Four in 10 employers believe that their induction process is in need of a thorough overhaul, despite most (91%) HR professionals saying that this is the most crucial part of an employee's training.
This is according to XpertHR's 2010
induction survey, which also found that a quarter of the 122 employers surveyed considered induction to be very low on their list of organisational priorities.
Charlotte Wolff, training editor at XpertHR, said that an effective induction programme can make the difference between high and low retention rates for new joiners. "It is a unique opportunity for employers to capture the hearts and minds of their employees from the start, helping to build a productive, engaged workforce," she added.
Organisations with successful induction programmes attributed this success to a number of factors, including the commitment and skills of those who deliver it. However, the research found that induction was hampered at 61% of companies by a lack of line manager engagement in the process.
Line managers were expected to deliver induction at 86% of the companies surveyed. However, only 22% were provided with training skills related to inducting employees and only 41% were given guidance on how to deliver it. Employers also reported that both insufficient investment into induction and a lack of resources to manage or deliver induction were an issue at around two in five companies.
Personnel Today, November 2010
You can view the full findings of the 2010 XpertHR induction survey
here.