A well planned and tailored induction will significantly improve the effectiveness, engagement and the outputs of new employees. It’s also going to help with the Happiness-meter. Latest research points to it being more important than ever in recruiting and retaining talent and in filling new employees with confidence in their new employer, role and company knowledge, from the outset.

So, what is a good induction? Here’s my 5-step approach to a great induction.

Relationships: Have planned introductions and dedicated time with those people your new employees need to work closely with. This is all about starting to build relationships and trust within the team. It is also worthwhile thinking about how new employees connect as a group and support each other through the early stages.

Vision: Think about who is going to share the company vision with new employees. Is it a company director and what a powerful message that sends to new starters, or is it their manager? Either way is great and there needs to be a clear link between the company vision and how their role helps deliver the company goals.

Clarity: Schedule time to go through new employees’ job descriptions and what you expect them to achieve by month one, three and six. Include some engaging objectives to focus new employees and to avoid drift or becoming overwhelmed.

Resources and Access: Ensure new employees have the right resources to do their job. The number one frustration from new starters is not being able to do their work because IT doesn’t work, they don’t have access to drives or they haven’t got their PPE in time, etc. You know the drill… so let’s get organised.

Check In: It’s so important to schedule time to check in with new employees and have meaningful conversations about their experience so far and what support they need to succeed. Every organisation has its own ways of working so this is a great opportunity to go through “how things work round here” and help them understand the company culture. Simple things such as how to claim expenses, how the photocopiers work, how to fill in timesheets are all part of the learning curve for new employees. Some companies have a Culture book, work instructions, policies or procedures to read. Other companies offer a buddy system to learn from a competent colleague. Whatever the company set up, it is prudent to take time to make sure everything is explained and understood.

You might now be thinking that an induction is much more than just day one and you are right. The induction period is more than the five-slide company overview that hasn’t been updated for 2 years.  For me the induction period is like a giant dot to dot game, it’s the start of a new journey, it helps create a greater understanding and gives people a chance to be involved from the start. Every organisation has an opportunity to make the first steps count and create a sense of belonging for every new employee.

This feedback model is called the BEEF model (Two examples:1 to acknowledge great performance and 2 to address under performance).

• B is for Behaviour (I need to give you some feedback on the report you produced for the team meeting or I need to talk to you about your contribution at the meeting this morning)
• E is for Example (Your report was very comprehensive and I particularly liked the fact that you asked people for input prior to presenting it or You didn’t interject and explain the impact on the project if we went down a certain path, which is part of your role)
• E is for Effect (You are a real team player and that is exactly what we are trying to achieve here or Are you aware that the project team relies on you and your expertise to highlight potential risks and by not doing so could increase overall costs)
• F is for Future (Please continue to do that and be a role model for others in the team, thank you or In future, please ensure you highlight risks to the project in the following meetings)

People performance is the responsibility of both the manager and the employee. Yes, that’s right there are two parties involved here and when I talk about “people performance” this includes great performance and under performance.

In simple terms, the manager needs to share the vision, set expectations, support development, give feedback and coach. The employee needs to be committed to the job and company, be clear on their responsibilities, be willing to learn and deliver. The glue that sticks managers and employees together is great conversations. If you don’t have meaningful one to one conversations with your employees then start having them immediately. This will build trust. Without trust there is no relationship. Don’t try and be a mind reader… just ask great questions.

Now, there are a myriad of other factors that play a part in people performance including company culture, customer satisfaction, cost, behaviours, processes, org structure, leadership qualities to mention just a few.

Here I’m going to provide some simple and practical tips to start having great conversations and start proactively managing performance of your teams.

Firstly, when’s the last time you informally asked your employees how they are getting on in their role? if they have any frustrations that you can help them with?

Put two one hour slots in your diary per week to start having these conversations, get out of the office and mingle. Great questions to get your started:

• How’s your week going? Any wins this week?
• What are you stuck with? How can I help remove the barriers?
• What can the business be doing to make this the best place to work?
• If you owned the company what one thing would you do differently?

Secondly, are your employees clear on what their duties are?

Take time to sit down with employees to share how their role fits in with the rest of the business and discuss the importance of each task. Be clear on the link between business performance and the employee delivering these duties well. This is a great opportunity to dust off those job descriptions to make sure they are still valid and fit for purpose.

My third pointer is to never put off giving feedback. If an employee is not completing work to the standard you expect or with the right behaviours, then have a conversation. Yes, us British are renowned for giving feedback with an apology that immediately follows. Stop doing that and start following the feedback model below to remove emotions and provide clear robust and supportive feedback. Feedback should also be given to acknowledge great contribution and performance.

This feedback model is called the BEEF model (Two examples:1 to acknowledge great performance and 1 to address under performance).

• B is for Behaviour (I need to give you some feedback on the report you produced for the team meeting or I need to talk to you about your contribution at the meeting this morning)
• E is for Example (Your report was very comprehensive and I particularly liked the fact that you asked people for input prior to presenting it or You didn’t interject and explain the impact on the project if we went down a certain path, which is part of your role)
• E is for Effect (You are a real team player and that is exactly what we are trying to achieve here or Are you aware that the project team relies on you and your expertise to highlight potential risks and by not doing so could increase overall costs)
• F is for Future (Please continue to do that and be a role model for others in the team, thank you or In future, please ensure you highlight risks to the project in the following meetings)

And finally, support and coach your employees. What tools, skills and resources do they need to be able to do their job? Once they have those they can get to business and deliver. Ask them, agree what you can do to do to help them and DO IT.

So to recap, set time aside to start or continue to have great conversations, give feedback, support and trust people.

So here’s the thing there are lots of great interview tools and techniques that have been perfected over the years such as behavioural, competency, “informal”, psychometric assessments (which all have a place I must say) but we shouldn’t ignore the fact that a lot of employers and hiring managers haven’t necessarily had the opportunity or time to have fancy interviewing training and that’s ok.

Questions such as “what is your biggest weakness?” and “tell me where you want to be in 5 years time” are often asked.

In my opinion there is a misconception that employers want a very specific answer to these questions, they don’t. They want to know how honest a person is about their capabilities, how self aware and hungry they are to learn from their new manager and if they have ambitions to grow with the company. 

Wouldn’t it be great if a candidate explained that of course they have weaknesses, they are X and Y and they would like support from the employer to help them develop. The interviewee then has a perfect opportunity to describe their strengths.

The most important aspect of any interview for me is that it should be a two way enjoyable process where both employer and candidate have the chance to open up. No business or person is perfect so let’s stop pretending so.

An honest and productive interview can’t happen if the employer has not provided a trusting interview environment from the beginning. So let’s not forgot about warm and personable introductions, eye contact, sitting next to the person not opposite, offering a cuppa, being interested in their journey to your offices, etc. The candidate is more likely to reciprocate that warmth and honesty.

The interview is an opportunity to be honest about the work environment, the role, the challenges they have as a business and how important this role is to the team. How many times have I heard after someone has started their new role that it isn’t how it was described to them during interview. Similarly how may times have I heard hiring managers say that the person they have hired isn’t doing X, Y or Z.

So in order to avoid all of these potential pitfalls it’s imperative for everyone to prepare for the interview and create the right environment.

Employers let’s continue to give an honest interview experience and candidates let’s commit to the interview and everything that entails.