8 Things To Include In Your Staff Induction Kit

Your Staff Induction Kit – Welcome to the Team

The best way to welcome your new team member and make them feel a part of the team is with a unique and inspiring employee induction kit.

Induction kits have come a long way in the last ten years. No longer are they just a big boring bundle of forms to fill in. The modern version uses technology to deliver a highly interactive induction experience straight to the team member’s smart device – often days or week before they even commence work.

The induction kit is an opportunity to roll out the metaphorical red carpet and charm the socks off your new team member. In addition to the essential forms and documents, it can contain links to useful websites and blogs, access to company social media sites, and entertaining videos that describe and introduce your firm. You really are only limited by your imagination.

Your induction kit should however cover off these key things:

1. Welcome message from the CEO
2. Onboarding plan overview
3. Employment contracts and new employee forms
4. Employment policies
5. Corporate information including Vision, Mission, Values and Strategy
6. Computer Logins for training and social media access
7. Links to team profiles
8. Maps and general information

Making a positive and lasting impression with the Staff Induction Kit

You want your first official communication with your new hire to grab your their attention and get them genuinely excited about starting work. So here are some tips for developing a killer induction kit:

• Tell your story clearly and use plain and simple words – jargon immediately puts new staff on the outer;
• Write the content yourself. Don’t cut and paste from someone else’s handbook or a cookie cutter template. The induction kit needs to reflect who you are and how you do business. Employees can’t help but be motivated by a genuine sense of purpose and identity;
• Pre-populate forms and documents with the new employee’s details;
• Use lots of images to paint a picture of what it is like to work at your company. Show pictures that they can relate to or people and places they will recognise once they arrive on site;
• Brand everything. Work with your marketing department to create a style guide and put your logo on all of the materials. Remind your new team member that they have joined a business they can be proud to work for. When people care about and believe in the brand, they’re motivated to work harder and their loyalty to your company increases.

Personalise

Think of the induction kit as internal marketing for employees. Like other marketing, you need to research and understand your target audience before you spend valuable time and resources on developing content or methods for delivering key messages. The last thing you want to do is make your new staff feel like a number. Develop an induction kit that you can personalise based on what you know about your new employee – their personal details, career history, experience and expertise, accomplishments, and interests.

And Remember… Induction Kits Are Not Just For Newbies

It is not only your new hires that need induction kits. They can also be tailored to staff who are:

• transferred;
• promoted;
• returning to work after an extended absence;
• temporary or casual;
• volunteering; and even
• on work experience.

Every time a staff member comes into a new environment or joins a new team they go through a period of adjustment. Many of the workers listed above won’t require the same documentation and information that new permanent employees do, but you will still want to make sure they are set up for success and welcomed into your business.