You’ve successfully recruited a new person to join your team and come their first day at work you show them where the toilets are, give them their computer password and show them the work waiting for them on their desk yes? No! Spending the time to work to a planned induction programme will settle staff in much quicker and start their first days on a much more positive note. Meaning the new recruit becomes effective much quicker.
Investing time to get it right will leave a lasting impression and help shape that persons career within your business. The majority of staff who leave their roles are new recruits and often very early in their employment. Many leave because the job was not what they expected it to be (see our recruitment advice page as to why it’s important to use accurate job description and job adverts in the recruitment process) or because they don’t feel valued or any attachment within the first few weeks of starting their new position. Remember that they have a lot to learn about their new job, as well as getting used to their new working environment and build working relationships with their colleagues.
Creating An Induction Programme
The secret is to prepare well in advance. As soon as you start the recruitment process think about creating your programme at the same time as your job description and person specification. Inductions can take several weeks to complete and doesn’t all have to happen on the same day.
The first couple of days need to involve getting the new employee familiar with the working environment, meeting the new colleagues they will be working alongside as well as anyone else within the organisation they may come into contact with. It may be a good idea to provide them with a booklet or folder with a list of names and positions. Tell them about the company and share as much useful information about the business as you can.
Their first day is a good time to gather any information you need from them if you haven’t already done so; P45, Bank Details, emergency contact details etc. Of course from day one all employees need to know about health and safety issues, fire drills and any other emergency procedures.
It doesn’t always have to be the manager or HR Team that runs the induction, so before the new recruit starts plan who will meet them, who will act as their ‘buddy’ or be their go to person if there’s something they want to check on or would like to know about if they are unsure.
Week One
Ideally, within their first week, you should have covered the basics, gone over how the organisation works in more detail, and explained the new employee’s role. You may touch on training and development opportunities and how performance will be assessed.
You should have also let them know about company policies on issues such as social media and email use, dress code, smoking, parking etc. It’s also a good time to explain how discipline, grievance, capability issues etc. are managed.
Reviewing Is Key
After that, regular reviews until they reach their probation period are ideal to check they are settling in and whether there’s more you can do in the way of training or additional support. It will give you a really good idea of how they are performing in their role and give you the opportunity to make any changes or set new objectives if needs be.
Some employees may need more attention such as recent school leavers, people returning to work after a long absence or people with disabilities. By keeping informed you can usually nip any problems in the bud early on and your new employee will be happy, productive and making a difference in their new role within weeks!
