Designing an International Induction Program - Essay Example

April 18, 2008 International Business Designing an International Induction Programme The entry of multinationals has also brought in fundamental changes in the work culture, work ethics and remunerating patterns in many countries, all of which have a clear bearing on the career growth path of individuals. Added to this are the rapid changes taking place on the technological front, flattening hierarchies and making people come together more than ever before. Amidst all this change, the high ethical standards of an individual; be it a workman on the shop floor or the global manager, matter more now than ever. Organizations have to induct people with requisite skills, qualifications and experience, if they have to survive and flourish in a highly competitive environment. While doing so they have to be sensitive to economic, social political and legal factors with a country. To be effective, they need to tap all available sources of supply, both internal and external. Internal promotions and transfer boost the morale of people who have served the firm loyally for a number of years. External sources, too, need to be explored regularly to bring qualified people with lots of ideas into a firm. Induction is a procedure which a superior teaches knowledge and skills to subordinate. Manager briefs the trainee about what is expected of the latter and suggest how it may be done. He also checks his performance and advices him to improve his mistakes. The objective of induction is not only to teach the subordinate the necessary skills for doing his assignment but also to provide him with diversified knowledge so that he may grow and advance. Induction is the task of introducing the new employees to the organization and its policies, procedures and rules. A typical formal induction programme may last a day or less in most organizations. During this time, the new employee is provided with information about the company, its history, its current position, the benefits for which he is eligible, leave rules, rest periods, etc. Also covered are the more routine things a newcomer must learn, such as the location of the rest rooms, break rooms, parking spaces, cafeterias etc. In some organizations, all this is done formally by attaching new employees to their seniors, who provide guidance on the above matters. Lectures, handbooks, films groups, seminars are also provided to new employees so that they can settle down quickly and resume the work (Rao , 2007, 167) Objectives induction serves the following purposes a. Removes fears: A newcomer steps into an organization as a stranger. He is new to the people, workplace and work environment. He is not very sure about what he is supposed to do. Induction helps a new employee overcome such fears and perform better on the job. It assists him in knowing more about The job its contents, policies rules and regulations The people with whom he is supposed to interact The terms and conditions of employment b. Creates a good impression: Another purpose of induction is to make the newcomer feel at home and develop a sense of pride in the organization. Induction helps him to Adjust and adapt to new demands of the job Get along with people Get off t a good start Through induction, a new recruit is able to see more clearly as to what he is supposed to do, how good the colleagues are, how important is the job, etc. he can pose questions and seek clarifications on issues relating to his job. Induction is a positive step, in the sense; it leaves a good impression about the company and the people working there in the minds of new recruits. They begin to take pride in their work and are committed to their jobs. c. Acts as valuable source of information: Induction serves a s a valuable source of information to new recruits through employee manuals/handbook. Informal decisions with colleagues may also clear the fog surrounding certain issues. The basic purpose of induction is to communicate specific job requirements to the employee, put them at ease and make him feel confident about his abilities. Principles of induction and orientation The induction and orientation principles which should be taken into account in designing a induction programme and be summarized as follows: a. The learner should be motivated to learn b. The Reponses should be meaningfully related to each other and to the motives which the learner brings with him into the situation c. The new responses should be enforced by some reward or information that the response has been made correctly d. The new responses to be learnt should not be in conflict with old responses. If they do, the induction should provide an opportunity for the olds responses to be unlearnt before the new responses are learnt e. The learner should be an active participant in the induction process f. The induction situation provides opportunities to practice the new responses and allows for 'plateau' periods of little improvement which often precede marked improvements g. Induction should be available to help the learner develop new responses. h. The learning situation should allow for individual differences in the speed of learning, the depth of learning and should be designed as per individual requirements (Rao , 2007, 167) Induction Programme Steps The HR department may initiate the following steps while organizing the induction programme: Welcome to the organization Explain about the company Show the location/department where the new recruit will work Give the company's manual to the new recruit Provide details about various work groups and the extent of unionism within the company Give details about pay, benefits, holidays, leave etc. Emphasize the importance of attendance or punctuality Explain about future training opportunities and career prospects Clarify doubts, by encouraging the employee to come out with questions Take the employee on a guided tour of buildings, facilities, etc. hand him over to his supervisors Content: the topics covered in employee induction programme may be stated thus: Induction programme topics (Rao , 2007, 169) 1. Organizational issues History of company names Names titles of key executive Employee's title and department Layout and physical facilities Probationary period Product /services offered Overview of the production process Company policies and rules Disciplinary procedures Employee's handbook Safety steps 2. Employee benefits Pay scales, Pay days Vacations, holidays Rest pauses Training avenues Counseling Insurance, medical, recreation, retirement benefits 3. Introductions To supervisors To co-workers To trainers To employee counselors 4. Job duties Job location Job tasks Job safety needs Overview of jobs Job objectives Relationships with other jobs Socialization: socialization is a process through which new recruit begins to understand and accept the values, norms and beliefs held by others in the organization. HR department representatives help new recruits to "internalize the way things are done in the organization". Orientation helps the newcomers to interact freely with employees working at various levels and learn behaviors that are acceptable. Through such formal and informal interaction and discussion, newcomers begin to understand how the department company is run, who holds power and who does not, who is politically active within the department, how to behave in the company ,what is expected of them. Etc. In short, if the new recruits wish to survive and prosper in their new work home, they must soon come to 'know the ropes'. Orientation programmes are effective socialization tools because they help the employees to learn about the job and perform things in a desired way. Follow up: Despite the best efforts of supervisors, certain dark areas may still remain in the induction programme. New hires may not have understood certain things. The supervisors, while covering a large ground, may have ignored certain important matters. To overcome the resultant communication gaps, it is better to use a supervisory checklist as shown in the fig above and find out whether all aspects have been covered or not. Follow up meetings could be held at fixed intervals, say after every three or six month on a face to face basis. The basic purpose of such follow up orientation is to offer guidance to employees on various general as well as job related matters-without leaving anything to chance. To improve orientation, the company should make a conscious effort to obtain feedback from everyone involved in the programme. There are several ways to get this kind of feedback: through round table discussions with new hires after their first year on the job, through in-depth interviews with randomly selected employees and superiors and through questionnaires for mass coverage of all recent recruits (Rao , 2007, 172) Induction for MULTINATIONAL CORPORATION (MNC) Multinational Corporation is having head quarters in one country, with operations in different nations. Each operation is viewed as a separate enterprise, pursuing a specialized market with a particular product. Human Resources for International Assignment: 1. Host country nationals, workers from local population. For example, P&G employed Saudi workers for its operation. 2. Parent country nationals, employees sent from the country in which the organization is headquartered. 3. Third country nationals, employees that from country other than where the parent organization's headquarters are located The model for induction and orientation plan for MNC's First know yourself, your skills, style, and coaching needs Understand the trainee's job. Make out the important and desirable Skills that affect performance and results Assess the learner's skills, style, attributes, situation, and in particular their learning style Be in agreement and explain everything with the other person. Keep doing it Identify and agree development priority - the basic coaching plan. Break down each skill to train. Recognize and agree elements and standards of each part but not too many at once. Evaluate and be in agreement current ability per element. Identify and agree tasks, activities and objectives to train each element to the required standard. Apply follow-up, review. Encourage, measure, record and support. Adjust the plan and priorities if appropriate. Ongoing recorded review. Source: Taken from Ahuja K, (2005). Coaching & Training Manual: Human Resource Management, page190: fig 6 Cross Cultural Management First, no organization can be isolated from cultural environment, that is, organization as a social unit must operate within the framework of the larger cultural system. As such, a congruency has to be maintained with the values of total culture. Second, organization may be considered as a subculture within the framework of total broader culture. No doubt, every organization develops its own norms and cultural pattern of behavior; these elements are developed within the context of the larger cultural pattern. No part of the system should go against it if both have to succeed. From this point of view, the culture affects the functioning of an organization. (Buchanan, 1974, p.534) There are a host of factors like social values, culture, beliefs, tradition and convention, social attitudes, social institutions, class structure, social group pressure and dynamics. The nature of social objectives and priorities, along with the set of social constraints, give form and content to several social movements. Successful business managers cannot afford to neglect these movements, and their underlying ethos. Expatriate Managers must take into account the complex interactions of norms, beliefs, values and attitudes that distinguish one cultural group from another. Working globally, managers must address multiple and differing expectations about how people (employees, colleagues, customers, suppliers, distributors, etc.) should behave, and how work should get done. Given the cultural diversity of our world, this is an extremely challenging task. FACTORS IN STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGERS' INDUCTEES : To achieve efficiency, effectiveness and fairness in induction process in an international business organization Fitting the worker to the job is the first and the most important step in promoting individual efficiency in industry. Scientific selection of employees is an important function of the Personnel Department (Schreyer, 2003, p-75). The object of scientific selection is to place on each job a worker who can maintain a given output with minimum expenditure of energy and who will be best fitted to the job. The factors to be considered for inducting the right person for the right job Physical Characteristics: Sound body, limbs, height, weight, sight, etc. Personal Characteristics: Age, sex, marital status, number of children, family background, etc Proficiency or Skill and Ability: Qualifications and previous experience Competency: Potential of an individual for learning and becoming proficient in a job. Competency points out capacity to acquire knowledge and skill for success on the job. Temperament and character: Emotional, moral and social qualities, honesty, loyalty, etc. A high degree of intellectual competency can never serve as a substitute for such qualities as honesty and trust worthiness. It is important to know about individual's character, his habits of work, his way of rejecting in this or that situation, his driving forces in determining his fitness for the job. Interest: Without interest, work is colorless and monotonous. With interest work seems meaningful and worthwhile to the individual and abilities are developed as well as accomplishments are realized. If a person has skill, and competency, but he has no interest in the job, he will be unhappy in his work An induction program, which takes place as soon as a person has been hired, can reduce staff turnover and enable the new employee to become effective and reach expected performance levels more quickly. Induction programs are important in that they help shape the new employee's views of the organization. The fact that an organization's turnover rates are nearly always highest amongst new employees underlines the need for effective induction programs. (Yvonne 108) Training and Development Training is a specific activity, which provides employees with knowledge, and activities, which provides employees with knowledge and skill to satisfy immediate job requirements. Development refers to more general activities, which prepare employees for longer-tem opportunities. Training plans are a useful tool for identifying and planning the training activities of a work area .On the job training is the most common approach, although off the job training is more appropriate in some circumstances. Training is usually taken to mean providing employees with knowledge or specific job skills to satisfy immediate job or organizational needs. This could range from assembly workers learning new techniques to enable them to increase output, to managers learning how to better manage their time. (Yvonne 110) Development usually refers to preparing employees for longer-term opportunities. It encompasses both personal and organizational needs and has a more general focus. Providing training and development usually follows four steps: (a) Identifying employees training and development needs; (b) Developing a training plan for each individual; (c) Selecting or designing or conducting training activities; (d) Evaluating the results. There are three main methods of identifying training needs in an organization: i. New employees - training is required immediately in order for the employees to perform the work satisfactorily. ii. Performance appraisals - an employee's output may indicate that further training is required, or he or she may request training in a specific area. iii. Future needs - employees are trained in anticipation of future needs (often involving the use of technology). Care must be taken to ensure that training will solve a specific problem. Sometimes other options may be more effective, such as: changing the job, or some aspect of it; changing the supervisory s le; changing the salary or wage structure; or introducing flexible working hours. Sometimes various types of training activity are used simply to motivate employees. Some organizations develop formal training plans for their employees. Such training plans tend to be more specific for people in the lower levels of the organization, and more general for people at higher levels. Sometimes such training is part of the career development for certain individuals. Improving The Work Environment People whose work is highly specialized, repetitive and routine may become dissatisfied with their job. This dissatisfaction often shows itself by reduced output, increased absenteeism and high staff turnover. This very quickly reduces effectiveness of a work area, and influences the effectiveness of the whole organization. A number of approaches have been developed to try to overcome this problem. (Yvonne 115) i. Job Enlargement Job enlargement increases the scope of the job. Employees are given more variety in order to increase job satisfaction. Usually various work functions from a horizontal slice of a work area are combined, giving employees more tasks to perform. Sometimes tasks are rearranged between several employees so that each employee gets a sense of the wholeness of a job. ii. Job Enrichment With this approach individual employees may be given responsibility for deciding the best way to perform a particular task, and for correcting their own errors. They may also be involved in making decisions, which affect their own work areas. iii. Job Rotation Job rotation is a system whereby employees move from one job to another. This rotation may occur over various time spans, from, say, every two hours, to every week or month. It gives employees increased variety, and helps to relieve the monotony of routine, repetitive work. It also gives employees the opportunity to develop different skills, and mix with different people iv. Semi-autonomous Work Groups Semi-autonomous work groups are groups of employees working together, who se largely self-sufficient in terms of managing the tasks and functions for which they are responsible. This approach gives employees a sense of identity with, and responsibility to, the group. Job enlargement, enrichment, rotation and the use of semi - autonomous work groups are all approaches which can be used to reduce employee dissatisfaction with routine, repetitive jobs. Other approaches include flexible working hours and compressed working weeks. (Yvonne 116) A basis for effective discipline in an organization is good communication, co-operation and morale within an organization. Employee self discipline is more effective than manger imposed discipline. Counseling or disciplinary interviews aim to correct inappropriate behavior and prevent its recurrence. Promotions, transfers and demotions refer to employees' changing jobs, upwards, sideways or downwards, in an organization. Promotions are made in recognition of superior performance, while transfers and demotions may occur or a member of reasons Separations may be caused by a variety of beacons and fall intone of the following categories: resignation, dismissal, retrenchment or retirement, Each category must be handled correctly, and with sensitivity, exit interviews are a useful means of collecting information on reasons for resignations. Counseling should take place or be available to employees facing dismissal, retrenchment or retirement. (Yvonne 119) Initiation programme offered to new entrants by Citibank Process of Selection The basic purpose of the selection process is to choose right type of man various positions in the organization. In order to achieve this purpose, a well organized selection procedure involves many steps and at each steps, unsuitable candidates are rejected. In other words, the aim of selection process is to reject the unsuitable candidates (Campion ,1999, p-34). Thus, Citibank designs a procedure that suits its requirements. The main steps or stages that are incorporated in the selection procedure are as under: 1. Preliminary interview. 2. Receiving applications. 3. Screening of applications. 4. Employment test. 5. Employment interview. 6. Physical examination. 7. Checking references. 8. Final selection. STEP 1 STEP 2 STEP 3 STEP 4 STEP 5 STEP 6 STEP 7 STEP 8 (Source: Campion, 1999, p-35) To select professionals for global careers with it, the company uses a competency based interviewing technique that looks at the candidate's abilities in terms of strategizing, lateral thinking, problem solving, managing the environment. These apart, Pepsi insist that to succeed in a global posting, these individuals possess strong functional knowledge and come from a cosmopolitan background. At Citibank, trainees spend their first two and a half weeks learning about the bank's three major levels of business: the corporate bank servicing institutional clients, the consumer bank, serving individual customers and personalized services, besides the functional divisions within each. The business head, transfer will make a presentation (question-answer session, discussions, case studies films etc. used) offering general information about the services offered by the bank. Simulation exercises follow this presentation. Trainees for instance are made to role play the clearance of an overdraft cheque. Through interaction with peers, trainees learn about the processes and methods followed at Citibank. The trainees are assigned a specific job in the third week. A mentor will help the trainee discharge the given responsibilities in a proper way. The trainee is now given freedom to carry out the task as per his understanding. During this period, the inductees are neither given fixed hours nor a time to sign in every morning. The idea is to allow freedom to the trainee so that he can bring his own personality and set of skills to his job. The trainee has to find his own way of achieving a given objective. In the process, the induction training also becomes a test of independence-a quality that is highly required of managers in Citibank. Meanwhile, the mentor offers help wherever required. After spending two months on the job the trainees attend classrooms learning sessions-conducted at the Asia Pacific banking Institute in Singapore (Rao , 2007, 180) Conclusion Human resource planning identifies employment needs, job analysis determines the qualifications needs and recruiting provides a pool of applicants for selection. Recruitment and selection is much more than just choosing the best candidate. It is an attempt to strike a happy balance between what the applicant can and wants to do and what the organization requires. Various recruitment and selection tools and techniques are used to find people with relevant qualifications who are willing to accept the job offers and give satisfactory service and performance in the long run. After selecting a candidate, he should be placed on a suitable job. Proper placements help an employee to get along with people easily, avoid mistakes and show good performance on the job. Orientation makes the employee feel at home day 1 and develop a sense of pride in the organization and commitment to the job. Employee movement within an organization may take the form of transfers, promotions, demotions or even separations. Transfers and promotion are intended to make the employee versatile and grow over a period of time. Separations from an organization may result from disciplinary, economic or business reasons. The HR's department job is to minimize the harm done to the organization and the affected individuals Bibliography Ahuja K, (2005). Coaching & Training Manual: Human Resource Management. Kalyani Publishers, Calcutta, Pp 119-210 Buchanan, B. (1974). Building organizational commitment: The socialization of managers in work organization. Administrative Science Quarterly, 19, pp.533-46 Campion M A, (1999), "A Review of structure in the selection interview", Personnel Psychology, Reston Publishing p-35-39 Rao V S P, (2007) International Management. Second Edition, EXCEL books, New Delhi p-167 - 188 Schreyer R & Mc Carter J,(2003), "10+steps to effective internet recruiting" , HR focus, p 75 Yvonne Mc Laughhlin, Business Management: A Practical guide for Managers, Supervisors and Administrators. Business Information Books, 1999 Pp 85-149 Read More