I soon learnt when I became a manager that I had to create an induction program/checklist for new recruits. You can never remember everything you need to go through and this ensured that I covered all the points / arranged any training that was necessary. You realise as soon as you start putting it down on paper that there is so much to go through and that it is such a vital procedure.
More importantly, creating an induction program shows the new employee that you have prepared for their start and have thought about their needs as they take a new step in their career. Also, by sharing the program with the new employee, they will be reassured to see what is going to be covered.
So what do you include in your induction program?
• You need to ensure that you have all of their paperwork; full name, address, emergency contact numbers, bank account, NI number and P45 etc.
• Do they need a set of keys to the office / key card?
• Run through any health and safety procedures; who are the first aiders/fire wardens, where is the accident book, what to do in case of a fire etc.
• Draw up an organisation chart for them to keep, discuss who is who on the organisation chart and their roles and responsibilities. Discuss the ethos and culture of the business, types of clients and your ideal client.
• Explain and introduce them to other departments; how the business works as a whole and how other departments can help them and vice-versa.
• Take the induction step by step prioritising the most vital tasks / knowledge and remember no-one remembers everything from their first day so don’t fill that first day/week up too much. Spread your induction over several days/weeks (depending on how much they have to learn). Break the induction up with work tasks; this will reinforce their learning.
• Include information on company culture, for example personal use of internet, mobile phone policy, where they can have their lunch and when (these are questions that any new employee will want to know but some may feel they can't ask).
• Go through with them the relevant parts of your office procedures manual and office policies, for example probationary periods, holiday requests, discipline procedures, performance reviews etc. Ensure they understand the contents and answer any questions.
• Ensure they have everything they need on their desk – in fact firstly make sure they have a desk! I turned up to a permanent job many moons ago for a large organisation and I had no desk, no PC and no username – imagine how welcome that made me feel!
• So ensure they have a desk and the necessary office equipment i.e. stapler, holepunch etc. Make sure they have a working PC, printer and scanner. Do they have access to all of the software they need? There is nothing worse than wanting to train a new employee on a dedicated piece of software and you find that they are not set up on it and therefore have to wait several hours to get it sorted.
• Have a social event, if appropriate. This is such a good way of quickly making introductions and in a more relaxed environment than the workplace.
• Spend (productive) time with your new recruit; investing time at the start will save you so much time in the long run.
• If you cannot spend time with your new employee, ensure someone else can. Create a “buddy” system but check that the “buddy” is actually doing what you have asked them to do!
• Ensure they receive training on all the appropriate systems and software. If you are not carrying out the training, ensure it gets done when it is meant to get done. Follow up with the new recruit and see how the training went.
• Obviously depending on the size of the organisation, you may be able to have weekly reviews with the new employee. However, for larger organisations that’s not possible so ensure that review dates (say at 1 month, 3 months, 6 months etc) are in the diary.
I believe by creating an induction program covering all of the points above will ensure your new employee will feel more valued, which in turn will increase their loyalty to your business. Also, by creating a detailed induction program, it will speed up the process of your new employee settling in and becoming more effective in their role.
I hope the above has been useful. If you need help with creating or updating an induction program, please get in touch at louise@taylormadeservices.org.uk or give me a call on 07969 433590
26 August 2020