PILOT INDUCTION PROGRAM

Project Proposal Pilot Induction Program SILVIA OANA PAULESCU

CONTENT

Introduction 2 Literature Overview 3 Methodology... 4 Potential Conclusions.. 6 Time and Resources 6 Bibliography..9

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Project Proposal Pilot Induction Program SILVIA OANA PAULESCU

Introduction
The first few days at work within a new organization are often the most difficult. For a new employee, who has been hired for his special experience and professional skills, it is not easy to have the same performance in a completely new environment. This might even lead to him asking himself if he have made the right move! New starters need to be protected from overload, and given a chance to settle into their role. They will probably welcome any help you give them particularly if that help takes the form of a planned induction process, based upon their individual needs. The purpose of the induction period (which may be a few hours or a few days) is to help a new employee settle down quickly into the job by becoming familiar with the people, the surroundings, the job and the business. It is important to give a new employee a good impression on the first day of work. However, the induction program should not end there. It is also important to have a systematic induction program, spread out over several days, to cover all the ground in the shortest effective time. The company I refeer to in this paper is a recruitment agency. The company does not use an induction program for the new employees. From my own experience and from the discussions I have had with other colleagues, I came to the conclusion that there is a generalized felling of in satisfaction through the new comers in the company. Also, new employees find themselves in the situation of not being able to handle the responsibilities of the job within the working hours. This is why during the first four to six weeks the new employees are doing a lot of extra hours. I have also identified the fact that the other employees are most of the times disturbed in their activity by the frequent questions of the new comers. 10.11.07
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Project Proposal Pilot Induction Program SILVIA OANA PAULESCU I intend to develop an induction program and to pilot it with a couple of volunteers in order to measure the effects of the program and to demonstrate there is a positive relation between job satisfaction and taking part in an induction program when first coming in the organization.

Literature
Studies have shown that the firs four to six weeks are the most difficult for a new employee. Jan Zahrly and Henry Tosi (1989) conducted a study regarding the differential effect of organizational induction process on early work role adjustment. Early work role adjustment is hypothesized to be a function of previous work experiences, early organizational experiences, and personality differences. Formal collective induction into an organization was compared with informal individual induction. Induction mode was the dominant variable which predicted adjustment four months after employment. Formal collective induction contributed to higher job satisfaction and lower work/family conflict. The mode of induction did not affect team cohesion, role conflict, role ambiguity, or perceived worker influence in the workplace. Self-monitoring, a personality variable, contributed to the prediction of work/family conflict. Induction mode did not interact with other independent variables in predicting job satisfaction or work/family conflict. Conrad Lashley and Warwick Best (2002) conducted a study regarding the employee induction in licensed retail organizations. Their findings showed that the process whereby new recruits are brought into the firm is an important element of human resource management practice. If done well, it can help to retain the new employee and reduce staff turnover. Shows that a cross-section of firms in the sector now have some form of staff induction program in place. In most cases, the induction program is short-lived and focused on job role and administrative procedures. The survey of these firms suggests that there is a need to embrace best practice from other sectors of the retailing industry, in particular, the recognition that well-planned and structured induction can play an important role in bringing down staff turnover. However, induction is best seen as a 3 10.11.07

Project Proposal Pilot Induction Program SILVIA OANA PAULESCU process that commences before the employee starts work and extends through the first two or three months of employment. In the very best instances the new recruit is deliberately eased into the new job. Unit managers play a vital role in delivering the immediate induction program and management program need to ensure that unit managers are themselves trained to train and their performance is monitored. Megan McConnell (2007) underlined that induction of new staff members is often

crammed into a short session. This is not always the best way to approach the process. He also sustains that by having a good induction program, the company will acquire loyal employees who fell integrated into the culture of the company and who are likely to be more productive and stay with the company longer.

Methodology
In order to develop an induction program so I can demonstrate the relation between job satisfaction and taking part in an induction program when first coming in the organization, I need to - review the literature with regard to the strategies to make the new employees effective in the job in a shorter time after being hired - review the adult learning principles - study the assumption that an induction program can improve employee job satisfaction - design a questionnaire in order to identify what additional information do the new employees need in order to be satisfied with their new job and to faster adapt to the new working environment - conduct interviews with colleagues in order to identify what specific issues need to be considered and included in an induction program The aspects that will be assessed through questionnaire and interview will refer to: - What was their first impression when coming in the organization 10.11.07
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Project Proposal Pilot Induction Program SILVIA OANA PAULESCU - What information were they provided with, when first coming in the organization - How much time after being hired, did they need to understand about the industry, about the company and the services that the company provides to its clients - How much time did they need in order to become familiar with the companys policies, rules and regulations, procedures - How much time did they need to get familiar with the culture of the company - How did they get familiar with the way their performance was being assessed and after how much time - What are the most important aspects, according to them, that a new employee needs to know about the position in order to be successful in achieving the desired outcomes - Who do they consider to be the most important people able to support the new employee - What resources do they consider the new employee needs to know about - What information do they consider to be universal and what is specific to the position - How much do they consider should last an induction programme - What was the most important difficulty they have faced as newcomers in the company

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Project Proposal Pilot Induction Program SILVIA OANA PAULESCU

Potential Conclusions
I anticipate that the conclusions drawn after conducting the research will indicate: - that if the newcomers are first signed up in an induction program, the employee satisfaction within the accommodation period will improve - that the newcomers will be able to achieve performance in a shorter time if they are first signed up in an induction program and the extra hours will be mostly not necessary - that the other employees will not fell disturbed in their working rhythm when having a new colleague, because of the frequent questions a newcomer puts

Timescale 2007 2008

January - review the literature; - develop the questionnaire that I will use as an instrument for evaluating the existing needs - recruit the volunteers who will participate at the research - contact previous employees of the company in order to ask them to participate in the research February - e-mailing the questionnaires to my colleagues; - conduct the interviews with the colleagues from the Branch from Cluj Napoca, where I work and with the previous employees of the company; - data collection and analyzing: receiving back the questionnaires with their answers; conduct a qualitative analyze of the information within the questionnaires and the interview scripts - concluding on the specific objectives of the programme to be designed - develop the program; 10.11.07
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Project Proposal Pilot Induction Program SILVIA OANA PAULESCU - develop the evaluation instruments for the developed program; - write down the theoretical principles regarding the projects theme; March - implement the program; April - measure the effects of the program and analyze the obtained results; - write down the drawn conclusions May - overview the project

Resources
In order to conduct the research I will need to recruit at least tow volunteers who will /participate in the program. It will be necessary to pilot the induction program with volunteers because - the company does not intent to hire new employees within the Cluj Napoca Branch, where I work, in the next six months - the employer will not allocate any budget for the research and does not agree to let me travel to other Branches in the country in order to conduct the search with newcomers in company - I need to allocate time for follow up and for interviews Regarding the financial costs, I do not estimate there will be any. Potential difficulties could be related to the amount of time the volunteers will be willing to invest. This is way one of the selection criteria in the selection process will consist in the amount of time the potential volunteer is willing to invest. Also, I might face a problem regarding the data collection, by not receiving the answered questionnaires or receiving them incomplete. In order to overcome this situation I will first 7 10.11.07

Project Proposal Pilot Induction Program SILVIA OANA PAULESCU contact by phone the colleagues from other Branches and ask for their disposal to answer the questionnaire. I will also explain them on the phone and by e-mail that it is important to answer all the questions. At the same time, in order to not be refused by my colleagues, because they dont want those information to be public, I will assure them of the confidentiality of the dates and explain the propose of the research. Previous employees of the company might not be willing to take part in the project. Because I consider the information they can provide can be very useful, I will try to clarify to them the objective of this project and the fact that this does not involve them in any way.

Bibliography
CONRAD L., WARWICK B., Employee induction in licensed retail organizations , International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management: 2002 Volume:14, p: 6 -13 JAN ZAHRLY, HENRY TOSI, The Differential Effect of Organizational Induction Process on Early Work Role Adjustment, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Vol. 10, No. 1 (Jan., 1989), pp. 59-74

Web sites
http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk www.hrd.qut.edu.au http://workplaceculture.suite101.com

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