How to run a successful staff induction course
When you take on new staff, an induction is a crucial part of the hiring process. Not only does it welcome new starters, it also familiarises them with your business, its working practices and culture.
Although it’s not required by law, it makes sense, as companies who don’t bother with the induction process may find that new employees end up leaving because they don’t fit in.
The interview process should have given candidates an idea of the job role, so when it comes to the induction, they should be familiar with company expectations in terms of dress codes and duties.
The induction is more an opportunity to introduce new employees to the working environment and to outline the company goals. As a good way to start an induction course, you could talk about the company’s values and what it means to work there. If the company has any specific practices, these can be outlined at the induction.
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A successful company needs a strong leader or leadership team with a clear vision of the direction in which the company is taking. It’s important that employees believe in this from the onset, so the induction course needs to convey the company’s short and long-term goals so that everyone’s on the same page. Inductees need to know their role within the company and how they can help achieve these goals.
Induction courses also commonly cover important legal matters relating to the company including health and safety, human resources procedures, financial compliance, company policy and industry specific requirements. Outline product information but also direct new starters to specific online training courses and tools that can help them to improve their product knowledge.
Make the induction course challenging – it’s not just about giving speeches. Organise tasks relevant to the company and direct inductees to participate, as this engages them from the get go. Calling everyone into a room and giving a long lecture isn’t the way to engage new staff. They need to be doing tasks that introduce them to their actual job role as soon as possible.
If the induction is taking place over a day or a couple of days, you need to organise some fun activities as light relief or it may start to drag, causing the inductees to become less focused. A simple way of doing this, once the formal introductions have taken place, is to ask each new staff member to share an interesting fact about themselves with the other group members. Everyone could also be asked to write a light-hearted description of themselves for the company intranet.
Although there needs to be a fun element, it’s important that you don’t take this too far – while it’s acceptable to have some time for social interaction, it’s not a good idea to take new team members out to a bar for lunch! There’s a fine line between having fun and being irresponsible. It may also discourage some new starters if they don’t like the culture.
Always be ready for the unexpected. Even the best-planned inductions can go awry, so you need to be flexible enough to deal with occurrences outside your agenda.
Finally, it’s important to ask for feedback on the induction process, from both the new starters and from the employees presenting the course. This enables improvements to be made if necessary, while the elements that are successful can be further strengthened for future courses.
If you’re looking for a suitable venue to hold an induction course, contact &Meetings. Our meeting rooms in London are available across many locations that are ideally located with good transport links and nearby amenities. Call 0800 073 0499 and we’ll be happy to walk you through the booking process.
