aims, objectives and outputs of the business, and not only about understanding their own role, tasks, standard operating procedures, etc.
• a chance for the new employee to understand the values and culture of your business, and not a tick box of rules, regulations and policies to be communicated to the employee.
• an ongoing process up to and including the completion of probation, and not simply a list of activities to be carried out on the first day of employment.

4. Planning your Induction

The areas to be covered by the induction, and when, typically follow six steps:

Step 1 - Before the employee starts

Send useful information to the employee and prepare their workplace.

Step 2 - Day one

Provide essential information and introductions.

Step 3 - First week

Provide more detailed information on the organisation and its systems and processes.

Step 4 - First month

Make regular checks on your employee and provide feedback.

Step 5 - Three months

Carry out an interim check on your employee's performance and training needs.

Step 6 - Six months

Complete an end of probation assessment.

See our Step-by-step Guide here

5. Developing your own Induction Checklist

Drafting a checklist will help you to:

• Stay organised and make sure you don't miss out any important steps.
• Identify who else needs to be involved and delegate tasks.
• Ensure legal and / or regulatory requirements are met.
• Keep a track of progress and ensure the induction is completed.
• Carry out a consistent induction for all new employees and employees changing roles.

See our example template Induction Checklist here. It is not exhaustive and you should use this as a basis for developing your own tailored approach.

6. How effective is your Induction?

An employer should look back on a regular basis at how new employees have settled in.  This will identify where they excel, struggle or lose interest, and where improvements could be made.  Think about the following:

• Look back at how new employees performed at the three-month and six-month stages.  Did the volume and quantity of their work meet targets?  If not, how could they be brought up to speed more quickly?
• Were there any settling in or relationship issues in the early stages of employment and how could these have been anticipated and overcome?
• At 12 months, and at their first full performance review / appraisal, was the new employee producing the results expected of them at that stage?
• Have you asked employees for feedback at the end of their induction? What worked for them and how could they see induction carried out more effectively?
• What are your turnover rates of new employees in the first 3/6/12 months?  Consider holding exit interviews to find out reasons.
• If you have recruited a number of people, why not arrange a reunion for new starters over the last 12 months to share their experiences of induction with you.

You can find more information and a detailed guide on effective staff induction by visiting ACAS.

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