7 top tips to create a great induction

As consumers, when we make a buying decision the first thing we do is look to justify it…have we got value for our money?

We do exactly the same when we accept a job offer, we look for reassurance you are the right company to work for…to justify our choice.

You too should be looking to justify your choice in hiring us.

A great induction programme is an essential part of the probation period, it identifies whether a person and a company are a good fit.

So below are the top 7 things all GREAT induction courses should do.

1. Create a great first impression of your company

Consider what kind of induction experience you want to achieve and what impression you want new starters to have of your company.

For example, if you are an innovative company then use innovative methods for delivering training.

If you are a company all about building strong personal relationships with people then you should use more of the traditional face to face training methods.

2. Always include assessments

If you don’t assess knowledge retention during induction you can’t monitor how effective it is.

Assessments should be delivered  as coaching and not as a pass or fail test. They stop wrong information about your company and its products/services being passed on to your customers.

Most importantly, they provide an audit trail of what training has been given and helps you decide whether the new starter is a good fit for your company.

3. Mix the strengths of face to face and online training techniques

Let new starters learn at their own pace and at times of the day when they learn best, offer flexibility of training around work commitments.

Use personal face to face methods to greet every new starter, introduce them to team members and have 1-2-1 meetings with heads of departments.

Then use online training to deliver part of the induction, so your line managers or whoever is responsible for training new starters have time to do the core parts of their jobs.

4. Explain your vision

All successful companies have 2 things in common…

“A leader/leadership team with a clear vision of where they are taking the company”

and

“Employees who believe in it.”

Make sure your induction course clearly communicates what the short, medium and long terms goals are for the company so your new starters can understand how their roles can help achieve them.

5. Cover all compliance and due diligence requirements for the role.

One of the most common topics that are included in induction programmes are training and assessments around legal matters related to the role

Such as: health & safety, financial compliance, HR, company policies & procedures and industry specific compliance needs.

It is best to use online tools for this as they generate an audit trail.

6. Include service/ product knowledge training

Deliver fun online product knowledge training courses, that engage your new starters and get them excited about the products and services you offer.

Definitely include knowledge assessments to help you identify where best to focus future training resources or show product suppliers where your company would benefit most from extra training.

Everyone in your company should have a great understanding of your main products/services; the sales team should have a great understanding of all of them.

7. Ask for feedback

It is really important to keep taking feedback on your induction process.

Feedback from new starters going through it and employees who are part of delivering it.

For it to be a success you need to achieve the “buy-in” of everyone and the best way to do this is to ensure they feel it’s beneficial for both the company and the new starter.

Good luck with your inductions!