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Published 05/12/2024

Induction Manual For New Employees: Best Tips and Guide

Recruits find it hard to adapt to new working environments, companies' cultures, and work ethics. To resolve the confusion, management issues them with an induction manual as a guide. An employee induction manual is a document that consists of workplace guidelines, rules, and regulations for a specific company.

Employees feel welcomed and adapt to the workplace routine with ease. It acts as an official communication of how activities are carried out and the organization's policies. Employee induction manual is issued interactively, relaxed environment and sometimes there is win-win condition. An induction manual might be part of an overall New Employee Induction, Induction Program and consist of an Induction Checklist and Safety Induction.

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Components of an induction manual

- Mission, vision, and goals

The organization's mission, vision, and goals should be explained. The employee becomes aware of why the company was started and why the company is operating under some rules to attain specific goals.

- Terms of contract

The employee is informed of the type of contract they are signing, consequences of termination, benefits of the agreement, and the duration. The employee is informed of the department they will be working in and the tools they will be interacting with within their daily routines. By signing, the employee assures that they will abide by everything contained in the agreement.

- Workplace safety and health

The induction manual contains information about the employee's wellbeing, health, and safety while on duty. This is essential because accidents are uncertain, and it's their right to get protection from the employer.

- Map

The employee is introduced to a new environment, and some organizations have several departments located in different areas. The map will guide the employee in finding the workstation and other departments with ease.

- Employee's personal information

The company needs to know the employee's background information. The information includes; names, next of kin, telephone, emergency number, bank information, and hometown. The details help the company locate relatives during emergencies, beneficiaries, and locate the employee in case of fraud.

- Business plan

The employee needs to know the company's ongoing and plans. The plan outlines the company's strategies, and it acts as a compass direction for the employees. They understand the order they will take concerning the company's goals.

- Work schedule

The company needs to introduce the recruits to their work schedule to avoid time wastage and confusion. The work schedule will act as a timetable for the recruits.

Delivering these chapters is commonly done via an Online Induction and may also form part of your overall onboarding system.

Best employee induction practices

1. Request for feedback from the recruits

Feedback from the recruits helps the human resource department restructure the induction manual to fit the intended purpose. In the process, employees will talk about the challenges they faced, how confusing or friendly the induction manual was, how hard or easy they found it when interacting with the environment, etc.

2. Remote hiring

It is friendly and creates a rapport between the candidates and the hiring team. The candidates are introduced to the company prior by the hiring team, and the latter makes a win-win discussion. Also, the candidates become familiar with the hiring team and become aware of whom they will meet in the company. By remote hiring, a calm and interactive environment is created.

3. Define the role and inform the other employees

Before introducing the new staff to the organization, inform the existing team to expect others staff, the department they will be working in, and the rank. The process becomes transparent and avoids confusion. Defining the responsibilities the new team will be undertaking is crucial to avoid duplication of duties.

4. Define the modes of communication and expectations

Inform the new staff about the channel and way of communication within the organization. The new employees need to be updated on training and mentorship programs and who will be available to them. The human resource team should create awareness of how the company tracks the employees' progress and when they should expect a progress assessment team.

5. Keep the pace

Welcoming new staff in the company is enjoyable but nervous to the new team. If overlooked, including new employees can take up to a year. The first week should be treated as the stepping stone to the new staff and keep the momentum. Keep the employees on their toes but not harassing them.

Welcoming new staff to the company is vital as the existing staff. Providing them with an induction manual will benefit them to catch up. While they are in the process of catching up, track the progress and make corrections as soon as they are made, but they should be in a friendly way.

Why is it imporant?

When new starters begin their journey as a new employee at your organisation, its important they start with a solid and engaging new starter induction that covers everything they need to be aware of important procedures, policies, protocols and ensure they are job ready and will work safely.

But its also a good opportunity to build culture and ensure they are engaged in a WOW factor way that helps them realise the job they are doing isn't just a job, its a great culture with a mission and purpose that they are proud to be part of! Show them this in your employee induction.

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