Why a good induction is vital for your new employees

“I am a passionate believer that if done well a one or even two day induction can deliver benefits that outweigh the hassles. So why do I believe in them? “

In medium or large sized organisations the amount of work and time to put together a good induction is high. The attendees, facilitators and presenters are all very busy people. So why bother? Surely line managers can show the new starter round, direct them to the values on the intranet and set some objectives for the year?

I am a passionate believer that if done well a one or even two day induction can deliver benefits that outweigh the hassles. So why do I believe in them? Here are some simple reasons:

• New people need reassurance and who better to get it from than other new people
• Putting a face to a conversation is great for building relationships
• Established employees get to hear new ideas in a safe environment
• Consistent messaging to a wide range of people and backgrounds
• People have a chance to socialise therefore build up networks, gain confidence and have fun

So what key things make inductions valuable for all? Make them interactive (don’t just preach to people), have plenty of breaks (we are not used to concentrating for long periods without a cheeky coffee, chat or look at BBC Sport) and have topical subjects (we don’t really want to hear about the new finance system).

Being an analyst and a believer in constructive feedback please make sure you ask people what they thought of the sessions. Send a simple survey, have 1-2-1 chats where possible and check the performance of those attending using HR data (hopefully they will be better at their job or at least get up to speed quicker). Please don’t forget to act on any good feedback.

Get your induction programme right and you will have employees starting a career who feel valued, are highly engaged and have bought into the company’s goals and strategic vision. If they buy in they will tell others.

Neil Parkinson, the author of this blog, will be speaking at the Mission Critical HR Analytics conference 2015 in London this summer.

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About Neil Parkinson

Neil received his degree from Leeds Metropolitan University in 1994. After gaining experience across a number of roles he embarked on a career in recruitment/HR analysis. After successfully implementing a culture of data led decision making across two recruitment advertising agencies he moved to BSkyB to set up a new reporting function.

Neil set up his own consultancy in 2012 to help clients bring their data to life. He has worked on developing strategic KPIs, designing dashboards and enhancing in-house analysis capability. At Diageo he facilitates organisation effectiveness through the interpretation and presentation of HR data.

He shares his analysis thoughts via his blog, attends the gym and travels regularly around the world.

• Is the question more important than the answer in HR analytics? - 7 September 2015
• Joining up the HR data dots - 2 June 2015
• Why a good induction is vital for your new employees - 26 May 2015
• Could Mr Benn have coped as an HR Analyst? - 5 May 2015
• The reason employees really leave - 21 April 2015
• Could Mr Benn have coped as an HR Analyst? - 5 April 2015

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