Ten Ways to Get Employee Induction Right. One. Start before they start. Fifty eight percent of employees who have a good induction will stay with their employer for three years or more. [1] Get off to a great start by, planning your new employee’s first few days, putting together a comprehensive development plan, giving them some key reading, training videos or e-learning before they start. Two. Get the basics right. Four percent of employees leave after a bad first day. [2] Make a good first impression by: giving a tour of the office, introducing team members,	outlining your organization’s structure, getting their desk and PC set up. Three. Appoint an induction buddy. Fifty six percent of new employees say having an induction buddy is essential. [3] Buddies help by: answering questions about the role, showing how things are done, explaining the organization’s culture and social norms. Four. Don’t bombard people with too much information. Our short-term memories can only hold around seven pieces of
information at once. [4]  Remember to take things slowly! Let people observe how things are done, have some straightforward tasks ready to help build confidence. Five. Help people build good networks. Ninety six percent of people who network say it has improved their careers. [5] You can help by setting up meetings with important people, e.g. subject matter experts, department heads and experienced team members, identifying important external contacts, clients and suppliers. Six. Think beyond day one. Twenty two percent of employees leave in the first 45 days. [6] Think ahead by developing a checklist to use after one, two and three months in the role, giving lots of feedback, praise and encouragement, checking in regularly to find out how things are going. Remember that the first 90 days in a new role are crucial for long-term success. [7] Seven. Allow new employees to express any concerns. Ask them: Do they have everything they need to perform their role? Do they need specific training? Have they met key
people in the organization? Address problems as early as possible. Eight. Help them get to know their colleagues. Bonding with colleagues helps new employees feel part of the team. It also improves engagement. [8] Encourage this by taking your new employee out for lunch or coffee with the team, inviting them to team social events, creating a sense of fun. Nine. Set meaningful goals. Explain your expectations for their performance as early as possible. Put together performance goals and personal objectives. Organize performance reviews for the next few months.
Ten. Remember one size doesn’t fit all. Consider the needs of each new employee and their role. A good induction should be tailored - adapt your approach if necessary. Ask for feedback on the induction and find out if anything could be improved.

References: 
[1] ‘On-Boarding For Dummies: How To Successfully Bring New Employees on Board’, www.mindflash.com (20 June 2011). Available at: www.mindflash.com/blog/2011/06/on-boarding-for-dummies-how-to-successfuly-bring-new-employees-on-board/ (accessed 4 August 2014).
[2] Ibid.
[3] Jeana Quigley ‘Do You Care About OnBoarding? You Should!’ www.bamboohr.com (23 April 2014). Available at: www.bamboohr.com/blog/onboarding-infographic (accessed 4 August 2014).
[4] G. A. Miller, ‘The magical number seven, plus or minus two: Some limits on our capacity for processing information’ Psychological Review 63 (2): 81–97 (1956).
[5] Shepa Learning Company, Networking Survey (September 2013). Available at: http://shepalearning.com/networking-survey-results-shepa-learning-company/ (accessed 20 August 2014).
[6] ‘On-Boarding For Dummies: How To Successfully Bring New Employees on Board’, www.mindflash.com (20 June 2011). Available at: www.mindflash.com/blog/2011/06/on-boarding-for-dummies-how-to-successfuly-bring-new-employees-on-board/ (accessed 4 August 2014).
[7] Michael Watkins, The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter, (Harvard Business Review Press, May 2013).
[8] ‘2013 Trends in Global Employee Engagement’, AON Research. Available at: www.aon.com/attachments/human-capital-consulting/2013_Trends_in_Global_Employee_Engagement_Highligts.pdf (accessed 15 August 2014).

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