Policy statement
The purpose of the induction policy is to ensure that all employees are provided with a properly structured induction programme, providing them with key information about the Organisation quickly, in order to help them to integrate into their role in the Organisation effectively during the remainder of their probationary period.
The Organisation induction is designed to start off by providing all new employees with the same key information. It will then be adjusted by line managers to suit the individual needs of the employee’s new job role.
The Organisation is proud to be an equal opportunities employer. Employees, as well as prospective employees, will all be treated equally and fairly. The Organisation is committed to ensuring no less favourable treatment is experienced by any employee or prospective employee because of any of the protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010.
Scope
This policy relates to all newly appointed employees of the Organisation, as well as any existing employees that move to a new job role within the Organisation. Existing employees, in particular, are expected to be proactive during their induction into their new job role; this may be shorter than would have been provided to a newly appointed employee. In all instances, the induction ensures that employees receive the relevant information and support from appropriate sources to enable them to apply themselves to their new job role fully.
Pre-commencement induction pack
The Organisation will provide information to employees prior to the commencement of their employment, with an information pack sent to the new employee to provide them with information to assist with familiarisation of the Organisation and the workplace location.
The information will be general high-level information on how the Organisation operates and the work done by the various departments within the Organisation. The history of the Organisation will be laid out along with the business plan and aspirations for the Organisation going forward.
Employees that have been promoted or transferred will not receive this pack.
Organisation induction
[Optional] The standard Organisation induction is operated [delete as appropriate: once a month/twice a month, etc].
The early stages of the Organisation induction provide an expansion of the high-level information provided in the induction pack.
Day one
The aim of the induction on day one is to introduce new employees to the Organisation and to each other. The induction programme will help employees become orientated and understand the Organisation culture so that they know what is expected of them.
Content of the induction pack that was sent to the new employees will be supplemented with copies of the Organisation’s current policies and procedures. The induction will include an overview of each of the policies and attention will be drawn to key aspects.
The following information will also be provided:
- Organisation business plan
- Employee Handbook, including disciplinary and grievance procedure
- training policy and development opportunities
- appraisal policy
- equality policy and Equal Opportunities Statement
- sexual harassment policy
- anti-bribery policy
- employee privacy notice.
Day two and onwards
The induction moves to the departmental level with the employee being handed over to their relevant line manager.
The remainder of this induction policy contains a generic set of possible activities to be undertaken during an induction programme. It will require tailoring by the line manager to the circumstances of the employee’s new job role and to take into account any needs for training that were identified during the recruitment process.
The departmental level induction will allow the new employee to become familiar with their new department, including an introduction to the teams and support available in the department and how the department operates generally. The line manager will set out where the new employee fits into existing teams and how it is intended for the new employee to operate effectively within the department.
The line manager will complete the key documentation required of the new employee. Where this remains uncompleted, the line manager will ask the employee to sign the statement of main terms and conditions of employment.
The training and development plan will be set out, including the arrangements for the probationary review meetings.
Arrangements for auto-enrolment to the pension plan will be covered, as well as other benefits information specific to the employee’s job role.
Remainder of first week
The remainder of the induction programme in the first week could consist of placing the employee on internal or external training sessions required by the job role or the business generally.
The week could include shadowing, with the new employee sitting with contemporaries to review the work that they will be asked to undertake during week two onwards.
The week could also include meetings with key employees to go over systems, procedures, techniques, equipment, production methods, etc.
An induction review meeting will take place at the end of week one to ask the new employee how the first week has gone and seek feedback on the effectiveness of the induction programme so far. Any feedback from the new employee may dictate the need for further training, meetings or reviews in the weeks that follow on some or all the business areas covered.
Second week
The second week may move from a shadowing perspective to starting to undertake work in the job role, under supervision. Alternatively, shadowing may continue depending on the needs of the role, with work commencing the following week. The structure of the second week is dictated by the needs of the role and the line manager’s experience in this area.
Probationary reviews
The Organisation employs all new employees subject to a probationary period. During this period, the employee’s performance will be assessed at regular intervals.
Depending on the job role, a training programme will consist of internal shadowing, internal training courses, external training programmes and on-the-job training.
The line manager will meet with the employee at the following intervals, to conduct probationary review meetings.
| Probationary review schedule | |
| Induction review — mid-way point | End of first week |
| Induction review — end of induction | End of second week |
| First month review | End of first month |
| Second month review | End of second month |
| [Optional — delete if three-month probation] Probationary review — mid-way point | End of third month |
| Probationary review | End of [delete as appropriate — three/six] month period |
M****entors
All new employees commencing employment and existing employees transferring job roles or transferring departments, will be provided with a mentor.
The mentoring process runs for the first nine months of the role and may be extended by a further six months on an informal basis. Employees are encouraged to discuss the requirements with their mentor and their line manager.
Hour-long mentoring meetings will take place weekly for the first three months, moving to monthly thereafter until the first year of employment is completed.
Away from the periodic meetings, the mentor is available at other times should the employee have problems or queries with their job role. The mentor is not a coach but can give professional advice to employees where appropriate. It will not be appropriate for a mentor to deal with any workplace concerns or complaints, and these should be directed to the employee’s line manager at first instance.
C****oaching
The Organisation provides new employees with coaching from the first day of their employment, through their line manager.
Line managers will provide employees with training to ensure they have enough support to undertake their job roles. Coaching will continue during the probationary period and as necessary for several months after completion of the probationary period, up to one year, depending on the needs of the job role.
Line managers will support employees with coaching in relation to new tasks, processes and concepts.
Policy monitoring
The policy in relation to induction will be evaluated via feedback forms given out by the Organisation to employees during their induction. The feedback provided by employees through their probationary reviews will also be used to inform aspects of the policy.
All aspects of the policy will be evaluated and monitored on a regular basis by the HR department to ensure the policy remains relevant to the Organisation’s needs and in line with changes to the Organisation’s business plan.