induction and socialisation

Induction and socialization

Introduction
Induction also called orientation, and it is design to provide a new employee with information which he or she needs to function’s comfortably and effectively in the organization.
When a new employee joins an organization, he is completely a stranger to the people, work place and the work environment. Therefore, he is likely to feel insecure, shy and nervous. In the absence of information and support there is likely to be anxiety and fear in his mind. He may undergo reality shock caused by a gap between his expectations and the real situation.

Meaning
Induction or orientation can help overcome these problems. Once an employee is selected and placed on an appropriate job, the process of familiarizing him with the job and organization begins. This process is called induction.

Induction is “the process of receiving and welcoming an employee when he first join a company and giving him the basic information he needs to settle down quickly and happily and start work”.

The new employee is introduced to the job and the organization. The purpose of orientation is to make the new entrant feel at home and develop a sense of pride in the organization and commitment to the job. The new comer is explained his duties and responsibilities, company policies and rules, and other relevant information to get acquainted and accommodated with the organization.

“Induction is a planned introduction of employees to their jobs, their co-worker’s and the organization”.

Induction conveys three types of information: -
 General information about the daily work routine.
 A review of the organization’s history, founding further objectives, operations-product and employee contribution.
 A detailed presentation in broacher’s of the organization and policies, work rules and employee benefits.

Objectives of induction
o To help the new comer overcome his natural shyness and nervous in meeting new people in a new environment.
o The idea is to make the new people feel at home.
o Coordination will developed with co-workers.
o Make good relationship, good initial impression of a company, work supervision.
o To build up the new employee’s confidence in the organization and in himself so that he may become an efficient employee.
o To give the new comer necessary information such as location of cafeteria, toilets and locker room, rest periods and leave rules etc.

Advantages of formal induction
o Induction helps to build up a two-way channel of communication between management and workers.
o Proper induction facilities informal relations and teamwork among employees.
o Effective induction helps to integrate the new employee into the organization and to develop a sense of belonging.
o Induction is helpful in supplying information concerning the organization, the job and employee welfare facilities.
o A formal induction programme proves that the company is taking sincere interest is getting him off to a good start.

Contents of induction programme
1. Brief history and operations of the company.
2. Products and services of the company.
3. The company organization structure.
4. Location of department and employee facilities.
5. Policies and procedure of the company.
6. Rules, regulations and daily work routines.
7. Grievance procedure.
8. Safety measure.
9. Standing order and disciplinary procedure.
10. Terms and conditions of the service including wages, working hours, overtime holidays etc.
11. Suggestion schemes.
12. Benefits and services of employees.
13. Opportunities for training, promotion and transfer.

How to make induction effective
1. Make the new employee aware of the general company policies that apply to him as well as the specific work situation and requirements.
2. Determine how to present information.
3. Completion of paper work.
4. Answer any questions and clarify any doubt that the employee may have about the job and the organization.
5. Provide on-the-job instructions and counseling.
6. Keep in close touch with new employee to check back how he is doing and offer help if required.
7. Allow reasonable time to adopt to the new work environment and job demands.

Evaluation of induction programme
This programme will be evaluated from the feedback through questionnaire, follow-up interview, group discussion, that could help them to improve their performance.

Problems of orientation
An induction programme can go wrong for a number of reasons. The human resource department should try to avoid such error’s come of them there: -

1. Supervisor who is not trained.
2. Employee is overloaded with two much information in short time.
3. Employee’s mistakes can damage the company.
4. Employee may develop wrong perception’s because of short-time periods spent on each job.

Placement
After an employee has been hired and oriented, he or she must be placed in the right job. Placement is understood as the allocation of people to jobs. It is the assignment or reassignment of an employee to a new job. Placement include initial assignment of new employee promotion, transfer or demotion of present employees.

When a candidate has been selected it is logical that he or she is placed in the position that was advertised earlier.


Socialization

It is the process of adaptation. It is the process by which new employees attempt to learn and inculcate the norms and values of work roles in an organization. Learning and inculcating the norms and values of work group are necessary for proper adjustment and job performance.
1. Socialization is based on several assumptions
2. New employee suffer from anxiety and require adjustment.
3. socialization strongly affects employee programme and stability of organization.

Pre arrival stage
It recognizes that all the new recruits arrive in the organization with a set of values, norms, expectations and learning. This includes both the work to be done and the organization. For example in a business schools, student acquire certain idea’s regarding the nature of their future jobs, pay packages, and carrier progress. At the recruitment stage many organizations give job preview which helps the prospective employees to learn more about the job and the organization.

Encounter stage
When the new employees join the organization, he encounter the realities of the situation in term of his job, work culture, subordinates and peer’s. if the expectations of the individual are in the tune with the organizational realities, he adapt organization quickly. On the other hand, if there is a marked difference between expectations and realities, socialization is essential to replace his previous assumptions with realities. At the other extreme, the individual cannot recognize with the values and norms of the organization and quits the job.

Metamorphosis stage
In this stage, the new employee acquire the skills require to adjust with the values and norms of the organization. He brings necessary change in his attitude and role behaviour to suit the organization’s culture. Such changes make the employee self confident and he feels accepted by other member’s of the organization. The completion of socialization process is characterized by fellings.