Our topic today is induction plans for your new finance hires. With the help of your financial recruitment company, you’ve finally found the ideal new candidate for your team. But how do you ensure your new employee has everything they need to thrive?
Around 20% of all staff turnover happens within the first 45 days of a new hire’s employment. More often than not, lost employees are the result of an ineffective approach to induction and onboarding. Without the right guidance during the initial days or weeks of their employment, hires can struggle to align themselves with the company culture, achieve high levels of productivity and stay engaged.
An effective employee induction plan can help to eliminate this problem. According to studies, not only does a well-structured induction plan improve retention by 82%, but it can also enhance individual employee performance by 11.5%.
Here’s how you can develop an effective induction plan for your new finance hires.
Step 1: Understand the Importance of Induction
The first few weeks a finance employee spends within a company are crucial to their overall growth and the relationship they build with the business. Yet, around 88% of businesses still have weak induction programs, focused on too much paperwork and not enough development.
After a lengthy hiring process, it’s often tempting for companies to skip the induction process and rely on new team members to work things out for themselves. However, investing in a strong induction plan pays dividends. The right induction strategy delivers the following:
- Increases employee retention: Studies show that companies with engaging induction plans retain up to 91% of their workers after the first year. Employees who experience a strong induction plan are more likely to stay with a business and invest in its growth.
- Boosts productivity: Even if your new finance employee has all the skills they need to thrive in their role, they still need guidance on how to use their talents. A good employee induction plan can improve productivity by more than 70%.
- Reduces costs: Not only do induction plans help companies to become more profitable, but with productive employees, they can help business leaders save money too. In the UK and the US, around $37 billion is spent each year to support unproductive employees who don’t fully understand their roles or responsibilities.
Step 2: Define Objectives and Scope
Once you understand the importance of an induction plan, the next step is developing a framework for how you’re going to bring new financial hires into your business. Think about what you want your employees to accomplish in the first month, 6 months, or year they spend with your organisation.
What skills will your team members need to develop that they don’t already have? What sort of training will they need to undergo to become familiar with your work processes?
Remember, a good induction plan isn’t just about training staff; it’s also about integrating them into the company culture. Think about how you can embed your new employee into your team with mentorship, collaborative learning strategies, and team-building exercises.
Step 3: Pre-Arrival Preparations
A good induction plan starts from the moment you choose your new hire. As soon as you extend a job offer to a potential candidate, and they accept, you should already be taking steps to welcome them into the business. Think about the key things your employees will need to thrive in their roles.
Alongside ensuring every team member has access to the right resources, such as financial software, accounting tools, and email addresses, you’ll also need to think about:
- Communication: How will you open the lines of communication with your new hire and encourage consistent communication throughout their time with their business? Make sure you have a strategy for connecting with your employee. Start by promptly providing them with all the information they need to get started, such as office locations and SOPs.
- Setting Expectations: While your job description and interview process may go some way towards setting expectations for your new hire, the induction process should provide additional clarity. Outline not just the steps involved in the induction process but what your hire can expect from their role and what you expect them to accomplish.
- Resources: Your new hire may already have a basic knowledge of your company, but you’ll need to expand on this during the induction process. Share relevant links, videos, documents, and other tools that can help your financial hire understand your policies and standard operating procedures.
Step 4: Get the First Day Right
While a strong induction process may take more than a day, the first day your new employee spends with your team will make a huge difference in how they see the company. Make a positive first impression by making every employee feel welcome, supported, and appreciated.
During your employee’s first day, your focus should be on integrating them into your team. Assign a buddy or mentor to greet your new hire and assist them throughout their first few weeks. Introduce other team members and key stakeholders they might work with in the years ahead.
During the first day, you can also begin to introduce basic training and orientation strategies. Walk your employee through the financial systems, processes, and tools you use. Make sure they’re familiar with the financial compliance requirements, ethical standards, and company policies you adhere to in your organisation.
Step 5: Develop an Ongoing Training Strategy
From the moment they start with your company, your new hire is going to be looking for evidence that you’re invested in their progression and development. This means it’s important to introduce a strategy for ongoing training as early as possible.
Based on the role your employee is going to fill, work with your new team member to create a training plan that will help them to master their unique responsibilities. Introduce them to online courses, documents, and seminars they can explore in the weeks ahead. Additionally, it might be a good idea to start paving the way for collaborative learning.
Pairing your new hire with more experienced team members in your company will ensure they have someone to turn to for guidance and support as they continue to learn about your business. Make sure you have a plan in place to check on your employee’s progression and adapt to their development needs over time.
Step 6: Invest in Cultural Integration
Many business leaders make the mistake of focusing entirely on skill development and paperwork during the induction process. However, today’s employees often choose whether to stay with a company or look for new employment based on the culture they experience.
Financial professionals will be on the hunt for diverse, equitable, and inclusive environments where they can feel supported and respected by their team. With this in mind, infuse your company culture into your induction process. Introduce your candidate to your organisation’s missions, vision, and values, to give them a sense of purpose.
Invest in team-building activities that will help your employees to build strong bonds with their colleagues. The relationships your staff members build will have a huge impact on whether they decide to stay with your business.
Step 7: Consistent Optimisation
Finally, the support you give your new finance hires shouldn’t end after the first week or two they spend in their new role. A strong induction process should be part of a comprehensive, long-term onboarding and development strategy designed to empower and enhance your team.
Schedule follow-up meetings with your new hires to address any concerns or questions they might have. Provide constant feedback to help them boost their performance, and offer access to consistent learning opportunities so that they can hone their skills.
Implementing the Right Induction Strategy
Working with a financial recruitment agency to track down the perfect hire for your company is just the first step in building an amazing team. Once you bring your new employees into your company, the right induction plan will help to ensure they can thrive in their roles.
Invest in the right induction strategy, and you’ll benefit from the rewards of greater retention, productivity, and employee engagement.
Thanks
Rachel
About Rebus Financial Recruitment
Rebus Financial Recruitment provides a specialist and focused recruitment service to its customers, ranging from various organisations, including SMEs, to large PLCs.
We strive to offer both the client and candidate a seamless recruitment experience. Using our expertise, we get to the heart of employer and employee needs, and, in doing so, we match the two perfectly.
To learn more, contact one of our team today, or call us at 01282 930930.
