After a well prepared Constitution...making the concerned PPTS and a leather bound copy....and distributing with lots of Fanfare...Now it is important that you make a proper induction program for the company/organization...I wanted to write on type of infrastructure also.... but that will have to wait till tomorrow......
The induction program should be
tailored to the requirements in the job, the needs of the individual employee
need to be taken into account as these may affect the style and pace of the
process. The following points are
examples of the differing emphases that you may need to consider to make sure
that the induction process is successful:
Induction need not be an elaborate exercise, but it must be
thought out in advance, carried out in a timely and careful manner and
evaluated to ensure that it meets the needs of the organisation and the
employee…..
The benefits of a good induction program are a more
settled employee, a more effective response to training, lower staff turnover
and improved communications and relationships generally.
How an organisation treats its employees (develops, informs,
communicates with or instructs) is critical to the ongoing relationship between
them….. Research has shown that the
highest level of staff turnover in a single group was among new employees.
It is important therefore that the first few weeks spent by
a new employee in an organization is effective in persuading him or her to
remain with the business.
The aim of this guide is to provide you with a structure on
which to build an induction experience for new starters that will ensure that
the process is consistently applied throughout the department. However, it is flexible enough for you to use
it to supplement the induction activities that you may already have in place or
provide you with a framework on which to develop the whole learning process.
This guide focuses on the information you will need to
induct a new employee successfully into your team and the department. You may also find it a helpful aide-memoire
when inducting newly promoted staff or colleagues on their return to work after
long-term absence such as a career break, e.g. maternity, adoption or paternity
leave.
What
is meant by induction?
Induction is the process an employee undergoes when
beginning a new job to:
§
Welcome them into the organisation
§
Help familiarize them with their new place of
work,
§
Understand the main policies, processes and
rules of conduct they have to observe
§
Meet the colleagues with whom they will work and
§
Begin to know and become effective in the job
they are about to start.
A basic induction can also be organised for colleagues who
are changing jobs or when returning to work after a prolonged period of absence
to bring them up to speed with any recent developments.
What
should be included in an induction program?
The key to successful induction is not to provide too much
information at the beginning otherwise the employee may feel overwhelmed. It is important that you structure the
induction process so that all the relevant topic areas are covered in the right
order and in sufficient detail, appropriate to the employee’s position in the
department. The length and nature of the
induction process depends, therefore, on the complexity of the job and the
background of the new employee.
Remember that, although the elements of induction programs may cover the same topics, one size does not fit all and a rigidly standardized induction course is unlikely to satisfy anyone.
A typical induction program for a new employee should
consist of:
§
A general description of the overall
organisation
§
An overview of the department’s structure, its
divisions and the work of the new employee’s team or section
§
The key strategies and policies of the department
§
A general introduction to the main terms and
conditions of employment
§
Constitution of the company should be
handed,explained and then tested ,in form of exams to see how far the employee
has absorbed the constitution details.
§
Information and communications strategies used including use of equipment and software
§
Health and Safety information
§
A clear outline of the job/role requirements
The following table sets out in more detail the range of
topics to be included in the induction program:
|
Category
|
Description
|
|
Health and safety
|
Emergency exits
evacuation procedures
first aid facilities
health and safety policy
accident reporting
specific hazards
policy on smoking
|
|
Organisation
|
Layout of the
building, toilets, etc.
telephone system
computer systems
organisation chart - global
organisation chart - departmental
car parking arrangements
security procedures
|
|
Terms and
conditions
|
Absence/sickness
reporting procedures
working hours/flexible-time system
holidays/special leave
probationary period
the Appraisal Scheme
discipline procedure
grievance procedure
|
|
Financial
|
Pay - payment
date and method
tax s
pension
expenses and expense claims
|
|
Training
|
Agreed training
plans
learning and development opportunities
Personal Development Plan
career management
|
|
Culture and
values
|
Background
vision and mission statements
key strategies and objectives
customer care policy
|
Who should be involved in a successful induction
programme?
As the person’s line manager you will be responsible for the
design and implementation of her/his induction, but you are not expected to
cover all the elements personally. No
one person alone should or would be able to deliver the complete induction
process for a new employee. The range of
information to be provided to or gathered from the new starter would indicate
the breadth of the task in hand.
Your task is to organize the process in a logical order and
to ensure you have the assistance of the relevant colleagues who can provide
their input at the most appropriate moment.
When we surveyed a selection of recently appointed staff from all
divisions of the department, the majority (86%) commented on the support and
help given by colleagues working in the same team/section. Do not underestimate the value and usefulness
of this form of informal socialization to the integration and learning process
of new starters. Make sure there is time
set aside in their induction programme for this activity to take place.
Those people who you could normally involve in the process
and the areas they would cover include some or all of the following, according
to their knowledge, position or relationship with the new employee:
|
Officer(s) involved
|
Areas Covered
|
|
|
§ Give an overview of the
organisation, its history, strategies, objectives and services, structures
and culture.
|
|
The section manager and/or direct line manager/supervisor
|
§ Explain the departmental
organisation, the requirements of the job, the purpose and operation of any
probationary period and the appraisal system.
§
Explain the induction programme.
§
Provide an escorted tour of the department and introduce fellow
workers; then give day-to-day guidance in local procedures for the first
couple of weeks.
§
Describe available training opportunities and then help to
develop a personalized training plan.
§ Provide details of other
sources of information during induction such as the IT infrastructure,
including e-mail and intranet or interactive learning facilities
|
|
Health and Safety officer(Admin or Personnel Management)
|
§ Explain the health and safety
issues.
|
|
Human Resources Personnel
|
§ Cover the housekeeping aspects
for a new starter (possibly on arrival, certainly on Day 1) such as
completing employee forms, taking bank details.)
§
Describe the learning and development policy for the department
§ Explain the annual appraisal
scheme and its links to skills, knowledge, professional and career
development
|
|
A work colleague, mentor or “buddy”
|
§ Sometimes inductees allocated
a colleague, not their immediate line manager can be supported to help speed
up the settling-in period
|
Employees
who need special attention
School and college leavers: they may be nervous or excited about starting
work, but will need reassurance about their position in the department as well
as encouraged to develop a positive attitude to work and the opportunities for
future development of their skills and careers.
Returners after a break in employment or changing their
work situation: they may be nervous
about returning to work after a period caring for their children or other
relatives, even if they previously worked for the Organizations. They may feel that they are out of touch with
developments and in need of re-establishing themselves. You will need to take these feelings into
account even offering training and extra help to settle in and become valuable
members of the organization.
Employees with disabilities: careful pre-planning can reduce problems of
access, equipment or relationships with colleagues. Specialist advice, via the Human Resources
team, is available from the Disability Employment Advisor and the Disability
Service Teams, including the Access to Work scheme, whereby assistance may be
available in meeting the cost of any aids and adaptations required.
Part-time, job-share and temporary staff: have particular needs, not least because of
their working patterns and ability, or otherwise, to attend all induction events
and opportunities that you may wish to organize for them. You may need to consider rearranging the
employee’s working days at the start of their employment or pay for her/his
attendance outside of normal working days on occasion.
The
induction timetable
A good Induction begins even before the person has actually
started work. Consider how the following
list features in induction:
§
Information about the job, the division and the
department sent with the recruitment pack
§
The written statement of employment particulars
and the employee handbook, ‘Code of Conduct and Behavior at Work’, sent with
the job offer letter
§
Information where and who to report to on the
first day of employment
§
Arrangements for accessing computer networks,
e-mail systems and, where appropriate, the internet
These are all important and, properly organized and
presented project a positive image of the department.
It is equally important to take account of the following
points:
§
Planning an induction course should start as soon
possible, maybe as early as when planning the recruitment process itself.
§
Setting out your induction plan at the beginning
avoids the problems that could arise in trying to arrange time in the future,
when the new employee is established in the job.
§
The induction programme may be spread over
several days,depending on the complexity of the job, the role of the new
starter or extent of person’s contact with others within and beyond the
department
§
Monitoring the effectiveness of the process is
also equally important. Building in
reviews during and at the end of the induction programme, either formally or
informally, will enable you to learn from the experience and make the process
more effective for the employee and in the future.
§
It is a good idea, wherever possible, to get the
person to complete some kind of practical work on their first day. This will assist their learning and enable
them to relate what they are being taught to their role and make them feel part
of the team.
Remember, information should be provided at a rate that
allows the employee to take it in and understand it properly. For example, delivering information in short
concentrated bursts interspersed with other work will make assimilation easier.
For example, at the time of offering the job, you may have
identified some specific area(s) for development in the person’s knowledge or
skills during the recruitment and selection process. These and other available learning
opportunities can be addressed in early discussions with the new employee. The learning objectives agreed can then form
part of the initial review and development (annual appraisal) process.
Planning and implementing a good
induction training programme
Preparation is the key to good induction. Well in advance of the new employee starting
work draw up a programme, or course, and a timescale for its
implementation. Include in the programme
the formal and informal contact meetings with those officers who will regularly
work along-side the new starter or with whom he or she will come into
contact. In addition, ensure that the
new employee has an opportunity to begin work as soon as possible and that
he/she has opportunity in the programme to become familiar with work colleagues
and some of the informal aspects of the office routine.
At the end of this guide is an example of an induction
programme for an administrative assistant, which you may find helpful when
drawing up your own programmes.
Here are some other hints and tips you may wish to consider
in your induction plans:
§
Remember to inform other employees about the new
starter, prepare their working area, organise any equipment necessary for the
job, include access to computer systems and networks, and any documentation for
them to read and/or complete.
§
Prepare an induction checklist to help ensure
that all areas are covered. An example
of a checklist is included at the end of this guide.
§
Don’t forget to include the more informal
aspects of the induction, for example whether any social occasions are planned
for the near future, whether the tea, coffee and other refreshments are free or
whether they are part of a kitty.
§
Make sure that you include the formal aspects of
induction that all new starters are expected to attend, including Equal Opportunities,
E-mail, departmental presentation, etc.
§
Ask questions throughout the induction to ensure
that the employee has understood everything and to get their mind working. You should also encourage them to ask
questions.
§
Arrange regular review meetings during the
induction period. This can help you keep
track of the progress being made and give the new employee the chance to ask
questions of you or raise any concerns.
§
It is a good idea to get feedback from the
employee a few weeks into their employment to find out what they thought of the
induction process and any changes they would recommend.
§
Make sure the induction programme is fit for
purpose. Creating a programme that is
not appropriate to the job or generates unreasonable expectations by being more
interesting or more exciting than the job itself might lead to a lack of
enthusiasm, demotivation and early resignation.
Overall, be prepared to make changes in the programme. If the new employee becomes competent and
effective sooner than expected cut out any unnecessary elements, or if he/she
would be better employed on some interesting and useful work than to go to a
presentation, rearrange attendance to a later date. Remain flexible and adapt the programme to
the pace of the new employee.
Where
to get more help
To complement the individual induction programme that you
will be preparing, there are a series of structured learning and development
events being organised and run regularly throughout the year. These include
§
A half-day departmental induction presentation
in which the overall aims, strategic direction and structure of the department
together with the work of the major divisions will be shared.
§
A half-day introduction to equal opportunities
training event organised by the Department’s Policy and Communications team
§
IT training in all major software applications,
including e-mail; Microsoft Word, Excel,
Access and PowerPoint; Intranet and Microsoft Internet Explorer; (mostly half-day, some full day or specially
designed to meet individual needs)
§
Health and Safety
§
Use of Telephones, via the intranet (attached to
the main office switchboard)
You can also obtain further guidance on designing and implementing
an induction programme from a number of internal and external sources.
In this way you can assure the new employee get absorbed
smoothly into the mosaic of the company and as they said “ First Impression is
the Last Impression”… and so this pleasant experience will remain a found
memory which will catalyze optimum quality in output from the employee
