In this, the first of an occasional series of blogs submitted by our members, Kim Berry of the UK Data Archive at the University of Essex, talks about the challenges of inducting a new member of staff in these challenging times and reintroduces an earworm from the past…
How Fat Larry saved the Day
Not so long ago, we were reviewing our induction process
where we considered all aspects of the procedure and resulted in the
implementation of a more streamlined and user friendly experience for all those
involved. We’d implemented a checklist
using smartsheet detailing all the elements of the process.
What we hadn’t accounted for as part of this lean review was
the need to be able to induct a new member of staff remotely. This challenge appeared in mid-March with the
announcement of a 3 week lockdown due to COVID19 during which time a team
member was due to start with us.
It was clear that we would need to look at the induction
process carefully. Initial thoughts
included: what computer equipment did our new team member have access to? How
would we get all the induction forms signed? How would we manage the period of
probation? How could we adapt our usual induction under such unprecedented
circumstances? How would we ensure that
our new member of staff could integrate as part of the team – an essential
element for anyone starting a new role within a new organisation – but with the
added complication of working remotely?
My previous experience of Zoom was the popular Fat Larry’s
band hit from the 1980s and the multi-coloured ice-lolly. However, it became
clear early on that it would also serve a purpose to keep in touch with
colleagues during lockdown. We rapidly
became Zoom experts and meetings were hastily arranged to talk to the key
people involved: HR, Resourcing, the team leader and myself to ensure we were
prepared as much as possible and had all areas covered.
We kept in regularly contact with our new member of staff as
we headed towards the start date trying to reassure them that we were working
as hard as possible to make the transition into the new role as smooth as
possible. Key sayings used during these
times were “bear with us” and “unprecedented times”.
We reviewed all tasks on the checklist to identify what
needed to take place and what could wait.
To the categories first day, first week, first month we also added “on
return to the office” for those things that could wait. It was pleasing to see that most of the
induction would be able to take place remotely with just a few having to wait
until we are back in the office.
For the first day we held a Zoom Welcome Meeting, explained
the induction process and some of the constraints we had. I guess we hadn’t appreciated the
difficulties there would be with getting the team member up and running and
there were some technical issues and expectations which caused initial
frustrations. There were some concerns
that the equipment our team member had would not be suitable. However, our IT
support team were despatched via Zoom to iron these out as quickly as possible
and all was resolved.
On day two, the normal face to face security induction took
place, you’ve guessed it, via Zoom.
Since then, team meetings have been scheduled and our team member has
been introduced at our coffee morning.
At the end of week one, we evaluated where we were and it
was clear that it was going well so far with positive messages from our new
member of the team. We started week two
after the Easter break with another Zoom meeting. Keeping in regular contact was clearly the
key to making this transition as smooth as possible.
So far so good. We’re
managing to carry out an induction process of sorts and get the new team member
integrated, settled and working. We will
continue to monitor progress as we get more updates on the next stage of
lockdown. I guess we won’t really know how successful
we’ve been until we return to the office. At that point we will carry out the
final items on our checklist and review everything else to see where we are.
If I had any on advice on induction remotely, it is to keep
in regular contact as this appears to be making the transition as smooth as
possible and any issues can be highlighted at the earliest stage and be clear
to highlight that everyone is working to make this as successful as possible.
Just one thing left for me to work on now. Not breaking into
Fat Larry’s version of Zoom every time I hear, read or say the word Zoom!
Would you like to write a short Blog for ARMA? Send a
brief precis to enquiries@arma.adwise-staging.com
and we may well be in touch!
