How To Increase The Effectiveness Of Your Induction Program
It is well-known and understood that companies cannot grow their businesses without talented and skilled workforce. This has brought major changes to talent acquisition and recruiting strategies, especially when it comes to attract those with highly relevant and contemporary skills. When the ‘attraction & acquisition’ phase ends with the successful recruitment, the next important phase of retention and engagement starts. And for the new generation of top-notchers, who makes career decisions every single day, this phase starts at day-one, at induction. So, having an effective induction program is imperative. It will reduce the cost of turnover within your organization, plus it will help you increase both customer and employee satisfaction.
Here are 5+1 practical steps that may help your organization increase the effectiveness of your orientation and induction program.
- It’s not just business, it’s personal too.
Every individual is different; so are their learning needs. Consider implementing a learning motivation environment as soon as the induction phase starts and make sure this environment provides personalization tools that would help create a familiar atmosphere. - Involve the team.
That is, the whole team. Ask the direct managers, the senior management team, and employees representing all departments to be part of it. Have them welcome your new hires, share their views and insights, offer useful tips, and help to create an inclusive, warm environment. Integrated social tools will do the job here! - It’s all part of the game.
The most effective learning is enjoyable learning. Use everything new technology has to offer; simulations, interactivity, serious games, anything that helps your new employees understand processes and rules, feel they belong in a socially responsible and valuable company, and start feeling they will serve a higher purpose. Help them retain this useful information and motivate them to stay interested in your corporate messages and rules. - Be flexible.
Joining a new, big team can be overwhelming for some of your new hires. Allow them to have their induction training at their own pace; again and again if needed; at home if they would rather. Allow a reasonable time frame for the training program to be completed. - Make the most of your assets.
Whether you have complete trainings on presentation files and paper, or you have no structured training at all, your corporate assets are already in place and someone put effort and money to prepare them. All these can be repurposed and can be used to create engaging orientation programs. Find a team you trust and let them help you transform your traditional, valuable assets to effective courses, once and for ever. And when you will incorporate the orientation-induction process in the learning motivation environment it will be easy to keep-it up-to-date and interesting. - Evaluation of the induction program.
Last but not least, make sure you have your induction program evaluated. It is important to have reports on employees’ engagement and satisfaction rates. The orientation and induction courses are an organization’s “elevator pitch” for employees.
