Innovative Induction

Being a new employee at a workplace can be intimidating. Some corporate professionals share their first-week at work experiences with Postnoon

Neha Alluri

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“As soon as we receive the letter of appointment, we are assigned a buddy,” said Sruthi Penmatsa, a Business Analyst in Deloitte. “A buddy is typically a senior (a year or two older) who briefs us about the company. The induction procedure is four days long. On the first day,I was familiarised with the different departments, technologies of the company and was given an overview of the clients. The second day was when I got to know my colleagues. Deloitte strongly believes in networking. Many of their representatives of the different departments spoke to me. I was placed in several groups with other recruits. On the third day, I was told which service line I would be placed in (random placement). I was also told a lot about community service projects. The fourth day was when we discussed timings and training procedures. The training started on the fifth day. I am a campus recruit so I was trained for about two months. The buddy was always around for me to ask for help,” she said.

“I had a one week induction process,” said Ragini, a former Ernst & Young employee. Ragini said she learned different aspects of Ernst & Young on each day. “On the first day I was told about The Big Four(PwC, KPMG, Deloitte and Ernst & Young). The second day, I was informed about the different system tools that are used everyday like Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint. The consultants and managers spoke to us on the third day, telling us about the work they do. On the fourth day, I worked on understanding how different projects are carried out. On the last day, I was introduced to my team. Ragini said Ernst & Young also has the buddy system. We are assigned a person who acts like a mentor until we are comfortable,” she added.

Similarly, Ruchi Gaur, a senior consultant at Sierra Atlantic, also mentions the buddy system. “At Sierra, we use the buddy system. The buddy is around for new recruits to get a feel of the company for around a month.”

While some of these techniques are used by most companies to help new recruits adjust to the business environment, there some other strategies that ADP and Wells Fargo (and others) use that are not only different but also a great way to engage employees during the first week.

ADP apparently uses a technique called Chaperone, which allows new employees to interact with the HR department. While the company puts forward its policies, the employees are also asked for their opinion and suggestions for ADP.

Wells Fargo, another multinational company, uses a similar method called Coffee with HR that not only allows the newly recruited to learn about the policies and ethics of the company but also a chance for their voices to be heard.

While informing new employees about a company is important,it’s also great that businesses consider employee advice at such an early stage.

Tags: corporate professionals, intimidating, Neha Alluri, new employee, workplace

Category: Life & Style, Life & Style News