Proper induction for new employees is important for several reasons: 1) It introduces the new employee to colleagues and stakeholders they will interact with as well as the organization's culture and practices. 2) Inadequate induction can lead to problems like poor performance, low job satisfaction, and even legal issues from unfair dismissal claims if employees are not properly trained. 3) Employers have legal obligations under health and safety laws to provide necessary training to employees so they can perform their work safely. 4) A well-planned induction process using checklists and timelines helps onboard new employees effectively and ensures both the employee and manager are clear on expectations.

1. Why is proper Induction important for new employees?
A good induction
program makes a lot
of sense, whatever
the job and
whatever the size of
your organisation. It
will introduce the
newcomer not only
to their immediate
colleagues, but to
other workers with
whom they may
have less day-to-day
contact, as well as
other related
stakeholders such as
unions, if
appropriate, and
staff committees.
Additionally if a new starter’s induction training is not done properly, in some cases, you
increase the risk of the problems like poor performance and low job satisfaction, absenteeism,
resignations or dismissals, tribunal cases if employees complain of unfair dismissal because of
inadequate training, high demands on managers and health and safety accidents leading to
injuries and/or prosecution.
Worksafe Victoria requires the following for all
employees: “The Occupational Health and Safety Act
2004 requires employers to provide such training to
employees as is necessary to enable the employees to
perform their work in a manner that is safe and without
risks to health.” There will be similar requirements
across Australia so please check the appropriate
authority for your state.

2. The induction process need not be formal but it does
need to be planned and well managed. Plan the induction
by creating a timetable and checklist template. This will
keep both the new starter, and more importantly, you on
track. And can actually start at the time of interview
when you provide information about your company and
the role. A good well planned reception on the first day is
vital. It sets the tone for the person’s time with you. You
don’t want to give them a few brochures and leave them
most of the morning with some reading. There may be
further documentation to complete, perhaps a
preliminary discussion about training either immediately
or in the future, an explanation of the development opportunities that are available, and of
course enough information to give the new starter a good grasp of the working practices of
your organisation together with details of whom to go to for help and advice during the course
of their employment. You may choose a ‘buddy’ system, where an experienced worker is
nominated to assist the new recruit in all the day to- day questions.
Depending on the role the induction may take days or weeks but the following are things that
need to be considered:
• Training or training plan for health and safety issues the person must know to do their
job including fire and emergency procedures.
• Do not overload. People can only take in so much, especially in a new and possibly
strange environment.
• Internal transfers may also need some level of induction into their new role.
• You may need to pay particular attention to people with special needs or disabilities and
school or college leavers may find the workplace extremely daunting. They need to be
sure of their position in the company, and of the opportunities they will have to train
and develop their skills.
• You may need to be aware and take account of any particular cultural or religious
customs of new employees who are part of an ethnic or religious minority so that
misunderstandings do not occur.
Induction is a very important process in the employee engagement cycle. It can either provide
the foundations for rapid growth and performance or lead to disappointment, confusion and
disconnect. Bruce Nixon outlines how technology can help bring it all together.

3. The preparation and implementation of the induction phase can be very time-consuming for
both the HR professional and operational manager who will directly engage with the new
employee. If the right approach isn’t used, the information provided to this worker can also be
out-of-date, unreliable or irrelevant. So the impetus for getting the training and induction
process right upfront is evident.
When used adequately, technology can become an ally by simplifying and reinforcing this
process.
Here are four ways to use technology that will facilitate the integration of new employees in
your workplace:
Capture your organisation’s knowledge
One of the first steps with any training and induction program is to assess and capture the
knowledge that needs to be passed onto the new employee. This step can be as simple as
writing procedures and training modules that
relate to specific tasks or generic company
induction. The relevant workforce and
operational managers should be interviewed to
help identify the exact knowledge and skills
required to perform their duty and the ones that
need to be passed onto new employees.
In addition to capturing knowledge and process
steps, their relationships to other roles, process
and regulations within the organisation should
also be recorded in a way that helps new
employees understand where their role in the organisation sits.
The technology you choose to record this data will impact on your induction process.
Traditional silo approaches like document repositories or portals can store and present
information, but they can’t manage it. This results in highly redundant, unreliable, out-of-date,
expensive-to-maintain information.
A central business management system which can be accessed by the appropriate people,
updated on an ongoing basis as required and present only one version of the training and

4. induction information signed off by both the HR department and operational managers will be
more adequate.
Capturing and storing the knowledge and processes in such a technology will help ensure up-to-
date information is passed onto employees who have just joined the organisation, leading to a
smoother, effective transition.
Provide role-specific training modules
New employees need to be able to easily access relevant, current and complete training
modules in a form that is intuitive, timely and in the context of their responsibilities. This
information should be stored in a single location where it can be re-used, managed centrally
and disseminated in role-specific formats.
Technology can help HR professionals and operational managers by providing access to training
courses, notes, demonstrations, examples and assessments that directly relate to the new
employee’s role and by making this information automatically accessible at the right time
during the induction phase.
Build the roadmap for success
You want your new employee to be successful in the role and they must want to be too. The
induction period is your best opportunity for both sides to understand what will make your new
team member successful and it’s all about behaviors. Are you,
and the other stakeholders involved with this person,
completely certain about what success for them looks like and
what behaviors are most likely to lead to success in the role?
You can look at the behaviors of someone already successful in
the same, or similar roles, or you may need to look at the key
selection criteria from the Job Description. But, if one has been
something like minimum five years’ experience then how to
you expect someone with five years’ experience to behave in
your work environment?
Behaviors will vary greatly depending on the role. Everything from a dress code for juniors, to
specific leadership activities for senior managers.

5. Whatever they may be they need to be conveyed clearly to the new start and stakeholder and
then referred to at review times with specific examples of what they actually did.
Accountability
One of the major sources of internal friction in an
organisation is conflicting instructions from different lines of
management. New employees are often bombarded with
information coming from different people including their
operational manager, colleagues and HR department.
By providing an organisation chart and linking in the above
discussed expected behaviors you can provide clarity about accountability, lines of reporting
and expectations.
Induction Checklist
If you would like an Induction Checklist template please email Steve Rogers at
steve@rusherrogers.com.au