Employee Induction And Orientation

SUBMITTED BY: Sithembiso Khumalo, Joseph Kanyi, Gloria Bennin and Rachel Coyne
SUBMITTED TO: George Finnegan 5/7/2013 0

Introduction When organisation or companies get a suitable candidate after recruitment or an interview to fulfil a vacancy within the organisation, that candidate or new employee will pass through different programs before being admitted or given responsibilities for her or his new position. This will let the new employee to know exactly what the organisation is expecting from him and what he can expect to get from the organisation in return, and this is called induction or orientation. Induction: The induction is a beginning of the new career journey for the selected suitable candidate from the moment he crosses the door steps of the new organisation, the employee will meet a personnel or someone in charge to show him the basic things about the organisation. At this stage he can take the tour of the premises, familiarise with the fire exit doors, the assemble point in case of accident or fire and he will also be introduced to other members of the organisation and told how each individual relates to others. Induction training is very important for new employees, it helps ensure that new employees are retained and swiftly settled in productively. Induction training is about basics the new employee takes for granted, but which are very vital. For example, to know what the shifts are, where the notice board is , how holiday and sick leave days are paid and at how much, the dress code, health and safety rules and fire and safety training. The new recruits also get a clear outline and explanation of what the organisation dreams and vision are, what the company intends to do to achieve those dreams and its strategic plans. The method of operations is clearly explained, time scales and expectations of task completion are set. Induction training officers also give a clear foundation and expectation terms of what the organisation hopes to give or is giving back to the society( social cooperate responsibility) , what it considers wrong or right, (its ethics) and all other factors that contribute to a responsible organisation The way the induction training is given to the new employee gives him the first impression of the trainer and organisation as a whole. Therefore the way of delivering the induction is very important because the employee can then base on this whether to take the job offer or not. Therefore the training should be delivered in professional manner. Through the induction training process, the new employee gets the opportunity to mix and know other members of the organisation. This is achieved by giving personal introduction of other staff to the new recruit. Therefore well-planned induction training accelerates the employees abilities to work cooperatively and have a good rapport with other workers. Improper induction can create a disadvantage in terms of employee efficiency. The employee may end up feeling confused and lost after the induction process and may shun away from asking for clarifications. This will lead to an errors by the employee which will eventually affect the companys productivity and reputation.
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Preparation: When preparing for induction all members of the human resources team should play an equal role in developing induction training methods or techniques. All the compensations and benefit to be offered to the employee should be agreed on. The presentation on matters such as work place safety, recruitment, promotion and selection should be involved in the orientation program by the human resources department. This planning can be a disadvantage to the company because its time consuming but it gives a perfect result. Scheduling for induction can cause a problem to the employer if that particular department is short staff. Managers may require the new employee to commence their duties and responsibilities before they finish the induction training. Group induction can be done but they also give problem in coordinating and presenting the training to different individuals with different skills and learning capabilities. It can be difficult for human resources department to find a suitable location to carry out the induction training. It is advisable for the management to find a place where the recruit will not be distracted by any other on-going activities. Online induction helps to offer self-service training, maximise resources and technology and reduces time spent by trainers on the process. This time can be used productively for other activity in the company. The disadvantage with online induction to the new employee is that it excludes one to one interaction between the employee, employer and co- workers. It is also difficult for employees who are computer illiterate to undergo the training. On the other hand we will look at the orientation which is similar and inseparable from the induction. The orientation focuses more on the simulation of the new employee, in other words, it will put the new employee in the heart of the organisation, for example, the new employee is shown exactly what to do in the organisation, whom to report to, the organisation policies, sickness report, wages and salaries, and the social and health benefit to be expected from the organisation. By giving this type of information the employees anxiety is reduced and makes him comfortable in the new territory. This will help to boost his commitment and confidence in the job. The orientation process will further more be followed by a proper training to show the new recruit the appropriate steps to be followed and the rules and regulation of the company. The advantage of the orientation process gives the employee a sense of being welcome in the company and clearly gives a clear picture of his roles and responsibilities.

It will also build that connection on a long term basis between the new employee and his/her co- workers. The new employee will undergo different stages of orientation and all the guide line, rules and policies to be adhered to. A handbook about code of conduct expected of the employee is often given at this stage. This hand book also clearly state the law and legislation of the job and the employee has to sign and agree to the terms and conditions stated. Trough out the companys progress it is vital for the management to visit the companys mission and values from time to time with the employees. This will help in always reminding the employees of why they are there and what expected from them. This orientation process also gives the employee the opportunity to know what the employer has to offer in terms of fair employments and equality in the work place. Orientation programs have advantages and loopholes at the same time in that most employers rely on this initial orientation which is given to employees only at the start of their employment. In this way they employees lack information on the changes that take place in the company. To avoid this employer should keep constant communication with their employees and keep them updated on any development. Also it should be noted that the orientation process should not be given only to new recruits but also to the existing members of the organisation. The same as the induction process orientation should be carried out on a proper environment to allow workers and new recruit to assimilate the new ideas and training which shall be given to them without any disruption or interruption. An orientation roster or schedule can be difficult to set especially if employers need staff to cover a busy period. The orientation is then done in haste and this result in inadequate training. The employer may allocate more resources to profit generating activities and forego the orientation process. This may result in a reduced human resource output due to lack of knowledge and employees not knowing what exactly are expected of them. Management can also assign an inappropriate person to do the training and orientation. If this trainer does not have the abilities and the knowledge of what they are talking about then the new recruit is bound to be miss informed and miss trained. Orientation need to be specific and clear. Each part of the training should be presented by a person who is experienced and competent in that department. If just one trainer is assigned to train employees in all areas then some important information may be missed. During orientation with managers and trainers trying to get the work done quickly, time is a factor which does not allow them to cover all the orientation material effectively. This result in more questions which remaining unanswered by the trainer to the new employee.

The materials and information to be presented to the employee need to be selected carefully as too much information and materials can decrease the interest of the new employee to the job. When giving orientation, the trainer should have skills and intellectual level that suit the position because if the orientation is elementary, it will cause some trainees to be frustrated and bored. The most disadvantage of hiring this expertise is the cost to the company. The quicker the induction and orientation is given the better the relation and rapport between employees and goals of the company will be easily and effectively accomplished. The final question to be asked is how much orientation and induction is to be given and how often. It is hard to separate orientation and induction but orientation seems to be a long term training process unlike induction which is just a short term. To the question of saying that these two programmes are a thing of the past and company should not carry them out, it still seems vital for these programmes to go on, because without them the new recruit and existing employees will not know the present and future of the company and what is expected of them. It is like someone coming to check in in the hotel and does not find personnel to assist him by showing him his room and all the facilities of the premises. If the company wants to have a good image and attract more suitable and competent candidate it should think about the induction and orientation training because it has been said that bad news spread more quickly than the good news. Once a new employee was mal introduced and received by it new employer it can create a bad image and give the bad anticipation of what will follow to the new recruit and this can also result by him/her refusing the offer. Conclusion Induction in an organization is vital for all new employees. It helps them see how things are done in the work place, they learn about the different policies, rules and regulations of the organization and it also familiarises the new employee various equipment (if used) in the organisation. Orientation differs greatly from induction in that, orientation is all much longer than induction and is also more formal. Induction, on the other hand, is shorter and informal. Orientation is the actual physical training up of the employee in the organization and prepares the new employee for the job. However, induction does not always go well. Badly organized inductions can create problems with line-managers and the new employees. Many linemanagers arent happy to release employees weeks or months after they have joined the organization to take part in their induction programme. Well-structured induction should begin as soon as the new employee walks into the organization and before they begin their work. Elements of an induction week can include the importance of communication in the workplace, a tour of the workplace, fire, health and safety and manual handling training. Organisers of an induction week can also assign a mentor or a buddy to help the new
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employee in the first few weeks of working in the organization, where everything can seem very bewildering and also the new employee can even be a bit apprehensive during these early few weeks on the job. This is where the mentor aides the new employee in any queries, questions or doubts about anything and also shows the new employee how to do something properly. Induction is very useful in an organisation and done correctly, can be of great benefit for both the new employee and the organization. References: Armstrong, M (2006).Human Resource Management Practise.10th ed.Great Britain. Cambridge University. Foot, M (2011).Introducing Resource Management.6th ed.Europe. Printice Hall. Griffin, / Denisi. (2005) Human Resource Management.2nd ed. Houghton Mifflin Taylor, S (2002). People Resourcing. 2nd ed. Europe: Chartered Institute of Development Enterprises Ltd. 115 -120. Torrington, D etall (1998). Human Resource Management.4th ed. Europe. Printice Hall.