Art of employee induction in firms

Employers put in a lot of effort to ensure the best fit talent is attracted to their organisations. However, the initial days spent on joining leave a lasting impression for employees throughout their career. Induction training marks a beginning of an 'employer-employee' relationship.

It develops skills, knowledge and behaviour that are a reflection of the organisation's work ethos. Best practice induction programmes focus on allowing employees to have a say in their own development, taking into account particular needs and learning styles of individuals. Flexible, employee-centred programmes reduce stress often associated with starting a new job.

Although personalised programmes require more thought and effort, they are by far the best way of bringing an individual into an organisation. Many best practice organisations utilise the time between appointment and the start date of the employee's new job. New recruits receive pre-employment information packs including staff handbooks and a list of recommended reading.

They must be user friendly and jargon free in order to help employees understand the organisation. An outline of the initial programme can allay pre-employment nerves, as can pre-employment visits.

Induction training should be facilitated at two levels. Firstly, the basic level, which addresses employee's immediate needs and priorities and areas of health, safety, facilities and conveniences, should always be explained immediately.

Contractual ties

It is also important to ensure employees understand any contractual relationships they are entering into. The advanced level, which focuses on organisation and the job, comes second.

Regarding organisation, new employees should be given a structured view of the organisation by receiving mission statements, structure charts and business plans. They need to know how they fit into an organisation, so meetings with appropriate people and accountability charts are vital. Inductees must also be familiarised with work culture of an organisation and also need to understand any relevant rules.

By communicating clearly published policies and meeting with a variety of staff to discuss formal and informal issues, these needs can be addressed. It is crucial that new employees have particulars of their job explained, preferably by a well-written job description. Standards of performance should be set and targets agreed. Line managers need to identify any training that may be required.

Success of induction training will largely depend on the ability of the person responsible for design, co-ordination and delivery of induction. Many organisations provide training on induction delivery, which includes an emphasis on importance of good induction.

Some organisations include it in their general management skills training. As with any training, reviews of the induction training between the line manager and the inductee should be an integral part of the programme. Aim of such reviews should be to consolidate learning, encourage employees, assess problem areas and develop targets.

Induction effectiveness needs to be measured for inductees and organisation. Precision of measurement is difficult, although induction should be taken into account when considering staff retention, attendance, equal opportunities, health and safety and customer care.

Imagination and innovation are crucial for designing successful induction programmes, as is the ability to be proactive and forward thinking. Investing time and money in induction will pay huge dividends in the long run.

Manish Kotwala is director and Bhaskar Menon is principal consultant at Cedar Management Consulting International.