Induction

The impressions made when someone starts work for a new organisation have a lasting impact on how they view their employer, so a welcoming and effective experience is key to making this first impression a positive one.

Induction refers to the process where employees adjust or acclimatise to their jobs and working environment. As part of this, ‘orientation’ can be used for a specific course or training event that new starters attend, and ‘socialisation’ can describe the way in which new employees build up working relationships and find roles for themselves within their new teams. Some people use the term ‘onboarding’ to cover the whole process from an individual’s contact with the organisation before they formally join, through to understanding the business’ ways of working and getting up to speed in their job.

Every organisation, large or small, should have a well-considered induction programme that provides a new employee with a positive experience of the organisation.

The length and nature of the induction process depends on the type of job role, the background of the new employee, and the size and nature of the organisation. One size does not fit all and a standardised induction course is unlikely to achieve its aims.

The purpose of induction is to ensure that employees are integrating well into or across the organisation for the benefit of both parties. Research demonstrates that induction programmes benefit both employers and employees. For employers these include reducing turnover and absenteeism, and increasing employee commitment and job satisfaction. For employees, starting a new role in a new organisation can be an anxious time and an induction programme enables them to understand more about the organisation, their role, ways of working and to meet new colleagues.

New recruits need to understand the organisation, the culture, the people, and what's expected of them in their role, so an effective programme will contain multiple, integrated elements. These include health and safety information required by law and practical information on the working environment and facilities. In addition, the programme should familiarise the new employee with the company culture and values and provide information specific to their job role.

Who needs an induction programme?

All staff, both full- and part-time need an induction programme. Some groups have specific needs, for example graduate trainees, people returning from career breaks, long-term absence or parental leave, technical specialists, senior appointments and directors. Tailor-made programmes should also be available for groups such as job-sharers, temporary staff, promoted staff, transferred staff and remote workers. Increasingly organisations are working in a more networked and globalised way, as well as using contractors and consultants or entering into strategic partnering arrangements.

Induction programmes are important for employees working as part of such arrangements to ensure they are clear about the objectives of the arrangement and about the culture, values and ways of working that will be in place, as these may be different to their ‘home’ organisation.

A well-designed induction programme results in a positive first experience of an organisation. This means that the employee integrates into their team, becomes productive quickly, understands the organisations’ values and culture, and works to their highest potential. Managers (with guidance from HR) need to invest time in inducting new employees - an effective induction process can help them settle in, become productive more quickly.

Without an effective induction programme, new employees can get off to a bad start, and lack clarity on their role and how it links to the organisation’s goals. In extreme cases, the new employee leaves, either through resignation or dismissal. Early leaving results in:

• additional cost and time for recruiting a replacement
• wasted time for the inductor
• lowering of morale for the remaining staff
• detriment to the leaver’s employment record
• having to repeat the unproductive learning curve of the leaver
• damage to the organisation’s employer brand.

According to our 2017 Resourcing and talent planning survey, of the two fifths of organisations that are undertaking specific retention initiatives, just over half are improving their induction process. However, they do not rate this as an effective retention solution as other methods.

Responsibility for the different elements of the induction process will vary depending on the size and structure of the business.

Although the induction of a specific employee is the line manager’s responsibility, they would not be expected to cover all the elements personally. The design, development and evaluation of induction policy and programmes is largely the responsibility of HR or L&D specialists. They may also implement some aspects of induction and will likely be the first point of contact the employee has with the business and ensure that important information (such as bank details, right to work documentation, etc) is collected and that the employee knows what to expect from the induction programme.

HR is increasingly recognising the value of employer brand as part of the induction process. In many cases, this has led to a focus on the onboarding and induction process to ensure it reflects the employer brand and the values the organisation is promoting. This might, for example, mean reviewing pre-employment communications sent out to new recruits to make sure they are welcoming and engaging. Listen to our podcast on rethinking staff induction for case studies.

The induction process depends on the size and nature of an organisation and also on the type of recruit. 

Regardless of the organisation size, an induction processes should cover practical information about organisational procedures (such as building orientation, health and safety, and information about systems and procedures), company strategy and services (such as company values, strategy, and products and services), alongside job specific information (including department information, discussion about what the job requires and objectives), and an introduction to the wider team. This ensures new recruits have something in their diary in the first few weeks, and understand where their role fits and how they can work with others. It’s also a good opportunity to share details of employee network groups and organisational initiatives they can get involved with.

This information can be communicated in a variety of different ways; in organisations where the workforce is dispersed across different locations, digital tools allow new employees to meet colleagues in other areas of the business. However it’s managed, the process is key in ensuring a positive and engaging experience for the new starter.

Organisations are also paying attention to employee experience before the first day of employment, ensuing pre-employment communications are engaging, as well as using social network sites such as Facebook to put new recruits in touch with each other before they start employment. This is particularly common for graduate intakes. Find out more in our report Putting social media to work: lessons from employers.

It's also important that the process continues into employment - managers and HR need consider the ongoing support that a new employee will need to order to settle in and acquire the knowledge they need for their role. We recommend using a ‘buddy’ system to provide support more informally to help new employees settle in, and ensuring new starters understand the learning and development opportunities available to them.

Using a formal induction course

For a large organisation, the induction process is likely to be a combination of one-to-one discussions and more formal group presentations, which may be given within an induction course.

The advantages of an induction course:

• Saves inductors’ and managers’ time by dealing with a group rather than several individuals- the use of digital tools to share information can be useful where new recruits are globally dispersed.
• Ensures that all new recruits are given a consistent positive message portraying a clear employer brand, values and culture.
• Can employ a range of engaging communication techniques such as group discussions or projects.
• Enables new recruits to socialise with each other and build cross-functional relationships.

However, there are also disadvantages which include:

• Contains a range of subjects that are unlikely to appeal to a cross-functional and mixed ability group of new employees.
• May take place several weeks, or even months, after the inductee joins the organisation, which disrupts integration into the work team and risks information being shared too late in the induction process.
• Can be less personal and involve managers and HR personnel rather than colleagues and local supervisors.

What to avoid

• Providing too much, too soon - the inductee must not be overwhelmed by a mass of information on the first day. Keep it simple and relevant.
• Pitching presentations at an inappropriate level - where possible, presentations should be tailored to take into account prior knowledge of new employees.
• HR rather than local managers providing all the information - it should be a shared process.
• Creating an induction programme which generates unreasonable expectations by overselling the job.
• Creating an induction programme that focuses only on administration and compliance and does not reflect organisational values - an effective induction programme should be engaging and assure the new employee that they have made the right decision to join the business.

Evaluation

The induction process should be monitored to determine whether it’s meeting the needs of the new recruits and the organisation. Monitoring should include opportunities for feedback at the end of the induction process, and allow new recruits to highlight areas for improvement.

As well as gathering feedback from new employees, it is important to identify key measures of success of the induction process and evaluate the process against these metrics. Information from turnover statistics and exit interviews can also be used – particularly from those who leave within the first 12 months of employment.

Regardless of whether there's a formal induction programme co-ordinated by HR, or a less formal programme run by managers, it’s important to provide practical information on areas of compliance and company policy. Induction shouldn't be treated as a 'tick-box' exercise, but it's useful to keep a checklist of the areas of induction training each person receives, ideally countersigned by the individual. This list can be a vital source of reference later in employment – for example to produce evidence of training in the event of a health and safety inspection.

The list below outlines the key areas that can be included in an induction process.

Pre-employment

• joining instructions
• proof of the legal right to work in the country (if required, and not already done during recruitment)
• new starter forms (enabling the set-up of bank account details and eligible benefits from day one)
• conditions of employment
• company literature or other media

Health and safety, and compliance

• emergency exits
• evacuation procedures
• first aid facilities
• health and safety policy
• accident reporting
• protective clothing
• specific hazards
• policy on smoking
• security procedures
• confidentiality
• compliance training such as data protection, bribery and modern slavery 

Facilities and IT

• site map - canteen, first aid post, etc.
• guided tour of the building and explanation of local procedures
• telephone and computer system information
• security pass
• car park pass
• opening hours
• remote / flexible working tools and access to work systems, if applicable

Organisation information

• organisation background
• organisation chart - global
• organisation chart - departmental
• organisation strategy
• products and services
• quality systems
• customer care policy

Culture and values

• mission statement
• employer brand
• values

Benefits and policies

• pay - payment date and method
• tax and national insurance
• workplace / stakeholder pension schemes
• other benefits
• expenses and expense claims
• working time, including hours, flexi-time, and arrangements for breaks
• holidays, special leave
• probation period
• equality and diversity policies
• well-being strategy, including absence / sickness procedure
• Internet, intranet, email and social media policies
• performance management system
• discipline procedure
• grievance procedure
• employee resource groups

Role-specific information

• clear outline of the job / role requirements
• introduction to the team and ways of working
• meeting with key senior employees (either face-to-face, or though the use of technology)
• organisational orientation; demonstration of how the employee fits into the team and how their role fits with the overall strategy and goals

Learning and development

• development opportunities and in-house courses
• CPD and Personal Development Plan
• career management

Contacts

Acas - What should be on your induction programme?

Books and reports

ACAS. (2015) Starting staff: induction. London: Acas.

ROBSON, F. (2009) Effective inductions. CIPD toolkit. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

Visit the CIPD and Kogan Page Bookshop to see all our priced publications currently in print.

Journal articles

CABLE, D.M., GINO, F. and STAATS, B. (2013) Reinventing employee onboarding. MIT Sloan Management Review. Vol 54, No 3, Spring. pp23-28.

DAVILA, N. and PIÑA-RAMÍREZ. W. (2018) Let’s talk about onboarding metrics. TD: Talent Development. December. Reviewed in In a Nutshell, issue 85.

GAUL, P. (2017). Onboarding is critical. TD: Talent Development. Vol 71, No 8, pp28-32.

ODOM, C.L. (2018) Onboarding in the gig economy. TD: Talent Development. Vol 72, No 9. pp38-42.

TABVUMA, V., GEORGELLIS, Y. and LANGE, T. (2015) Orientation training and job satisfaction: a sector and gender analysis. Human Resource Management. Vol 54, No 2, March/April. pp303-321.

CIPD members can use our online journals to find articles from over 300 journal titles relevant to HR.

Members and People Management subscribers can see articles on the People Management website.