What about pre-arrival induction?

Date posted: January 2005

When ten HR and training professionals recently got together to talk about issues and challenges in corporate induction programmes during a Brightwave Learning Lunch*, one of the interesting discussion points was about pre-arrival induction.

Pre-arrival induction is getting increasingly common as it enables organisations to capture the extra motivation new joiners have before they start. It also gives them the chance to introduce basic knowledge about the company, its values and working policies, to an employee before they actually start working.

This is good for the company in the productivity it gains from new employees who are ready to start working from day one instead of sitting and listening to lengthy presentations.

It's also good for the employees who feel more comfortable in their new environment right from the start. If you already know the working processes and procedures before you start you feel more confident about the job in hand. Confident employees will be more productive, and work faster right from the start.

When is the best time to introduce this type of training?

Most of the companies that already use pre-arrival induction seem to agree that this is something that should be sent out or accessed once a contract has been signed.

One of the companies attending the Brightwave Learning Lunch had a rigorous pre-arrival programme with some employees having to attend up to eight hours of obligatory training before joining the company.

This is perhaps an extreme example, but it shows how some organisations are already taking advantage of the high levels of motivation a new employee has and turning that into an enjoyable learning experience.

Pre-arrival induction also helps HR and training professionals to meet the growing expectation from new employees for immediate support such as instant access to information, and e-learning for training. In fact new arrivals expect the use of technology at some point in the induction process.

Cost-effective and consistent

Using e-learning as part of an induction process is a cost effective way to making sure that all your new joiners get a consistent picture of your organisation. It also acts as a support tool for all employees to dip into whenever they need to refresh their memory, or find out where things, such as a contacts etc., are located.

The Learning Lunch concluded that there is a great opportunity for organisations to blend all the different types of learning tools that are now available into unified online induction for their company.

BUPA's showcase presentation at the Lunch demonstrated that staff can be trained more effectively, in far less time - in their case dropping the overall training time by two weeks. Improved induction leads to higher productivity sooner, more motivated employees who feel part of the company, and it saves costs compared to classroom based alternatives.

* These are a series of successful and exclusive invitation-only working lunches that address key topics and issues related to learning in the workplace.

Read more about motivation in a previous article here on BrightIdeas.