Importance of Induction in Higher Education Institutes

1. Induction - what it should cover

Induction can be split into the following four broad areas: the University; procedures; the department and its culture; the requirements of the post. Often, only one or two of these areas are addressed during the induction period, and this can result in the new member of staff feeling isolated, uninformed, or unable to perform in their role. In addition to providing the new member of staff with information, which can be imparted by a number of different means, the new member of staff must also be given the opportunity to ask questions, have key systems and procedures demonstrated to them, and be given time to become acquainted with their new work colleagues and surroundings.

Consideration should be given to who will take responsibility for covering each area of induction, and how they will ensure that the areas are adequately covered. Further advice on this is contained in the section ‘Approaches to induction’. This section considers the aims of induction and provides an overview of the issues which should be included in the induction process.

Induction - 1.1 The importance of induction

1.2 Benefits of induction

1.3 The probationary period

What should be covered - 1.4 The University

1.5 Procedures

1.6 The department and its culture

1.7 Requirements of the post

1.1 The importance of induction

The University (and therefore its employing departments and faculties) has obligations and duties by law to provide new staff with information about the employment contract, its terms and conditions, and health and safety issues in the place of work. However, in addition to these legal aspects of induction and orientation, there are many other practical issues which should be taken into consideration when a new employee starts in post.

On taking up a new appointment, irrespective of whether an employee has previous service within the University, the new employee should be advised of the full requirements of his or her post and given any other relevant information which will enable him or her to settle in quickly and become effective. Appropriate induction should be provided for each new employee, and the progress of a probationary employee should normally be reviewed no later than halfway through the probationary period. Overall responsibility for planning an individual’s induction should lie with one person, and this will usually be their line manager, although induction of new staff members will normally include contributions from a range of people.

Research has shown that the lack of a systematic introduction to the work environment and the job may result in the following difficulties for new employees:

• they may feel isolated and confused, and be unaware of company rules and procedures;
• they may struggle to learn how to do the job because they have received only limited

assistance at the outset;

• they may break safety or disciplinary rules, receive a warning and become embittered about the employer;
• they may decide that the initial enthusiasm which was associated with the new job was

misplaced, and leave to take up a position elsewhere.

Each of these problems represents a cost to the University, either in direct financial terms, or in public relation terms (Marchington and Wilkinson, 1996).

1.2 Benefits of induction

Members of the human resource management team at the School of Management, UMIST (University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology) state that the benefits to be gained from a systematic process of induction far outweigh the costs of recruiting new staff (Marchington and Wilkinson, 1996). ACAS (the Advisory, Arbitration and Conciliation Service) state that induction can:

• help employees become effective quickly (particularly important for small departments where there may be less scope to 'carry' learners);
• improve motivation and performance;
• extend the range of skills of employees, enabling them to be more adaptable;
• allow employers to delegate, freeing time for key management activities

1.3 The probationary period

The University has explicit requirements regarding probationary periods (see the personnel manual and relevant staff handbook for information). The purpose of a probationary period is to ensure that a postholder taking up a new appointment is, within a reasonable period of time, able to gain a full understanding of the requirements of the post and to achieve a satisfactory level of performance.

1.4 The University

Without adequate context it can be very difficult for individuals to fully understand their role, and, therefore, to what they are ultimately contributing. Every new employee should be provided with a

background to the functions of the University[1]:

• its mission;
• its business;
• and a little of its history.

The core resource for this is the Oxford Learning Institute’s online induction course[2]. The Oxford Learning Institute offers a welcome event for new research staff and a seminar on the history of the University, more details of which can be found on the Institute’s website (www.learning.ox.ac.uk). The University website contains a useful glossary of terms which may be useful for new employees[3].

1.5 Procedures

It is imperative that new staff are provided with information outlining procedures related to their employment at the University.

These include:

• terms and conditions of employment (contained in the contract of employment and the

relevant staff handbook)

• disciplinary and grievance procedures (also contained in the relevant staff handbook)
• the University’s Code of Practice on Harassment
• the University’s Equal Opportunities Policy and Statement (available from the Equality and Diversity Office)

• information about arrangements for employee representation (trade union membership and employee representatives)
• the appraisal scheme

The above documents should be sent to the new employee before they start in their new post,

and an opportunity for them to discuss these documents should be provided during the

employee’s first week in post, or at a later stage if required.

In addition to the above, departmental and other procedures should be sent to the employee

before they start. These might include:

• Car parking/travel scheme information
• Health and safety/security information
• Relevant codes of professional practice
• Application form for a University card/email account
• Application for membership of congregation

1.6 The department and its culture

Providing new employees with information about the University is important, but even more so is

providing information about the unit, department or faculty in which the new employee will work. Each department at Oxford has its own organisational structures and procedures, and all new appointees need assistance to help them understand ‘local’ values, customs and practices. This applies equally to new staff who have worked at the University before.

The ‘cultural’ aspects of inducting a new member of staff involve communicating information about the (often unwritten) rules and norms of the department. These might include such matters as code of dress, informal communication methods (for example where and when people have coffee, and social events), and personal use of email, telephone and other facilities. It is important that these are communicated early on in the induction process, otherwise new staff may consider their behaviour to be appropriate and acceptable when it is not.

The employee’s line manager is best placed to discuss most of these issues, which are summarised below:

• Departmental organisational chart
• Access to the facilities of the department and whom to contact about such matters (for

example: stationary; photocopying; expense claims)

• Dress code (bearing in mind religious and cultural requirements)
• Formal communication methods (email groups, committees - their constitution and their

membership - departmental meetings, access to senior staff of the department)

• Informal communication methods (coffee breaks, social events, use of common room)
• Working hours (core hours, norms and expectations, overtime procedures, lunch and other breaks, differences in the working hours of different staff groups)
• Smoking policy (areas where smoking is permitted, and smoking breaks, if applicable)
• Personal use of email and the telephone (whether this is acceptable, and if so, to what extent)
• Departmental policy on staff development and training, and appraisal.

Some departments choose to produce a departmental guide for new staff. This could be based around the same types of information that might be included in a student induction or welcome pack.

The Oxford Learning Institute produces a welcome pack for its new staff, a list of contents of which is available for reference.

1.7 The requirements of the post

Informing a new member of staff about the requirements of his/her post is best carried out by the

individual’s line manager. It can sometimes be appropriate for the previous post-holder to be included in this process as well (if they are still working in the department or the University). It is imperative that a new member of staff understands what is expected of them in their role, otherwise problems may arise with regard to the individual successfully completing their probationary period.

A good starting point for this aspect of induction is to spend time talking through the job description with the new member of staff, initially identifying areas of priority, and areas for development. It is unlikely that a new member of staff will have experience of all aspects of their new role, so any developmental needs will need to be identified, along with means of addressing them, early on in the individual’s new position. In effect, a ‘job-related training programme’ should be put together for each new member of staff, which takes into account the individual’s experience, skills, and development needs. This programme should include all currently identified training and development needs, how they are going to be addressed, by whom, and by when.