Staff Induction Kit

Hi Dale,

There has been discussion of an induction kit in my workplace as well (marketing department in a large university). We have a standard HR induction that is implemented in a hit and miss way, but what we really need is an induction into the department and where it fits into the overall organisational structure. It is a complex and political organisation where it is easy to spend a lot of time being ultimately ineffective so it is in everyone's interest to make sure new employees know where they fit in and what is expected of them.  Well that is the theory anyway!

I don't think that there has been a specific MT podcast on the topic, however there are a couple of casts which, if you think laterally, can provide a good starting point:

http://www.manager-tools.com/2010/09/my-boss-resigned-part-1

http://www.manager-tools.com/2010/09/my-boss-resigned-part-2

There are a couple of episodes of the Cranky Middle Manager on onboarding that are useful:

http://cmm.thepodcastnetwork.com/2008/08/03/the-cranky-middle-manager-154-onboarding-employees-with-caela-farren/

http://cmm.thepodcastnetwork.com/2006/06/18/the-cranky-middle-manager-show-51-managing-at-electronic-arts/

There is also a good book called "Teach what you know: a practical leader's guide to knowledge transfer using peer mentoring" by Steve Trautman. Prentice Hall. 2006. ISBN 9780321419514. It is aimed more at technical/IT/sales organisations (well all the examples relate to those areas) however it does have some good templates that can be adapted for use.

Good luck, it will be interesting to see what you eventually come up with!

Linda

Hi Dale

In general terms, a briefing book is what you keep prepared to hand over to a boss or new boss etc when there is positional change.

It can include a lot of things, but some of the basics are:

1. A list of all the projects and deliverables you are responsible for
2. Project and deliverable status
3. Key stakeholders
4. Deadlines
5. Upcoming projects
6. Key relationships / people to communicate with
7. Who holds what keys to the various kingdoms you work with
8. Significant customers and notes about how to deal with them, etc.

It sounds like you want more guidance regarding onboarding new hires.  Try a google adventure.  Lots of literature.  

Your instincts are good.  Smart idea. 

Dale,

In the past I have found sharing the responsibility of induction "training" tasks around other existing members of the team has worked well.

Once you have the list of areas or topics the new employee needs to learn about, assign one or more of those areas amongst the team members to be responsible for taking the new employee through  them.

It results is an implicit better learning because the tips and tricks of the individual are imparted (in addition to or beyond what the written manual can provide). It also gives opportunity for the new employee to meet and get to know the existing team members better and more quickly.

It's just delegation really.

-- Peter

DISC: 2564
@pjwestley