Business Practice 3

Module 5: Introduce new staff to the workplace

Module 5: Introduce new staff to the workplace

• After completing this module, you will be able to:– demonstrate knowledge and understanding of

the induction process

– explain the elements of the induction process

– evaluate and adapt an induction programme

1. DEMONSTRATE KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE INDUCTION PROCESSAfter completing this module, you will be able to:• demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the

induction process

• explain the elements of the induction process

• evaluate and adapt an induction programme

1.2 Objectives of induction• To make the first, strange days in an enterprise easier, and

acquaint the employee with the basics of the enterprise. • Introduce new staff to the workplace • To establishes/instil a positive attitude about the enterprise/

employer within the employee so that he/she will have staying power (low employee turnover and less absenteeism).

• To ensure that the employee becomes productive as soon as possible.

• To help to create realistic employee expectations to save the time of supervisors and colleagues in the long run.

• To prevent accidents, wastage of materials and time, and damage to machinery and equipment.

• To promote the culture of continuous training for the future.• To save the time of existing employees from whom the new

employee will inevitably request help.

1.3 Parties involved during the induction programme

• The HR and Training Department will be very involved in the overall training and overseeing of entrenchment where a new employee is concerned.

• It is the responsibility of the immediate manager or supervisor to explain the procedures of the department and the new employees’ specific tasks.

• Fellow employees/peers will assist the new employee.

2. EXPLAIN THE ELEMENTS OF THE INDUCTION PROCESS

After completing this outcome, you will be able to:• welcome new staff to the organisation and familiarise

them with relevant site facilities and introduce them to fellow workers.

• explain basic work routines and organisational procedures in the area of work in sufficient detail to enable understanding of what is required.

• encourage new staff to ask questions and seek clarification, where necessary.

• assist new staff in the initial performance of allocated work activities.

2.1 Guidelines / activities for effective induction

• The main objective of induction is to satisfy the needs of a new employee.

• A mentor must be appointed for the new employee• Introduce the new employee to his/her new colleagues gradually• Do not expect the new employee to be productive in the

beginning.• Induction must always be systematic and gradual. Induction

must take the shape of a diminishing circle :– First the enterprise as a whole,– Then the specific department,– Then his personal task,– Then follow-up must take place,– And further information given to the new employee.

2..2 Components of an induction programme

• Pre-arrival stage• Encounter stage• Metamorphosis stage• Different aspects/types of induction are :– Enterprise structure induction.– Enterprise culture induction (socialisation).– Personal induction.– Administrative induction.– Departmental induction.– Functionality/technical induction.

A socialisation model

PrearrivalPrearrival EncounterEncounter MetamorphosisMetamorphosis CommitmentCommitment

TurnoverTurnover

Productivity Productivity

2.3 What the new employee will need to know

• Depending on the job they have taken on and the type of employee you have employed, the new employee will need to be aware of:– Where they will be working.

– What equipment they will be operating.

– Who they will be working with.

– The size of your company and who will be responsible for them.

– The terms of employment.

2.3 What the new employee will need to know

• There are also some tips or actions that may not be part of official induction plans, but are very important to make a new employee feel at home: – Show the location of food, drink and bathrooms as a top priority.– Tell existing employees about the new person, and encourage them to stop

by and say hello. – Provide an organisation chart and office seating plan, to help make sense

of the blur of people, names and departments. – Have all security and passes ready and waiting. – Advance book next 6 months for review, team and other regular meetings. – Have a trusted team member explain the unwritten rules and subtleties of

office politics. – Explain how to conduct common administrative tasks (changing a phone

number, obtaining a business card, ordering stationary). – Explain what key information systems exist (such as the intranet). – Show how to get around the building (security, floor plans).

Induction plan for an administration clerk

9:00 General welcome

9:15 Meeting with staff and company tour

10:30 Break

11:45 Shown their desk and allowed to explore

12:30 Lunch

1:00 Shown filing system

1:30 Shown computerised system

2:15 Overview of the software they will use

2:45 Break

3:00 Meeting with manager on daily duties and questions answered

3:30 Completion of personnel records

4:00 Back to desk to explore and begin work under supervision

2.4 Coaching

• What is coaching?– Coaching is work-related mentoring

– The protégé is assisted to perform duties and responsibilities more effectively and to develop to his/her full potential.

2.5 Mentoring

• What is mentoring?– Mentorship refers to a developmental relationship

between a more experienced mentor and a less experienced partner or employee

– The mentor is often an immediate superior or a person from the HR department.

– The process is characterised by continuous, direct contact and focus on the protégé.

– The aim of mentoring is to assist the development of competencies of the protégé, so that the person can in turn assist the enterprise to reach its goals.

2.6 Counselling

• Counselling is a form of mentoring, usually for a person who is suffering from a problem with self-esteem, confidence, the wrong attitude; or where a person might be experiencing problems such as anxiety, depression and stress – for work-related or personal reasons. Some levels of personal counselling should be handled by qualified persons such as registered psychologists and psychiatrists.

2.7 Development and the acquisition of skills

• Development refers to the conscious planning of an employee’s future.• Every employee needs to sit down with his/her immediate supervisor

and a representative from the HR department and plan training interventions which will enable the employee to become a more competent and productive worker as well as develop the career of the individual.

• Development is not focused on only the individual but also on the entire workforce and its needs

• To be successful, development and the influencing of an employee’s attitude, must follow the stages listed below:– Identify desirable attitudes which are expected to lead to improvement.– Assess to which level the individual is already complying with the

desirable attitude. – Convince the individual about the value of the desired attitude. – The individual will accept the new attitude, return to work and behave

consistently (the same) with the goals of the enterprise.

Activity 1

• Does your company/college have an induction programme for staff and/or new students? If so, obtain a copy and evaluate the induction programme

3. EVALUATE AND ADAPT AND INDUCTION PROGRAMMEAfter completing this outcome, you will be able to:• suggest ways to improve the existing induction

programme.

3.1 Evaluating of induction programme

• The evaluation of induction programmes is critical since this is the entry for all new employees into the enterprise.

• If a new employee is neglected at this stage, it could sour his relationship with the enterprise from the start.

• The well-being of the new employee must not be ignored. A follow-up/ feedback system must be put into place to record the integration of the new employee into the system.

• Evaluation is done by means of structured questionnaires and by informal conversations with new employees in individual and group format.

Activity 2• In groups of 5 create a small company. Concentrate on a small

business with no more than 10 employees.• DO THE FOLLOWING:

– Briefly describe the activities of the company.– Decide on a position which needs to be filled with a new employee.– Create an induction/orientation plan for the new employee. – Plan the workstation of the new employee. – Assign roles to the group – one person should be the new employee,

one person should be the immediate supervisor to greet him/her on the first day, one person should be the owner of the company, two persons will be his/her colleagues. Role-play the first day of the new employee.