What is onboarding?
Onboarding is the process of intergrating a new employee into an organisation. It helps employees to understand what is expected of them, and also what they can expect from the employer. Onboarding will cover areas such as health and safety, induction, probation and role-specific training.
Induction
Induction is a key step in helping new employees settle in. If it is done well, new employees are more likely to stay and be productive. It also helps the organisation to identify the individuals strengths. This is the final step in the recruitment process and the first real contact that a new person has with their team.
Induction is part of the foundation of good performance management. During induction, the new team member should be made fully aware of their duties, responsibilities and standards and the expectations of performance within their new role.
The induction period could last for a number of days or weeks depending on the complexity of the role and runs concurrently with any probationary period. Induction training is good for setting the initial standards and expectations for new staff.
The ACAS guide to inducting new employees is available online. Induction for new PCC employees will normally include as a minimum:
- PCC as an organisation – what is important to the PCC, its relationship with the Diocese and other bodies, its policies and how it differs from other organisations
- PCC as an employer – what the PCC expect from staff and standards, policies and employee handbook
- Organisational arrangements on safeguarding, quality, health and safety, information security etc
- Information on any mandatory training and when this is to be completed by
- Practical aspects – payroll, absence notification procedures, issuing of equipment etc.
Probation
The probationary period allows both the employee and the line manager to assess whether the role is a good fit for the individual and the organisation. It provides an opportunity to identify and address any potential concerns early on, ensuring that the employee receives the necessary support to meet performance and behavioural expectations.
A job offer should be conditional upon successful completion of a probationary period. During the probationary period, employees need to demonstrate their suitability for their new role. The line manager should set suitable preliminary objectives and hold regular one-to-ones so that the new team member is fully aware of their progress.
The process should specify what they are doing well and if there is anything they need to improve. It is a good opportunity for praise, to recognise progress and give constructive feedback.
There is no law determining the length of a probationary period, although there is an expectation that it will be reasonable. It is typical for a probationary period to last between one and six months, and three months where an employee is moving to a new post internally. For casual workers and those on zero-hours contracts, probationary periods may vary, it is also often dependent on the role.
Due to the upcoming (with effect from 1 January 2027) changes to unfair dismissal under the employment rights act, employees will now be able to claim unfair dismissal after six months qualifying service rather than two years as previous.
- Any employee reaching six months service on or after 1 January 2027 will have the right to bring an unfair dismissal claim
- The statutory cap on compensatory awards for sucessful unfair dismissal claims will be removed.
- This means a shorter window to assess performance and suitability
Due to this upcoming change, there is even greater importance in ensuring that probation periods are dealt with effectively. More information on the unfair dismissal changes can be found here.
- Hold regular review meetings – the number of review meetings held during a probationary period will differ however, we would recommend at least a mid-point and end of probation review
- Don’t leave it until the last minute to hold an end of probation review meeting – this gives you much stricter timelines if there are issues which need to be addressed
- Set SMART objectives – Be sure to set clear objectives for the probationary period. We would recommend for objectives to be set early on and reviewed at regular intervals during the probation. More information on setting SMART objectives can be found here.
- Clarify expectations – As well as objectives, be sure to clarify expectations in terms of behaviours
- Schedule probation meetings – a probationary period can go very quickly, so it would be recommended to book in your probationary review meetings before or as soon as an employee joins.
- Consider different training methods to match individual learning preferences to optimise skill development. Examples could be job shadowing, on-the-job learning, e-learning or mentoring systems.
- Review the job description – be ready to discuss the job dedscription with the employee and think about you may want the employee to work towards during probation.
- Plan for full job remit – be prepared to outline how the new employee will gain a complete understanding of their responsibilities, linking back to the job description
- Demonstrate competence – determine how the employee can demonstrate their ability to perform the full job remit effectively.