A sense of belongingness is a very important aspect for an individual joining a new workplace. A new employee who feels accepted and included at the workplace, adds to the overall growth of the organization as well as the employee.

An Induction Program can be said to be the first step to welcome new employees.  Through the Induction Program, organizations introduce the new hire to the workplace, roles and responsibilities and culture. It creates a feeling of trust with other employees and significantly improves employee retention.

The induction program addresses key aspects of working in the organization:

Inclusion: Inclusion is an important aspect for an individual entering a new group. Making them feel a part of organization can be done with a warm welcome by the team members. An employee must not feel like an outsider at the workplace. This should be collectively handled by the higher officials as well as other employees.

Introduction: The new employee should be introduced to all the departments and colleagues. Ideally, a mentor can also be assigned to initiate them into the projects which the employee would work on. It helps as employees can speak out their doubts and clear them with the guidance of a mentor.

Rules and Regulations: A key part of induction is explaining the rules and regulations of the organization like work hours, dress code, annual leaves, appraisals, incentives, and flexible working arrangements. This creates a sense of awareness and predictability for the employee.

Vision and Mission: The aims and objectives of the organization, and its work culture should be made clear, so that the employee has a clear idea of the work environment and how to behave.

Job description: The incumbent’s job profile along with their responsibilities and challenges needs to be briefed to them. This can be explained with the help of earlier projects and the execution done by members of similar profile. The employee must know about their key tasks as well as the qualities required for completing them. In this way they can brush up their skills or learn new skills, if required, to be prepared for all the upcoming new tasks.

Role training: Practical execution is always easier after an employee knows all the aspects of a particular job profile. A newly joined employee can be trained, so that they have a grasp of all the responsibilities of their position. A guide or mentor can assign tasks in the initial months and the organization can assess the strengths of the employee, basis which similar tasks can be assigned in future.

Feedback:  After a few weeks of joining the employee can be asked about his experience and if any suggestions or modifications should take place. An employee feels motivated and appreciated, when such feedback is taken.

Employee Induction needs a proper planning and needs to be revised after every year for new perspectives. It is a key to ensure retention for employees.

New employees need to feel comfortable in their new work environment and become productive as soon as possible. With some of the factors discussed here, retention rate of employees increases. In closing, induction needs to be thought of as an investment in an employee for the long-term benefit for the organization.