A good start for the new faces

How well do New Zealand companies handle induction of new staff?

Jacqui Barratt, national manager of permanent services for TMP Worldwide Lampenalectus Recruitment, has a tactful response.

"Some do it incredibly well, and others need to work on it,", she says.

She says the induction period is the time for companies to demonstrate their commitment to investing in their employees, and to show that they're not setting them up to fail.

"Everybody talks about people being their biggest asset, but you've got to go beyond the words and do it," she says. "You don't just put your staff in the right place and hope they get on okay.

"You give them the tools and the guidelines so they can be really successful."

Practical tools should be ready to go on the morning of day one - desk, phones, business cards, the company car - and the paperwork for salary, superannuation and medical insurance should be dealt with the same day.

The length of induction depends on the complexity of the role and, to an extent, the organisation's complexity.

"A week may be ample, but you should never assume that staff are fine forever after induction," she says.

"Go back in two weeks and ask how they're settling in and if they need clarification in any areas."

She has seen buddy systems work well in many companies, where a first point of contact is nominated for general queries.

That person keeps an eye on the new employee and will often make a gesture such as taking them out for lunch.

Pennell Locey of Polaroid also approves of the buddy system, and points out that new staff should be paired with experienced employees who are not part of the reporting chain.

She has also seen successful systems where groups of new employees meet over the first six months.