The first day for a new employee can often be an overwhelming experience, especially when joining an organisation with the scale and history that Cambridge does. Inductions can easily become the place of information overload, with a large number of documents to review or meetings to attend. The key to success on day one is to be mindful of this and strive to balance out the day.
There is often a temptation to get your new employee working as soon as possible after their first day. This strategy can be short-sighted; therefore, it is recommended that by the end of the first day, the aim is to establish the practical foundations that will enable effective working, whilst leaving your new employee excited and confident in their decision to join your team.
The Right Start
During the first day, you should have an informal meeting with your new employee, welcoming them to the role and the organisation. Some of the things that you may want to discuss may include:
- The key duties of the role and what is expected of the employee;
- Background to the role and some of the key links with other colleagues and/or teams across the University;
- The structure of the immediate team and how they fit into that;
An important step to developing an effective induction is to ensure that the basics are covered. Highlighted below are four of the key things that you are likely to cover on the first day, which may or may not be delivered by the line manager.
Desk Space: You should, where appropriate, identify and set up a working space for the employee. It may also be helpful to consider the circulation of a seating plan, which will make it easier for the employee to identify the immediate colleagues that they may (or may not) have met during their initial induction.
Building Tour: You should arrange for the employee to be given a tour of their working premises, including the immediate office space, toilets and any catering or refreshment facilities that may be on site. You will also want to ensure that you highlight any other facilities which will be important to the new employee within their role, such as meeting rooms etc.
Health and Safety: You should consider some of the health and safety considerations that are relevant to the role, which includes some of the basic considerations, such as fire exits and appropriate action for other emergencies.
Staff Card: Your employee will need an access card to enter their physical working environment. This should be arranged ahead of your new employees first day in the ‘physical’ working environment so that you can provide it to them when they arrive.
Depending on the role and the department, you may consider partnering your new employee with a mentor or buddy, to help them settle in during those nerve-wracking first weeks and months. Typical tasks assigned to a buddy might include:
- showing the new starter around the building;
- explaining how to enter/exit the building;
- talking about the routines of the department;
- introducing the new starter to people that they might not liaise with as part of their role, but they are likely to meet around the office.
- Provide role-related training (where appropriate)
The mentor / buddy assigned to the new employee should be someone who will work closely with your new employee moving forward and should be involved from Day 1, to allow the new employee to build a rapport with their buddy / mentor. Although the role of the buddy mainly comes into play during the first few weeks of employment, it is a relationship that can exist throughout the new start’s employment and should not be time limited.
Assigning a mentor / buddy will give your new employee an informal sounding board to check in with during the early days or weeks of employment. It should be noted, however, that any questions about your new employee’s appointment or formal arrangements within the area (for example; performance expectations and standards or training) should always be directed to the new starter’s line manager.
Why have a buddy?
- A well-briefed buddy can help the new employee to feel welcomed and will allay some of the nerves that accompany a new job;
- A buddy can provide the new starter with an informal support and social network and a starting point for general queries;
- In turn, the buddy will have the opportunity to develop their skills in communication and to share their experience and knowledge.
One of the critical elements of a traditional face-to-face induction programme is to introduce the new employee to the rest of the team. This helps the employee settle into their role by understanding who they are going to be working with whilst providing some contextual information about the key roles within the immediate function of their team.
It is recommended that the manager tries to arrange an initial introduction or meeting on the first day with the whole team (or essential immediate colleagues for larger teams) to introduce everyone.
You should encourage each individual to give an overview of what they do, and how they’ll be working with the new member of the team – which should contribute to a friendly first impression for the new employee and enables them to ‘put names to the faces’. If you have arranged an introductory meeting, you may also ask the new employee to briefly introduce themselves to the team, perhaps asking them to give short summary of the role that they were in prior to joining the University.
On the first day of employment, each new employee to the University should be provided with a copy of the HR24 Employee Checklist. This checklist collates the general introductory training modules that should be undertaken by most new employees, often within the first 4-8 weeks of employment. Providing the checklist early will enable the employee to undertake learning and development at appropriate intervals during their induction. This is particularly important in roles where the new employee will not be able to undertake all aspects of their new role immediately.
Managers are also encouraged to use the checklist as the basis for a discussion around training and development. Once the employee has completed the activities and returned the checklist, it is recommended that a discussion is facilitated to identify whether any further training, support or development is required to support the employee. This will enable the provision of tailored support to the new employee.
HR24 Employee Induction Checklist
The HR24 Employee Induction Checklist can be downloaded via the HR Webpages:
https://www.hr.admin.cam.ac.uk/forms/hr24-employee-induction-checklist
Effective use of the HR24:
- Tailor the HR24 to include role specific training to create a comprehensive plan of the tasks required as part of their induction programme.
- Structure time into the induction programme for the completion of the HR24 activities. This will reduce the burden on your new employee.
- Ensure that the employee signs off the completed HR24 and that it is checked by the line manager prior to being filed.