CHAPTER 3: INDUCTION PROGRAM IN APG WHAT IS INDUCTION PROGRAM?

Induction Training is a technique by which a new employee is reformed into his surroundings and introduced to the practiced, policies and purposes of the organization. In other words it is a WELCOMING PROCESS. Typically INDUCTION PROGRAM CONVEYS General information about the daily work routine. A review of the firms history, founding fathers, objectives, operations and products or services as well as how the employees job contributes to the organizations needs and a detailed presentation perhaps in a brochure, of the organizations policies, work rules and employees benefits. The broad aim of the induction process is to provide information to new employees about facultys or services to enable them to carry out their required role and responsibilities to reach a high and consistent standard.

OBJECTIVES OF INDUCTION PROGRAM Induction program helps minimize what could be called the reality shock some new employees undergo. Of what employee expects & what he/she confronts in reality. The idea is to make new employees feel at home in the new environment. Effective induction program reduces the anxiety of new employees by providing them information on the job environment & supervisors, by introducing them to coworkers and by encouraging them to ask questions. Induction makes new hires become more productive to the company quickly. Good induction program will create a favorable impression of the firm & its work. Effectiveness of induction program can have a lasting effect on absenteeism and turnover.

STEPS IN THE PROCESS There is no model for induction procedure. Each company develops its own procedure as per its need. The procedure should basically follow these steps. FIRST the new person needs to know the time and place to report to work. SECOND it is important that the supervisor or the immediate boss meet and welcome the employee to the organization. THIRD administrative work should be completed. This includes information such as medicals, probationary periods, medical absences, suggestion systems should be covered. FOURTH the department induction should be conducted. This should include an acquainted talk, introduction to the department, explanation of the function of the department, and job instruction to whom he should look for help when he has any problem FIFTH verbal explanations are supplemented by a wide variety of printed material, employee hand book, flyers, employee manuals, house journals, picture stories, comics and cartoons, pamphlets, etc. Along with short guided tour around the company

IDEAL FLOW OF INDUCTION PROGRAM A) Typical induction programmme should consist primarily of three steps: General orientation by the staff of the HR department The first phase of the program should ordinarily be conducted by the HR department. This type of induction is general, for it gives the necessary general information about the history and operation of the firm -the purpose of which is to help an employee to build up some pride and interest in the organization. The better policy is not to give everything in one day, but to administer small doses over a long period. B) Specific orientation by the job supervisor, or his representative At the second stage, induction should be conducted by the job supervisor. Induction is specific and requires skill on the part of the foreman. The employee is shown the department and his place of work, introduced to other employees, informed of the location of the washrooms, library, canteen and time clock C) Follow-up orientation by either the HR department or the Supervisor. Follow-up induction takes place sometime within one week to six months from the time of the initial hiring orientation. It is conducted either by a foreman or a specialist. Its purpose is to find out whether the employee is reasonably well-satisfied with him. Through personal talk, guidance and counseling, efforts are made to eliminate difficulties experienced by the new comer.

EVALUATION OF INDUCTION PROGRAMME Generally, firms with formal induction programmes ask employees to complete a questionnaire evaluating the program. It is desirable that the questionnaire is administered after some length of time, in order to enable the employee to gain some prospective about the work and the company. Alternatively, the HR representative or the supervisor may conduct follow-up interviews to elicit the employee's opinion. Group discussion sessions can also be held with new employees who have settled comfortably in to their jobs. Whatever the approach, the feedback from the employees enables the firm to incorporate valid suggestions of the employees. Firms should realize that the new employee will receive an orientation that could help them improve their performance. It is certainly in the best interest of the firm to have well planned and well-executed programmes.

PROBLEMS PROGRAM

THAT

CAN

OCCUR

WHILE

CONDUCTING

INDUCTION

An induction program can go wrong for a number of reasons. The HR department should try to avoid such errors. Some of them are as follows: 1) Supervisor who is entrusted with the job is not trained or is too busy. 2) Employee is weighted down with too much information in short time. 3) Employee is overloaded with forms to be completed. 4) Employee is given only menial tasks that discourage in the job & company. 5) Employee is asked to perform tasks were there are high chances of Failure that could needlessly discourage the new employees. 6) Employee is pushed in to the job with a sketchy orientation under the mistaken belief that 'trial by fire' is the best orientation. 7) Employee is forced to fill in the gaps between a board orientation the HR Department and a narrow orientation at the departmental level. 8) Employee is thrown in to action too soon. 9) Employee's mistakes can damage the company. 10) Employee may develop wrong perceptions because of short periods spent on each job.

A) OBEJECTIVES OF INDUCTION TRAINING AT APG

As a new hire/new employee what are their expectations out of this session. 1) To make employee understand first about the company's values, vision, goals etc. 2) To make employee aware of the organization structure. 3) To make employee aware of policies related to leave, medical, insurance, performance management, promotion, job rotation, secondment, TDS, travel policy etc. 4) To familiarize the employees with the existing benefits like e.g. Training programs, club, compensations, holiday list, employee discounts, employee engagement practice.

B) WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR INDUCTION AT APG Human Resource

In many organizations HR is seen as just a support organization that comes to the fray only when some "people" based action/project needs to be implemented. It becomes hard for an employee to know who are the people they can get in touch with hence its imperative that HR forms a part of the induction program not only as a presenter but as a convener at AKER POWERGAS. Other departments head (HODs) & Lead engineers are responsible for the informal induction program.

C) SCHEDULE & LOCATION OF INDUCTION PROGRAMME AT APG HR Inducts employees in to APG on the day of joining. The employee is familiarized with the organization and its members and other work related facilities.

 Employees are also introduced in their departments by their HODs or lead engineers in departmental meetings or on the day of joining. The formal induction program is conducted in the first week of every month. Induction program for Support functions like Human Resources, Finance, Admin, Information Technology, Health Safety & Environment, Corporate Communication is held every month, while for other technical departments( like mechanical, civil, vessels, process, project etc), its organized every three months. Besides, the above mentioned program, the employee also undergoes an informal induction program in his/her department.

HR organizes the induction/orientation program in the office premises in Mumbai and Pune. During induction, employees are given information on the history, vision and core values of the company and on the companys business, project and products. Employees are also oriented of the various policies, practices and guidelines of the organizational structure, the facilities available and the companys expectations from individuals. Schedule of Induction training for support functions is for 1 day and each department speaker speaks for about fifteen minutes & there is break scheduled for half an hour after 4 sessions. In every three months there is technical induction training scheduled which spreads over for about two days is depending on the availability of HODs. MODE OF INDUCTION TRAINING USED IN AKER POWER GAS. APG uses class room type induction. Lectures are given by senior staff of various departments.

D) EQUIPMENTS PROVIDED ON THE DAY OF JOINING Employee on joining the organization will be given a welcome kit comprising of Temporary ID card

Conditions of secrecy which is to be submitted to HR department within 2 days. Bank account opening form which is to be submitted to PAYROLL department. Employees PF Organization form Cash Voucher Nomination and Declaration form. Perquisites claim Voucher The employee also can view the people handbook through their Employee Service Portal. This is a most remarkable point at AKER POWERGAS that they have a employee service portal where they can get information about policies & practices. It is user friendly & information is available so its rather easier than keeping a hardcopy. It seems to be eco friendly as it saves paper.

E) PEOPLE HANDBOOK CONTAINS FOLLOWING INFORMATION Objective Vision & Values

4% 5% 3% CONFUSING LOGICAL LENGTHY 88% NO RESPONSE

 Organization structure Appointment, Joining formalities, probation period, performance evaluation, resignation procedure & policies. Salary Increments & promotions, retirement age, transfer policy between Pune & Mumbai. Referral policy, compensation, working hours & leave policy. Benefits & facilities- employee benefits, family pension scheme, powergas medical scheme, medical insurance, car policy, bus service, cafeteria, personal loan, adoption leave policy

EVALUATION OF EFFECTIVENESS OF INDUCTION PROGRAMME HELD FROM OCT 2010 TO JUNE 2011 IN APG BASED ON THE INDUCTION FORM.

OBJECTIVES To evaluate induction programme in APG based on induction feedback form. To provide recommendations to improve the existing induction process To study, analyze & redesign existing induction feedback form

RESEARCH METHODOLOGYEXPLORATORY & QUALITATIVE RESEARCH is used. RESEARCH METHOD: SCALING METHOD: Parametric scale RESEARCH INSTRUMENT: Feedback forms filled by employees after induction training. SAMPLE SIZE: All induction feedback forms filled by employees themselves from October 2010 to may 2011. N= 1295. Where N = Number employees participated in induction training or a feedback form filled by each employee. SAMPLING TECHNIQUE: Convenient Sampling.

METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION Primary data- It is collected from the INDUCTION TRAINING FEEDBACK FORM filled by employees themselves from October 2010 till may 2011.

Secondary data- It is collected from company website, Formal & Informal Communication with HR personnel & employees. DATA ANALYSIS For evaluation purpose data which collected from induction feedback form is basically bifurcated as technical & support wise and further evaluation is done. COMMENCE OF FLOW OF INDUCTION PROGRAM TYPE TECHNICAL SUPPORT TOTAL CONFUSING 18 38 56 LOGICAL 457 668 1125 LENGTHY 19 21 40 NO RESPONSE 24 50 74

4%

5%

3%

TECHNICAL

CONFUSING LOGICAL LENGTHY NO RESPONSE 88%

From the available data- flow of induction training program found to be LOGICAL. It can be observed that for technical max no of people found it LOGICAL 88% people found it was LOGICAL. 3% people found it was confusing. 4% people found it lengthy. 5% people did not respond to this particular question.

SUPPORT
3% 6% 5% CONFUSING LOGICAL LENGTHY NO RESPONSE 86%

From the available data- flow of induction training program found to be LOGICAL. It can be observed that for support max no of people found it LOGICAL 86% people found it was LOGICAL. 5% people found it was confusing. 3% people found it lengthy. 6% people did not respond to this particular question.

COMMENCE OF LANGUAGE OF INDUCTION PROGRAM TYPE TECHNICAL SUPPORT TOTAL CONFUSING 73 42 115 SIMPLE 690 437 1127 NO RESPONSE 14 39 53 TOTAL 777 518 1295

TECHNICAL From the available data Language of induction training program found to be simple. 73 people found it confusing & 53 people did not respond on the same. CONFUSING 1127 people found the language was SIMPLE. SIMPLE . 5% people found it confusing. NO RESPONSE 5% people did not resond on the same question
89% 2% 9%

From the available data-Language of induction training program found to be SIMPLE. It can be observed that for technical max no of people found it Simple. 89% people found it was SIMPLE. 9% people found it was confusing. 2% people did not respond to this particular question.

SUPPORT 8% 8% CONFUSING SIMPLE NO RESPONSE 84%

From the available data-Language of induction training program found to be SIMPLE. It can be observed that for support max no of people found it Simple. 84% people found it was SIMPLE. 8% people found it was confusing. 8% people did not respond to this particular question.

COMMENCE OF DURATION OF INDUCTION TRAINING TYPE TECHNICAL SUPPORT TOTAL APPROPRIATE 372 633 1005 LONG 1 1 SHORT 91 128 218 NO RESPONSE 55 15 70

TECHNICAL
20% 0% APPROPRIATE LONG SHORT 80%

From the available data duration of induction training program found to Appropriate. It is observed that the duration of induction program for technical functions is APPROPRIATE 80% people found duration was appropriate. 20% people found it short.

16% 0%

2% APPROPRIATE LONG SHORT NO RESPONSE 82%

From the available data duration of induction training program found to Appropriate. It is observed that the duration of induction program for support functions is APPROPRIATE 82% people found duration was appropriate. 16% people found it short 2% did not respond to the same question. MAJOR FINDING ON DURATION OF INDUCTION PROGRAM DAYS FOR INDUCTION TRAINING Around 20% of employees want induction training for at least 3 days & breaks should be given.

RECOMMENDATIONS/SUGGESTIONS for improving the present induction program by Technical departments Use of videos Needed. Increase in interaction Duration should be short. Use of limited data on PPT. Involvement of young engineers.

More than 60% of employees did not respond to this question. RECOMMENDATIONS/SUGGESTIONS for improving the present induction program by support departments Use simple language rather than complicated one. More details needed. Around 90% of employees did not respond to this question. .

LIMITATION OF STUDY There were certain limitations of this study, like; people in different grades were unenthusiastic to fill up the Questionnaire. Open ended questions like recommendations & suggestions were remain unanswered by 90% of employees.

SUGGESTIONS Overall Induction Training in Aker power gas, Mumbai found excellent. I) On the programme Videos and practical day to day examples should be included in induction training. Management games should be included to make induction training interactive & motivating. Management games will also help new recruit to interact with other employees and TEAM BUILDING ACTIVITY can be achieved. Schedule of Technical induction training should spread over at least 3 days in case of technical or it should be department specific so that information can be provided in a more detailed to respective departments.

II)

On the existing form Existing format could only evaluate on Duration, flow & language of induction training program so other things like interactive or not, presentation evaluation etc all this can be included to make evaluation of induction training more easy. Instead of Keeping open ended question in induction feedback form, close ended questions can be kept so that it will be easy for HR DEPARTMENT to evaluate effectiveness. There is certain question which needs to be covered in induction feedback form like whether employee is happy with his/her welcome in a company, so that further steps can be taken to improve on those areas if negative feedback is arrived. Flow of program in existing form is bifurcated as logical, confusing & lengthy. Flow of program can either be logical or complicated. Lengthy option can be put in into duration option. Existing form consists of three pages it can be reduced to 1 page to fill & evaluate faster.

III)

Other parameters The Induction Training should be early and accurate for better result from employees. During the Induction Training instead of only meeting with HODS, HR should also arrange a meeting with subordinates.

CONCLUSION An induction Training is a very important part of an organizations HR Management system. Although not many companies have realized it's important yet. But on completion of this project I have come to a conclusion that the induction manual should be made an integral part of the organization's policy. Induction Training program in APG found to be EXCELLENT. Induction training gives a snapshot of the company to the new joiners and helps them to prepare and understand then profile and responsibilities, AKER POWERGAS successfully achieved this. The overall project has been a great learning experience for me. It gave me an opportunity to implement my theoretical concept of HR to the actual organization.

ORIENTATION PROGRAM An orientation program should accomplish the following objectives in general The new employee should feel welcome & at ease The employees should be clear about what is expected in terms of work and behavior. The person should have begun the process of socializing into the firms way of acting & doing things. However now a days employee orientation is moving from away from mere discussions of rules, to explaining the companys mission and the employees role in accomplishing it. The assumption is that this will foster the self-directed behavior that would more consistent with the companys needs. The orientation Process Orientation program ranges from 10 minutes discussion to week long programs The HR specialist usually performs the first part of the orientation, by explaining basic matters like working hours, benefits and vacations. That person then introduces the new employee to his or her new supervisor. The supervisor continues the orientation by explaining the hierarchy of the department, and by orienting the employee about superiors, sub ordinates, workplace there by reducing first day jitters.

Ideally an employee should receive print or internet based employee handbooks covering matters like these. More companies provide web based technologies to provide orientation. Some firm provide incoming managers with preloaded personal digital assistants. These contain information to help the new managers need to better adjust to their jobs, such as key contact information, main task to undertake, and even digital images of employees the new manager needs to know.

STUDY OF THE ORIENTATION PROCESS IN APG I. OBJECTIVES To study Orientation process at APG To study the factors this leads to dissatisfaction, if any. To give suggestions if any.

II. TYPE OF RESEARCH- EXPLORATORY (QUESTIONNAIRE & INTERVIEW METHOD.) RESEARCH METHOD: SCALING METHOD: Parametric scale RESEARCH INSTRUMENT: Personal interview & questionnaire. SAMPLE SIZE: 30 SAMPLING TECHNIQUE: Convenient Sampling

III. METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION Primary data It is collected through interviewing secretaries, IT department responsible person, Admin department responsible person & newly joined employees in a company. Secondary data It is collected from company website, formal & informal communication with subordinates, IT department, HR department & new joiners etc.

IV. DATA ANALYSIS 15 new employees were interviewed with 5 departmental secretaries, 2 IT responsible person & HR department personal. Sample- 25. TIME BY WHICH NEW RECRUITS RECEIVE THEIR EQUIPMENTS (data collected from new joiners.)

I.) DATA ANALYSIS ON COMPUTERS & TELEPHONIC EXTENSION

12 10 8 6 4 2 0 1-3 D 3-5 D 1-2 W 2W & Above 4 3 2 5 10 9 7 COMPUTERS TELEPHONIC EXTENSION

D = Days & W = Week. The above chart describes about the number of days took to get computers & telephonic extension to the employees. MAJOR FINDINGS Maximum employees got the computers within 3-5 days after joining. Maximum employees got telephonic extension 1-2weeks after joining.

ANALYSIS ON ESS PORTAL ACCESS & PERMANENT EMPLOYEE ID CARD.

12 10 8 6 4 2 0

10 7 4 1 1-3 D 3-5 D 1-2 W 2W & Above

ESS PORTAL

6 6

PERMANENT ID CARD

D = Days & W = Week. The above chart describes about the number of days took to get ESS portal access & permanent employee ID card. MAJOR FINDINGS Maximum employees got the ESS PORTAL ACCESS within 1-3 days after getting computers. Maximum employees got permanent ID card 3-5days after joining.

ORIENTATION PROGRAM AT AKER POWERGAS DEPARTMENT SECRETARYS ROLE After joining, an employee is sent to the specific department secretary. The secretary keeps the record of the employees personal information. Secretary puts a

request through ESS portal for employees personal computer, telephonic extension, E-mail ID & Seat allocation. Secretaries forward this request to HOD for approval. Once secretaries get an approval they forward it to IT department. HODS ROLE/ SUPERIORS ROLE They introduces the new employee to other sub-ordinates The requests are approved by the HOD & sent back to the secretary. IT DEPARTMENTS ROLE Approved request is checked. They allocate PC for an employee Creates Log-In ID, ESS portal ID and sends it back to the Secretaries. Forward the request to ADMIN department. ADMIN DEPARTMENTS ROLE They checks whether all the approvals are in order. Puts forward request to receptionist for arranging phone. RECEPTIONISTS ROLE When any employee joins he/she meets the receptionist and are guided whom they should meet? Requests are checked and procedure for port for telephonic extension & seat allocation is being done in a day.

MAJOR FINDINGS ABOUT OVERALL ORIENTATION PROGRAM-

All employees who join in are very happy with the company environment & comfortable with the subordinates & work timings of the company. They feel motivated & happy as HOD greets them & introduces them to other subordinates in a department on the day of joining or in a departmental meeting. Just mere thing which may leads them to dissatisfaction is arrangement of equipments. Almost all of them did not get the equipments on time. Employees feel that if computers, telephonic extension and seat allocation is arranged on the day of joining then they can be productive from the first day itself. Employees are not provided with specific information about when they will get computers & telephonic extension so providing an appropriate time period would help them.

SUGGESTIONS-

HR department should confirm 2 days before about the employee joining date and when it is confirmed they should create employee number & forward it to departmental secretary. On the same day departmental secretary should forward the request to HOD for seating arrangement & computers, so that approved request can be sent to IT department on the very next day & IT department should be ready with the PC on the same day. IT department should create a login ID & ESS portal access as and when employee joins in and put forward the same request to Admin department for checking they Admin department should check the request on the same day & should forward it to Receptionist for telephonic extension. So that telephonic extension can also be provided within 1-3 days & in this way employee can be provided with the equipments on time. HOD involvement in approvals for certain grade employees (5-7 grades) can be avoided, this approval can be done by lead engineers of the same department so that it can be done faster. HOD involvement in approval can be kept only for higher grades & employees who need high resolution computers or double screen computers.

LIMITATIONS Due to time constraints only 20 employees could be interviewed.. Problems addressed by other joiners or other excellent things about the company from new joiners got suppressed. There is no standard process can be implemented as employees joining dates until they join in the company are tentative so if they dont join in time, efforts & cost on the same gets wasted.

CONCLUSION Overall orientation program found to be good. Each employee involved in the orientation process understands there part of work & importance of it very well Employees seems happy about there work & working environment. A great learning experience to study orientation process at APG.