Good Induction - a return on investment
The time invested in a thorough induction will provide a sound return. The person will see immediately that
- The company is well organised
- What is important within the business
- How things are done
Consider these two scenarios and what sorts of messages the new employee will pick up about each business.
Scenario one
Jack arrives on his first day at Flustered Accountants at 8.20 am. He waits in reception for George the Practice Manager to arrive. At 8.50 am George arrives and asks Jack if this is the day he is starting. Jack says it is and George asks him to give him a few minutes to get organised. George reappears and takes Jack down to the area he will be working in. He introduces him to Janet and asks her to get him started. Janet looks surprised and asks George what he wants her to do. George says she should show Jack what to do and get a work area organised for him.
It takes Janet an hour to organise a desk and a phone extension. Jack will have to wait another day for his computer which Janet also has to order. As his computer is critical to his job, Jack asks what else he can do while waiting for it to arrive. Janet says she will talk to George about this. They break for morning tea. Janet introduces Jack to the other staff. They ask him what he thinks so far. Jack says it’s too early to say.
Janet finds some forms for Jack to fill in to get pay details and contact numbers and she does her best to show him what to do. Without his computer he can really only read manuals and try to work out what each area does. Janet apologises to him for not being able to do more but her work load is high and she will need to work late as it is.
Jack spends the rest of his first day filling in time and finding his way around. He leaves at 5.00 pm feeling unsure about his decision to join Flustered Accountants . The next day drags. George waves out when he passes but hasn’t come back to him with any directions about what he should do. Jack spends much of his time hearing from other employees how disorganised the firm is and listening to them apologising to clients about late running work. However the people are friendly and when his computer arrives the following day he gets down to work and fits in with the team.
but within a month Jack has become disillusioned and is actively looking for another job.....
Scenario two
Jack arrives at Really Organised CA at 8.55 am. He has been asked to come at 9.00 am on his first day and 8.30 am thereafter. The receptionist calls Mary Fisher, Jack’s Manager, to tell her Jack has arrived and she comes out immediately and welcomes him. They go to her office and go through the plan she has set up for Jack’s first week.
They complete a short checklist to set up Jack’s personal file. Mary provides Jack with a kit on the firm which contains:
Mary and Jack go to the work area and Mary introduces Jack to all the people in the team he is joining. She introduces Jack to Mike who will act as his guide during the first two weeks.
Jack puts his bag and the information kit in his work station. The stationery items and manuals relating to his job are on his desk. Mary shows him how to log on to his computer and to the intranet.
Mary then shows Jack around explaining each work area, what happens and how it relates to the work he will be doing as a Business Services graduate.
At 10.00 am they join the rest of the staff for morning tea. At 10.15 am they go over the work and study plan Mary has set up for Jack’s first month. Mary has set out goals for the first week and an appointment the following Monday to set goals for the following month.
They go back to Jack’s work area and Mary asks Mike to show Jack the MYOB system. Mike has prepared the material he will need for this training the previous week and spends an hour with Jack working through the material.
At 12.30 pm Mike shows Jack the lunch places nearby. After lunch Jack is left to go through the MYOB training material himself. Mike checks with him a couple of times to make sure he is not having any problems.
Mary comes back at 4.30 pm and asks him how his first day has been. Jack says it’s been great – he’s feeling a bit overloaded with new information but he is looking forward to completing the training workbook in the morning and going live on client work.
Jack’s first week goes well, Mike is helpful and Mary checks in with him once a day to see how he is getting on. He starts handling basic client work on Tuesday afternoon and with some help from Mike and other members of the team handles it well.
The following Monday Mary sets out some targets and further training for him during his first month. She has arranged for him to spend time with the Audit and Tax teams to understand how they provide a complete service to clients.
Mary passes on to Jack the positive feedback from fellow employees about his progress and how he is fitting in. By the end of Jack’s fifth week he is a contributing member of the team and work is being done within budget. With some help from Mary and the team he has met his targets and he is enjoying the job. He knows how the firm does business, how they operate and what their standards are. He will need some time to become fully productive but all the resources to become so are available to him. He feels good about his decision to work for Really Organised CA.
Summary
Good induction swiftly enables the employee to find his/her place in the scheme of things. This allows the person to focus on becoming productive. Good induction means:
- Good preparation by the employer to swiftly convey to the new employee the way the business operates, what is important and where the new employee fits
- Providing the information the new employee needs about the company and about the job
- Setting work and training objectives
- Coaching and follow up with the new employee to achieve productive work as soon as possible
Wood & Associates can assist employers in tailoring a programme to suit your business. Please contact us for assistance.
