Before the Start Date

Feelings of uncertainty and anticipation will be high for new starters, who will be thinking about learning a new role, new building, new people, new processes and new systems, amongst other things. The core to an effective induction programme is the planning before the new employee starts, ensuring that the first days, weeks and months go as smoothly as possible.

The engagement activity that takes place between the acceptance of the recruitment offer and your new employee’s first day is often referred to as pre-boarding. This period of time is often characterised by a period of waiting and minimal meaningful engagement between the employer and the new employee. Dedicating some time to engage with your new employee during this period gives the manager the opportunity to learn about their new employee, whilst the new employee will gain reassurance that arrangements are being put in place for their start.

Any information that you obtain from this period can then be used to tailor the induction programme that you plan. During the pre-boarding period, you might want to:

  • Provide some basic information about the organisation / the role;
  • Understand your new employee’s preferred learning & management style;
  • Discuss potential development needs (which can be built into the induction).

Good communication between the institution and the new employee before they join will;

  • protect (and often enhance) your relationship with the new employee;
  • improve the University’s image as an employer of choice.

Planning the content ahead of the start date will reduce the pressure on the first days and weeks of the induction programme and will signal to your new employee that a structured programme has been planned for them, which will provide reassurance. When planning the induction, ensure priority is given to activities, which will enable your new employee to settle in and understand their role.


It should be noted that it is best practice, where possible, to include structured ‘free time’ in the induction programme, which gives your new employee time to undertake; training activities listed on the HR24 Employee Checklist, other essential and role specific training, further reading about the role and the organisation. Structuring free time into the induction programme will reduce the chance of your new employee feeling overwhelmed whilst they try to learn their new role, colleagues and organisation.

If possible, you should document the induction schedule and send this to your new employee ahead of time to help them prepare for their new role.

 

What should be included?

Regular meetings with their line manager, which can be used as a means of training, supporting the employee to understand the role or to ensure that everything is going well - addressing any issues that may have arisen;

  • Identifying when it is appropriate to meet the immediate team and what format this may take;
  • Identifying other colleagues with whom your new employee is going to be working with through the normal duties of the role, perhaps arranging introductory calls or meetings with some of the key colleagues;
  • Planning time that the new employee can undertake induction training and development as identified in the Employee Induction Checklist (HR24).

  HR22 Managers Checklist

Human Resources have created a checklist that can be used as a starting point for planning your induction programme. It can be downloaded from the HR Webpages: www.hr.admin.cam.ac.uk/forms.

Once the candidate has accepted the offer, it may be a few weeks/months before they can start. During this time, it is important that you engage with your new employee, taking the opportunity to begin introducing them to the University and its culture, as well as performing vital admin tasks that will reduce the pressure on the first day(s).

Within your welcome correspondence, you should:

  • Set out the planned schedule for first few days or weeks, which will give your new employee some time to prepare for what to expect once commencing employment;
  • Confirm that the employment is still going ahead;
  • Request the completion of any outstanding screening or administrative tasks.

  HR23 Welcome Letter Template

Human Resources have a template that can be used as a starting point to communicate with your new employee. It can be downloaded from the HR Webpages: www.hr.admin.cam.ac.uk/forms

It’s vital that your new employee has IT equipment and systems access set up to enable their first day with Cambridge to go smoothly. Without access to relevant systems, it’s unlikely that your new employee will be able to undertake the duties of their role effectively and alternative activities are likely to be much harder to arrange.  

Access to systems can take up to five working days to arrange, so it’s best to plan for this early into the appointment process to avoid any delay.  

 

Requesting access  

Contact your local HR or IT team to arrange system access for your new employee. Managers in the Unified Administration Service (UAS) will need to arrange UAS accounts for new staff members by completing a form on University Information Service’s Self-Service Portal.  

 

IT systems checklist 
  • Raven account 
  • University email address 
  • University phone number 
  • Microsoft Office 365 access 
  • HR, payroll systems and Employee Self-Service (ESS) 
  • Role-specific applications 
  • Remote access (for example, to the Administrative Computing Network (ACN) or the University VPN) 
  • Access to local shared drives and folders