Dwivedi (2009, p.100) describes staff induction as a process of guiding and counselling employees in order that they may familiarize with their work environments. Mulders, Berends and Georges L. Romme (2010, p.158) on the other hand, consider induction to be a process whereby new employees are familiarized with whatever is necessary in order that they may feel at home and understand how to undertake their duties effectively.
The authors further note that induction processes are important for new employees as they enable them to familiarize with their work environments and in effect, increase their productivity. Additionally, induction introduces employees to their colleagues and other members of the workforce thereby increasing their enthusiasm. On the other hand, induction is important for the organisation since it offers the employer a unique opportunity to train new employees on organisational policies such as health, safety and equity. Similarly, induction enables employers to fulfil their legal obligation to train new workers on how to undertake their work safely and how to respond to crisis situations.
Kokemuller (n.d.) notes that a good induction program is associated with four major benefits. First, it teaches new recruits the organization’s philosophies and values thereby enhancing its organizational culture. Second, a good program increases the potential for consistent implementation thereby boosting the chances of assimilating new employees to the organization rapidly. Thirdly, it enhances the productivity of new employees by providing an efficient overview of the actual work processes. Finally, a good induction program increases the morale of employees by boosting their comfort in new work environments.
Thomas (2016) argues that failure to have a good risk program results in employees taking too long to settle to the organization’s way of life. Additionally, it negatively impacts the perception of employees towards their skills and expectations and how they ought to relate with their fellow workers and employers. In such scenarios, employees tend to be unhappy, underperform and make unnecessary errors in their work. The organisation is also not guaranteed of a consistent process to assimilate new employees to the organisation thereby lowering their effectiveness.
Burke (n.d.) highlights several induction best practices based on both employee and manager perspectives. First, the author highlights the importance of developing an induction checklist that provides an outline of necessary aspects that a new employee requires to be taken through. Additionally, a job description is also necessary in order to highlight important skills, duties and expectations. The two aspects are useful in preparing employees for the work in the organisation based on the employee perspective.
On the other hand, based on the manager perspective, Burke adds that employers ought to encourage the involvement of the entire staff team especially their social interaction with new recruits in order to make them feel comfortable and settle in quickly. Additionally, employers ought to look for new approaches to welcome new recruits such as taking a tour in the organisation. Similarly, employers are recommended to develop follow up mechanisms to ensure new employees communicate on the challenges they face in integrating into the new organisation.
Probation purpose and process
Under this heading, you should briefly discuss:
Purpose of probation
How will the probationary period be managed?
How long will probation be?
How will the assessment be made that new employees employment will be confirmed or terminated?
Who is involved?
Minimum. 200 words
Answer
Turner (2013, p.103) describes the probation period as that which employees are exempted from certain aspects of their contract in order to establish their suitability for the given post. As such, the author notes that probation enables employers to verify the performance of new recruits before offering them permanent employment. In addition, performance during the probationary period enables managers to easily terminate employee contracts in scenarios where employees are unable to meet the work expectation.
Chaita (2016, p.112) notes that probationary periods differ across different organisations. However, the author cites that most periods run from three to six months. Chaita (2016) adds that managing the probationary period involves employers setting up plans to monitor employee performance and receive constant feedback from the employees on how they are fitting in their new roles.
In order to determine whether the new employees will be confirmed or terminated, the human resource manager and the manager directly overseeing the new employee are involved. During the evaluation, aspects reviewed include work accuracy and quality, knowledge and skills, overall efficiency, work attendance and time keeping and their relationships with the other organisational members.
After the assessment, satisfactory performance leads to confirmation of employment while in scenarios of unsatisfactory performance, employees may have their contracts terminated or their probationary periods extended.
Stakeholder Involvement
Under this heading, you should briefly discuss:
Who will be involved in the induction program
How they will receive any necessary training and support that they may need to fulfil their responsibilities
Minimum. 100 words
Answer
Larkins (n.d.) notes that the main stakeholders involved in the induction program are the induction coaches. Such individuals are existing employees drawn from similar departments as the new recruits with higher work experience. As such, the individuals mentor new recruits during the induction period and enable them to familiarize with the new work environment. Other stakeholders involved include the rest of the staff in the organisation who offer a conducive environment for new recruits.
The different stakeholders require to undergo prior training on how to conduct the induction process in order to increase their efficiency. Such training can be offered within the organisation where the coaches are taken through the induction program in order to understand their expectations in the program. The rest of the staff are on the other hand, trained through periodic meetings on how they should assimilate new employees into the organisation. During such meetings, they are informed of their expectations towards welcoming new employees.
Evaluation
All induction programs need to be constantly evaluated to ensure that they are meeting the needs of stakeholders. In this area you need to discuss:
Why you would evaluate an induction program
How will you do this (e.g. feedback, looking at data, etc.)
How will you decide which improvements to make?
Minimum. 100 words
Answer
Killion (2008, p.12) posits that evaluating an induction program is important as it enables an organisation to determine aspects where the program is underperforming and in effect, improvements can be made to the program. As a result, such evaluation enhances the program’s overall efficiency by ensuring it covers all necessary aspects required.
To evaluate the induction program, necessary feedback ought to be gathered by administering feedback forms and questionnaires to the new employees. Additionally, examining data on the impact of the program to the organisation also provides important feedback on its overall success.
As such, to determine aspects that need to be improved, employers should focus on problems highlighted in feedback questionnaires in addition to aspects demonstrating negative impact to the organisation. Once identified, the organisation should then focus on improving the identified areas with poor performance (Killion, 2008).
Induction Program
You must complete the table below. Remember you will need to cover a range of issues including (but definitely not limited to):
Training
for their actual job
How they will learn about the organisation (vision, mission, strategies, structure, etc.)
Work health and safety
Corporate policies and procedures
Administration details
Training
Buddy/Mentor Program
Probation activities
Make sure that you discuss who would be involved in the delivery of all of these induction and probation activities
Answer
Before Commencement
The administration requires to inform the existing employees that a new worker is to be recruited to the organisation. The activity is performed by the HR manager. Upon communication, a member of the organisation is then assigned the role of preparing the new recruit’s working area and procuring necessary equipment required to facilitate their work activities. The induction coach is then appointed by the HR manager and provided with an induction checklist in order to identify all aspects that should be covered in the program.
Day 1
The induction coach welcomes the new employee to the organisation. Necessary introductions are done to work colleagues, supervisors and managers. A tour is also provided in order to enable the new employee to identify different aspects of the organisation such as the kitchen, break rooms and washrooms.
By the end of Week 1
The new recruit is well acquainted with how work is done in the organisation, their work expectation and employment policies. The new employee should also be in a position to describe employment conditions such as work hours, pay details and dress code required. Health and safety aspects such as fire evacuation should also be well known. The induction coach facilitates the understanding of the different aspects.
By the end of Month 1
The employee already understands their work expectations, company policies, vision, mission and goals. The induction coach further facilitates learning on the organisation. Aspects trained include the history of the organisation, its culture and people.
By the end of Month 3
At this juncture, the new employee has already settled into the organisation and understands their contribution to its goals. The HR manager and induction coach provide feedback on the performance of the new employee within the probation period in order to determine if their contract is to be confirmed or terminated.
References
Please provide a reference list of all the sources of information that you used in preparing this assessment task.
Answer
Burke, M. (n.d.). 10 Great Ways to Improve your Employee Induction Process. [online] The 6Q Blog. Available at: https://inside.6q.io/10-ways-to-improve-your-employee-induction-process/ [Accessed 8 Jun. 2018].
Chaita, M. (2016). Developing Graduate Employability Skills: Your Pathway to Employment. Boca Raton: Universal Publishers.
Dwivedi, R. (2009). A Textbook of Human Resource Management. New Delhi: Vikas Publishing House.
Killion, J. (2008). Assessing Impact: Evaluating Staff Development. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Kokemuller, Neil. "The Benefits of a Good Induction and Training Program." Small Business - Chron.com, http://smallbusiness.chron.com/benefits-good-induction-training-program-80147.html. Accessed 08 June 2018.
Larkins, K. (n.d.). Staff induction training guide. [online] Ksl-training.co.uk. Available at: https://www.ksl-training.co.uk/free-resources/staff-induction/staff-induction-training-guide/ [Accessed 8 Jun. 2018].
Mulders, D., Berends, P. and Georges L. Romme, A. (2010). Dynamic capability and staff induction practices in small firms. Society and Business Review, 5(2), pp.155-169.
Thomas, S. (2016). A poor induction process – what’s the effect on your business? [online] Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/poor-induction-process-whats-effect-your-business-sarah-jane-thomas/ [Accessed 8 Jun. 2018].
Turner, C. (2013). Unlocking Employment Law. London: Taylor and Francis.
