I'm trying to help our business define the timeframe for a new starter's induction period. For example, should it be two weeks or two months before someone is considered out of the 'induction period'. I'm just curious as to what other organisations decide.
Jo
Jo House
3 Responses
depends on the job or link to probationary period
To some extent the length of induction period relates to the type of job. With some positions only days may be required for an individual to demonstrate a sufficient level of skill and knowledge to give confidence that they can operate effectively, with other positions it will require more input and a longer period of assessment. As a general rule I map out an induction process over a period of three months. This allows time to revisit information that has been imparted in the first few days, build up their knowledge and skills and allow time for them to read and digest and gain confidence in seeking further information/clarification. If you have a probationary period it perhaps makes sense to link the induction process to that.
Induction
Hi Jo
Gail has covered a lot of this in her response. The last large company I worked for had a 4 week induction programme of which two weeks were classroom based and two weeks were based in the contact centre however still part of their initial induction.
Once the first four weeks had passed and those go through the induction had successfully completed their assessments, they would be ‘handed over’ to the business who would continue to develop them through buzz sessions and side by side coaching.
Wishing you ever success.
Induction period
Jo
As others have said, it does vary. Ours is over 3 months and has no ‘training’ day in it. There is a checklist for day 1, week 1, month 1 and the last two months. Somethings need to be done early on but if you do too much too soon people overload or don’t have sufficient context to make sense of it.
Many HR folk don’t think about ‘designing’ induction in the same way as we might design a management development programme, but many of the principles remain the same. In my experience the best designs are over longer rather than shorter periods, and great thought is given to what to cover and when, how people learn, what type of support is needed and what subtle messages are given about the sort culture you are wanting to inculcate.
Graham