HR Archives - Medenta

Medenta Business Development Manager, Lesley Turner, suggests ways to help new employees get off to the best start. Many people are nervous during their first days in a new job. There are so many things to remember, new people to meet and ways of working to learn that it can be quite daunting. That’s why ensuring their introduction to the practice is well structured and designed to help them settle in and get up to speed as soon as possible is essential. I have come across many inductions that have lasted only three days. However, until a new member of the team feels comfortable in their new job, then I believe that they are still undergoing their induction. Teaching a new team member all they need to know to be confident to do their job within three days is simply unrealistic. To be able to support a new starter through the early days of their employment, putting in place a thorough induction process is key, not just for the development of the employee but also for the practice. If you want your new team member to stay with you for the long term, then it’s worth taking the time to make sure they feel supported in the early stages so they can gain the confidence to perform their role to the best of their ability. Here are a few suggestions that may help you set up your new recruit for success, not failure. Presentation is key Words are important and perception is everything. What you call something can have a huge effect upon how people might perceive it. So, if you describe your process as simply ‘an induction’ then that could give the impression that it’s something that is very short and sweet – perhaps only a few days. However, if you rename it and call it ‘an induction programme’ then that implies it will be a much longer process. This will also help to make your new starter feel confident that they’ll be supported and not just thrown in at the deep end after a couple of days. In addition to supporting your new employee it will also help you to feel that you have greater control over those first few weeks or months of employment. You can be satisfied that the staff member is genuinely feeling comfortable with what they’ve read and what they’ve been shown. That’s why it’s worth putting in the time and effort to create a comprehensive induction programme that will help your new starters to get to know the practice and their role. Also, by ensuring you put aside the time to support and monitor their progress, you’ll be able to identify early any areas where they might need extra help and attention. Putting together an induction pack What you choose to include in your induction pack will be unique to your business. However, the most important thing to bear in mind is that it needs to work for both the practice and the inductee. If you are looking for ideas and are a BDA member, then they have resources available that might be helpful. These include ideas and suggestions as to what you might feel could work in a pack for your practice. Health and safety procedures and the nitty-gritty Although the majority of your pack and programme will be unique to your practice, there are a few things common to all businesses that you should cover during the early part of your induction programme. A full explanation of all your health and safety procedures is one of the vitally important things to cover as early as possible. This should include showing your new colleague around the building so that they get to know where everything is, as well as a run through of all the procedures and policies they must follow and adhere to. Policies and procedures should also form part of the induction pack and they should be given enough time to study and learn them. That holds true for a lot of the other information that will be contained in the information pack. Starting a new job requires the employee to absorb a great deal of information so it’s essential they feel supported and not rushed while they’re still learning how things work. Some other things you may want to include as part of a thorough programme would be what is expected of the employee, how to get hold of certain things they may need, the dos and don’ts of patient finance and where other things are located. That might sound a bit simple but they’re the kinds of things that can be easily overlooked. Benefits of the induction programme As I have already mentioned, the aim of your induction programme is to set up your new employee for success. To this end, try to make sure your programme and pack are as clear and easy to understand as possible. When you’re putting it together, ask an impartial person to have a look at it to check whether it makes sense and is easy to understand. Nothing slows things down more than confusion, so making sure things are accessible is essential. Also, make sure you go at a pace that gives the employee sufficient time to absorb and understand everything. Finding resources If you’re looking for resources to include in your pack, as I already mentioned, the BDA has materials available that might suit your purposes that would be available to you if you are a member. Other places to look for hints and tips would be HR companies. After all, it’s the sort of thing they do all the time. If you have contacts who are business owners, dental or otherwise, you could get in touch with them and ask about their induction programmes. No matter where you get your information, make sure you put together a programme that will equip your new team member to become a happy and valued member of your team for the long term. About Lesley Lesley Turner has been a Business Development Manager at Medenta for 8 years. She has worked in dentistry for many years, including 10 years as a practice manager, during which time she won a Practice Manager of the Year Award. As a previous end user of Medenta, Lesley is well-placed to understand our customers’ needs and can empathise with practices’ patient finance requirements.

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