Induction/Orientation

Perhaps the most important of all training, induction (or orientation as it is also known) is the process of introducing a new employee into your team. Its purpose is twofold: First, it is the mechanism by which the vision of the owner of the business is shared with the new employee, thus establishing a context they can work within. Second, it is the way you speed the process of the new person being accepted by other staff and learning their job, thus saving time, money and preventing unnecessary upset.

Most businesses perform the induction process induction badly, or fail to perform it at all because they do not appreciate the gains to be made by spending time up front with a new staff member. One hour spent on proper induction can save many, many hours later on down the track. The larger companies and corporations realise this and often go to great pains (and expense) to develop induction programs in which all new staff are required to participate. Some even produce elaborate video presentations for the dual uses of induction and marketing.

It is a good idea to brief the new staff member to observe carefully and question anything they see fit during the induction process. The hiring of a new person is a great opportunity to seek some feedback from somebody who may be able to see your business more objectively than you or your staff. This is because they look at what you do ‘naively’ and are not victim subjective loyalty or to the ‘its always been done that way’ syndrome.

A proper induction normally takes between four hours and one day initially, then scattered time is spent with the new hire over the following few weeks until the process of assimilation into the business ‘culture’ is complete. Induction has two separate parts:

Company Induction

This is where a senior manager communicates the vision of what the company’s owners are trying to achieve to the new hire. Typically this section of the induction process would include:

• history of the business;
• the aims of the business;
• the market level it caters to;
• future plans of the business owners;
• tour of the business - explanation of different sections;
• staff policies and rules - punctuality, absenteeism, breaks, consumption of food and beverage, personal presentation, etc.

Departmental Induction

This is where the new hire is introduced to the section of the business they are going to work within by their new supervisor. This section of the induction training would include:

• introduction to other staff members and their duties;
• physical layout - toilets, lockers, staff room, first aid kit, fire extinguisher
• necessary stores;
• explanation of new hire's job description and work performance standards
• who to go to for help.

Our experience suggests it is of great benefit to involve the other staff in the process of inducting a new staff member — you can brief them on the role you would like them to play and give them specific duties in the induction process. It is also a good idea to arrange for the new hire to be taken under the wing of a ‘buddy’ who helps them to become accepted into the team for the first couple of weeks. The duty of being ‘buddy’ can be rotated among a number of people thus giving the new hire the opportunity to get to know the staff more quickly.

Skills Training

This is the process of providing all the technical skills necessary to perform a job properly. Normally this task should be performed by somebody with who has done a Train-the-Trainer course (supervisor or departmental trainer).

Skills training is planned by breaking each job into a number of duties and then further breaking each duty into its component tasks. Tasks are then analysed and taught in the order that leads to productivity the fastest.

Supervisory and Management Training

There are three levels of management training and development appropriate to any business environment:

Supervisory Training

Supervisory training largely concerns acquiring people handling skills — the primary skills for any supervisory or management development. The assimilation and perfection of these skills should begin prior to appointment as a supervisor and continue until middle management is reached. Typically the basic skills include:

• understanding the role/responsibilities of a manager/supervisor;
• communication skills: listening, assertion and techniques for coaching and counseling;
• teambuilding;
• motivation techniques;
• train-the-trainer;
• recruitment and selection.

These are designed to develop the ability to effectively form and control a work unit in it’s day-to-day functioning.

Middle Management Training

Middle management training is a progression from the basic supervision skills by introducing group productivity skills, together with an introduction to financial management, resource management and policy-making. This level of training would typically include:

• assigning and delegating work;
• conducting meetings;
• problem solving;
• advanced recruitment and selection (2nd interview);
• time management;
• profit and loss accounting;
• budgeting;
• negotiating;
• objective setting and performance appraisal;
• specialist training according to position, such as sales training or purchasing skills;
• cross exposure to allied departments;
• attachment to other companies.

These are designed to extend management planning some time into the future, as distinct from short-term supervision. Policy and strategy formulation is introduced at this level.

Senior Management Development

Senior management training is focused into predominantly financial management, planning and policy skills, and other ancillary skills. These will include:

• balance sheet accounting;
• strategic planning;
• financing and financial planning;
• advanced negotiating skills;
• working with a secretary;
• organizational time management;
• specialist training as appropriate;
• cross exposure to all departments.

Return to the Hospitality Training Guide Index

Do you want to reproduce anything here?

Return to the main resource library menu

© Eldred Hospitality Pty Ltd, 2008