For many people, the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about induction is getting a new person up to speed with their new job. But equally important is the induction of a long-serving employee when they move, for example, to a new office or department within the company. Nor should we forget the re-orientation of an experienced employee after a long absence. The working environment, organisation, supervisor, tools or software may have changed. Induction and additional training will also ensure safety at work.

The induction is the responsibility of the supervisor.

Good induction requires an up-to-date induction plan. This will help to ensure that induction can also be carried out remotely if necessary. Remote induction requires a lot of effort, especially in terms of integrating the new person into the work community, and in a small organisation, induction needs to be carried out in a slightly different way than in a large one. For example, there might be no intranet or HR department. Also, the previous supervisor may have either retired or moved to a new job before their successor can start work. Who will then take care of the induction? The induction is the responsibility of the supervisor but, in practice, they might not know everything that is required to induct the new person. However, the most important thing is that the person being inducted has the courage to ask questions not only of the person in charge but also of specially designated co-workers.

Today, this type of induction is conducted and streamed live to the new employee.

I remember an induction video from my career where people going on a foreign assignment were shown what they would see when they went to their first job abroad. The camera was used to walk the worker’s route from outside the factory through the gate and yard to the front office and the supervisor. Seeing all this reduced stress and made it easier to adapt and engage in a strange country and new working environment. Today, this type of induction is conducted and streamed live to the new employee. It can also be conducted as an e-orientation, with the help of games or virtual glasses.

I wish you a useful reading time with Telma. While reading, you might also wonder who inducted the private detective featured in the magazine.

Kenneth Johansson

Managing Director, The Finnish Work Environment Fund