What to include in your induction

Introduction to the organisation and team

Organisation level

• Strategy and goals
• Values
• Structure - who's who within the organisation
• Customer/user base
• Details of organisation history, culture, values, and services
• Clarity on how their role fits with the organisation's strategy and goals

Department level

• What their department contributes to the overall organisation
• Departmental aims
• Department activities

Team level

• How the new employee fits into the team
• Line manager expectations
• Unwritten rules or custom and practice within the team, such as lunchtime cover or taking it in turns to make coffee or wash up

General information

• Facilities
• Health and safety information - this is a legal requirement

Induction tailored to the individual

Your new employee needs to have:

• A clear outline of the job/role requirements
• Performance expectations and objectives
• Standards of conduct
• Explanation of terms and conditions

Consider what you already know about your new employee from their application process. The recruitment process will also have identified the new employee’s strengths and some development areas. Development areas identified need to be addressed during induction to ensure individuals are supported to work on these skills early on in their new role.

Tailor the induction plan to the individual based on answers to the following questions:

• Are they new to your sector?
• Are they new to the area?
• Are they new to a leadership role?
• Are they straight out of school, college or university?
• What sort of organisation did they work for previously - will this be very different?

Keep activities varied

Starting a new role can be overwhelming. Making sure your new employee has a variety of activities to get involved will help to keep them engaged, and can introduce them to a broader range of understanding about your organisation.

Consider a mixture of:

• Meetings
• Events
• Training courses
• Reading and research
• On the job training
• Shadowing others
• Mentoring