The Ultimate Guide to Induction Training : The Art of Onboarding
Effective induction training is crucial for new employee success and retention. However, common problems such as poor planning, lack of feedback and insufficient training can reduce their effectiveness.
In this article we will be outlining everything you need to build a program that works.
Key Takeaways:
- Determine your objectives and users.
- Cover three core areas: Orientation, job and health and safety.
- Consider learning styles and content types.
- Decide a delivery method: in-person or digital.
- Organise information in a clear and concise manner.
Induction Training Definition
Induction training, also referred to as onboarding, is the process of introducing people to your organisation and their role. There are lots of benefits to induction training, they set the tone for overall experience, help people feel supported, welcomed and ensure they are equipped with the necessary skills, knowledge and confidence to perform their job effectively and safely.
The shocking truth about inductions
As much as 20% of employee turnover occurs within the first 45 days of employment (source)
Only 12% of employees agree that their organisation has a good induction process (source)
New employees with good inductions are 18x more committed to their employer (source)
Great employee inductions can improve employee retention by 82% (source)
Create employee induction training
Before you go ahead and start building your induction program, ask the following questions and determine what is important to your business:
What are your objectives? What are the goals of the program? What are the desired outcomes? What do you want a new employee to gain?
What key elements do you need to cover? Job-specific induction training, Health and Safety training, Site-Specific material, Company overview.
Who are the key users? Who will be on the receiving end and what do you need from them, is it new starters, agency workers, contractors?
What’s the timeline? When will the induction go out? How long will it be? Will you have some pre-boarding?
What content? Presentations, videos, quizzes or competency questions etc.
How will you deliver your content? Some businesses may prefer to deliver induction training in person and have introduction sessions on their first days, others may opt for a digital solution to improve their induction process and deliver content remotely.
When will you deliver it? What should be completed and when by? For example, if you go down the digital route you could configure notifications and reminders to guide users through completion via deadlines.
How will you assess effectiveness? Gather feedback from employees and make necessary adjustments to the program. Competency questions are a good way of ensuring information is understood and pinpointing weak spots.
Creating an Induction
Once you understand what your company requires of an induction program, you can begin creating. Creating an effective induction training program is key to setting new employees up for success.
Tips for Creating your Induction Content
Tailoring the induction program: Personal inductions are much more engaging than a ‘one size fits all’ approach, making them key to retention, satisfaction and reducing employee turnover.
Consider different learning styles: Making your induction training engaging and interactive can be difficult, but the best starting point is to consider different learning styles, for example videos and quizzes.
Pre-boarding: Pre-boarding maintains communication between job acceptance and start date, offering confidence in the company and the feeling of support.
Self-paced learning: Traditional induction training is completed on days 1 and 2 can overwhelm and result in poor retention. Self-paced learning is a better option, for example using software for pre-start date inductions. This makes information digestible but also familiar and engaging with mobile-friendly platforms available.
Incorporating technology: Technology improves induction navigation and understanding, making learning more memorable and inspiring confidence with a modern, forward-thinking approach.
Your brand is your biggest asset: Welcome new hires by branding your induction material to avoid it feeling plain or boring. Spend time fitting the presentation or document to your brand, or consider white labelling software platforms.
The Three Pillars of an Induction
Successful induction training should cover three key elements to ensure a solid foundation, Orientation, Job Roles and Health and Safety.
1. Orientation Training
Orientation training is what your employee needs to know about your company, such as the structure, culture and values. In this section you should also include an introduction to colleagues and team members, as well as an explanation of any company policies and procedures.
Why is it important?
First Impressions count: It would be weird if you introduced yourself to someone and they didn’t introduce themselves back, wouldn’t it? This is where you introduce yourself (the company).
Integrating to the team: It makes them feel comfortable and integrated, part of a wider support network and not alone, reducing the risk of turnover.
Compliance: Explaining company policies and procedures ensures the ‘do’s’ and ‘don’t’s’ are communicated, setting both employee and employer up for success.
Content suggestions for your orientation induction training:
Overview: Your history, products or services and competitive landscape.
Communication: Identify communication channels and any technology or systems you use.
Progression: Explain career development expectations and opportunities.
Benefits: Clearly communicate the perks and benefits of working at your company such as bonuses, holidays, healthcare etc.
Development: Communicate the training and development opportunities available to employees.
Culture and values: Explain your mission, values, culture and how they align with the employee’s role.
Structure: Give an overview of the company structure, including key departments, team members and points of contact.
Policies and procedures: Cover important policies and procedures, such as health and safety, data protection and equal opportunities.
2. Job Specific Training
Job-specific induction training should focus on the employee, covering the skills and knowledge needed to perform their job effectively. This section should include information about the job’s responsibilities, tasks and expected outcomes.
Why is it important?
Responsibilities and expectations: Job-specific induction training ensures new employees understand their role, duties and performance expectations, reducing the risk of confusion and errors.
Productivity: By providing new employees with the information and skills they need to execute their tasks, they can become productive faster and contribute to the company’s success.
Safety: Job-specific training should include job-specific safety information, ensuring they know the potential hazards associated with their role, use equipment safely and how to respond to emergencies.
Content suggestions for your job-specific induction training:
Duties and expectations: Clearly outline the employees’ role, duties and expectations.
Procedure: Teach them the standard operating procedures of their job and any skills required.
Performance: Outline clear goals and metrics used.
Structure: Give an overview of the company structure, including key departments, team members and points of contact.
Sites: If you have multiple sites, create site specific guidance.
Protocol: Ensure employees know what to do when faced with a problem and inform them of any common issues they should expect to face.
Equipment: Identify any tools or technology required for the job.
Shadowing: Offer shadowing opportunities to learn from experienced employees.
3. Health and Safety Induction Training
Health and Safety induction training is a core module for any compliant company, employees should be aware of any potential hazards and how to work safely. Health and safety training should cover topics such as emergency procedures, accident reporting and the use of personal protective equipment (PPE).
Why is it important?
Risk reduction: Health and Safety training informs and educates people how to identify and prevent hazards, lowering the risk of accidents and injury.
Compliance: Health and Safety training gives the employer the opportunity to cover regulations and compliance requirements, ensuring employees are aware of them and comply.
Culture: Pro-actively promoting a safety culture expresses the importance of following procedure and increases the likelihood of them being taken more seriously.
Content suggestions for your health and safety induction training:
Policies and procedures: Ensure induction training covers procedures, for example emergency procedure for evacuation or first aid.
Hazards: Educate employees on common hazards such as slips, trips and falls, also include job-specific hazards.
Compliance: Cover safety regulations which are appropriate to them, for example PPE.
Handling and storage: Educate employees on handling techniques (i.e heavy or dangerous loads) and where to store materials (i.e. hazardous material).
Operation: How to safely operate and use equipment and machinery.
Communication: How to communicate hazards, such as speaking to managers or labelling materials.
Documentation: Inform them of your documentation process for incidents and near-misses.
Hygiene: Educate employees on any sanitation and hygiene standards and practices.
How to Organise your Content into a Clear Induction Training Program
Organising your induction material is important to ensure employees can easily follow and understand the material, deadlines and digest important information.
Here are some suggestions to organise and simplify your induction:
Divide into clear sections: Create bite-sized sections based on the above topics, this will make induction training less daunting, easier to digest and better to navigate.
Formatting: Use a clear and consistent format to present the material, include bullet points, lists, tables and charts to break things up.
Visual aids: Visuals help simplify complex information and quickly summarise key takeaways, consider using infographics, videos, images, presentations, charts and graphs.
Module builders: Software such as Induct & Train can help you organise and structure your content more efficiently, for example you can create individual module elements which can then be assigned to any induction you’re building, giving you quick control over who receives what.
Test and improve: Before rolling it out to the masses, test your newly built induction on a small batch of people and identify any improvements.
Induction Training Software
Induction training software can make inductions more manageable for both employers and employees.
Induction software allows employers to control their inductions with a centralised platform to manage modules, issue inductions and track progress.
Document management, remote off-site inductions, job role creation and site specification can enable employers to centrally manage all sites, employees and material.
Benefits of a digital solution include:
Consistency: Ensure that the correct induction material is issued and avoid any differences between sites, for example.
Time and Cost-efficient: Automating the process only requires significant involvement during setup, after which the need for in-person inductions is limited and cost reduced.
Tracking and Reporting: View completion rates, spot any commonly failed modules, identify areas of additional training, notify line managers of important information.
Accessible: Software allows pace and convenience, reducing stress and increasing likelihood of retention.
Retention: Software platforms are more engaging and have options for delivering content.
Compliance: Records can be pulled in a moment’s notice, allowing you to cross-reference any disputes in training.
Customisation: Software can be customised to the requirements of the company, taking the headache away from developing the bones of your induction program.
Scalability: Easily scaled to accommodate new employees
Unlocking Potential with Inductions
Induction training isn’t just important, its essential for setting you and your new employee up for success. But here’s the thing: its not just about ticking boxes and getting it done, it’s about investing in your people and giving them to the tools to thrive.
The best part: the benefits of an effective induction program are massive! Employee engagement, increased productivity, and improved retention.
Investing in your induction process creates a welcoming and supportive environment, allowing you to foster loyalty and commitment, paying dividends in years to come.
Simplify your process: Online Induction Training Software
Streamline your induction process with Induct & Train – the hassle-free solution that simplifies inductions. Contact us now to reduce administrative burden, increase productivity and create a better experience for new hires.
