Welcome to the fold
Helping new staff to hit the ground running requires a tailored and carefully considered induction strategy.
By Louise Pasterfield
Gone are the days when induction consisted of little more than a brief introduction to your computer, colleagues and the distribution of generic material to new employees. As the working environment becomes ever more specialised, the use of contractors and temporary workers increases and there are ever more regulations to adhere to, the success of any organisation depends on its ability to quickly recruit, train and retain excellent people at every level.
Staff induction can have a major impact on the development of the business or quality of service given to customers (including patients). With the stakes so high, it is not surprising that organisations are increasingly steering away from ‘out of the box’ generic induction and tailoring programmes to address individual business needs.
In the modern, fast paced workplace, the aim of any induction programme has to be to rapidly provide the right information, at the right time, to the right people in a cost effective manner. Accessibility is a key factor. E-learning has proven to be particularly valuable in addressing these demands, but an induction programme cannot be delivered wholly online; it is most effective when combined with other methods, such as face-to-face meetings, peer mentoring or print media. So to unlock the many benefits of e-learning it is vital for organisations to gain insight into the strengths of e-learning, so they can determine what induction elements can best be delivered online and which through traditional media.
The benefits of induction with e-learning at its core
A bespoke induction programme with e-learning at its core can immediately begin to address the two biggest induction issues: timing and cost. Take for example the timing of induction days often held monthly in larger companies or when there are enough people for a session. While they certainly make sense from an economic perspective, they leave employees that join before induction to pick things up for themselves, or from existing employees. An e-learning module not only resolves this by giving new employees all the ‘need to know’ information on the first day, but can address another thorny induction question: When should induction start?
There is a school of thought that says induction should begin as soon as the person has been offered a position, to make the transition into the organisation as seamless as possible and to enable the employee to hit the ground running. In a world where on-boarding – the process of acquiring, accommodating, assimilating and accelerating new team members – is increasingly referred to as a key management skill, employers that don’t begin induction at the earliest stage may be missing a trick.
E-learning is an ideal vehicle to deliver early induction as it requires little more than access to an online environment that the organisation would administer. Of course, there are implications in making information available to employees before being in post, and these will vary between organisations. At the very least an online ‘Welcome’ module could provide new starters with the opportunity to read up on basic and meaningful information and be better prepared to start work.
E-learning modules also help address the issue of induction cost, which is often underestimated. The ‘big ticket’ item is generally the classroom sessions, but other costs include creating, maintaining, translating and renewing materials; the cumulative cost of manifold training sessions; the man hours required to schedule and organise the induction sessions; and, of course, the cost of not having employees fully productive.
By delivering core induction modules online, each new employee will reach full productivity far more quickly, and will not negatively impact colleagues’ productivity by asking for support. There will be less ‘classroom’ time required, and online materials can easily be updated and kept current.
Designing your induction programmes
Detailed below are the eight steps a company should consider when designing a bespoke induction programme or bringing clarity to an existing one. The key issue is that there is no ‘one size fits all’; organisations invest an incredible amount of time and money on developing their culture and values and these must form the basis of the entire programme. No company would ever consider itself to be exactly the same as another organisation and induction must reflect this.
The common misconception – that there is a body of generic information that requires little or no customisation before distribution to the workforce – underestimates a key role of induction: to put information into context and make it pertinent to the particular workplace or job role. For example, health and safety in the office, hospital or building site will be very different and require different knowledge.
- Evaluate your existing induction programme: The idea is to determine which sections best lend themselves to e-learning. Some content will more naturally lend itself to an online format than others, such as regulatory training for example, where you need to record and track module completion. You may also want to think about information that employees may want to refer back to after induction such as policies on absenteeism, holidays, discipline or flexi-time. You should aim to break induction information down into digestible modules: ideally no longer than 40 minutes.
- Involve key stakeholders: Induction is more successful when managers take an active and enthusiastic role and one way to ensure buy in is for an organisation to identify a ‘new starter champion’. The champion, and other key stakeholders from around the business, should be invited to contribute to the design of the induction framework. Time and resources permitting, stakeholders should be brought together for an ‘induction design day’.
- Know and understand the audience: Many factors, including age, technology experience, sector, location and job role will need to be taken into consideration. An induction programme for tech-savvy office workers will be different from one for manufacturers with limited access to technology.
- Create the experience: The experience will depend on organisation’s values and culture: a well established blue chip company may take a different induction approach to an internet start-up. Your
- e-induction should reflect your brand culture.
- Determine the timeframe: An induction timeframe is critical to keep induction moving forward smoothly. Companies should make a list of what it is critical for each employee to know by day one, week one, month one etc. This will provide clarity and avoid the ‘spray and pray’ effect, where new employees are given all of the information in an intensive classroom format over one or two days, and may not retain all of the information. With online modules, employees can always refer back to information later.
- Ensure materials are engaging: Consider how you can use multimedia such as video and sound as well as a variety of activities like quizzes, drag and drop games and prioritising exercises. Try to avoid a lot of on screen text as this can be dull. Remember too to talk to your communications department as they may have photographs or illustration resources that you could use so the screens are more exciting visually.
- Include all departments: To ensure departmental support, all departments should be responsible for maintaining a ‘new starter checklist’, containing information on the role of the department and people that the new employee needs access to during their initial period in post. Inductees will be given this before a meeting with a department representative, enabling them to prepare beforehand and use the meeting to address queries. This approach will also make the entire induction process transparent, and help encourage buy-in across the business.
- Gain feedback from current inductees: Inductees can provide honest feedback on the effectiveness of induction and provide an illuminating view of the process from the other side of the fence. To ensure the programme continues to be developed and improved, it is crucial to build in ongoing evaluation.
Hit the ground running
In today’s workplace, an induction programme needs to deliver an incredible amount of information, rapidly, accurately and cost effectively. Employees need to ‘hit the ground running’, which is why a bespoke programme is so important. E-learning can play an invaluable part: it is flexible, cost effective and ensures consistent delivery across departments, sites and countries. It is also adaptable: a complete online induction can be built in as little as three months or be phased in more gradually; the introduction of two or three e-learning modules could immediately benefit the business. As organisations use more contract or temporary workers, e-learning can also provide a flexible and effective method for employers to meet their legal training obligations while ensuring a consistent experience for all employees.
Louise Pasterfield is the managing director of Sponge UK