Onboarding and induction

Benefits of good onboarding and induction

Some bicultural workers are new to Australia. Most things will be new to them and they'll need support to adjust to a new work environment.

A good onboarding and induction experience can help with:

• employee satisfaction and wellbeing
• productivity, engagement and retention
• a positive and inclusive work culture.

If you onboard and induct your bicultural worker well you'll:

• know how to support them and set them up for success
• make them feel welcome
• give them clear expectations about what they need to do
• help them understand how their role fits within the team, branch and the organisation
• see higher levels of productivity and increased engagement.

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Supporting and developing bicultural workers

Laws and policies

When onboarding and inducting, some policies and laws may apply in your context.

All Victorian public sector employment processes must adhere to the Employment Principles and Standards.

If your organisation has its own onboarding or induction policy or process, make sure you read and use any materials you have available.

You must:

• understand your responsibility to provide workplace adjustments under the Equal Opportunities Act 2010
• ensure your new employee understands how the code of conduct applies to them in their role. As bicultural workers have strong connections with community members, you need to ensure they understand how the code applies to public comment.
• read the VPS common policies so you know what entitlements are available to employees
• understand if your new employee is subject to a probation period and what this means by reading the VPS common policy on probation
• ensure that you have read and can apply the Performance Development and Progression within a Value Range common policy as you will need to support your new employee to complete their Performance Development Plan within their first month.

Key principles of onboarding and induction

Set them up for success

Support your bicultural worker to succeed in their new job. They may need extra support before they start and up until the end of their probation.

Think about how you'll approach:

• learning and communication styles
• role requirements
• systems, tools and access needs
• team culture
• ways of working.

Create a good experience

Create a positive experience so your bicultural worker can perform at their best from day one:

• be patient and clear about what you expect from them
• make your onboarding process easy to follow
• encourage them to ask questions so they feel safe to do so
• be available any time to answer questions.

If you're onboarding a new employee remotely remember that it can be challenging for them. Show empathy and understanding during this process.

Embrace diversity and inclusion

Your workplace and processes need to be inclusive.

Being inclusive means being aware and celebrating the diversity of your team members.

By being aware of the diverse needs of your bicultural workers, you can put this into action.

Some things you can do are:

• Talk to your diversity and inclusion team for advice.
• Read and understand your organisation's inclusion and diversity strategy.
• Read about diverse and inclusive teams in our wellbeing toolkit.

Support employees with disability

Ask your bicultural worker what they need to do their job. If they share their disability information with you, you must offer workplace adjustments.

If you need advice you can:

• read how to support employees with disability in our wellbeing toolkit
• talk to your people and culture or diversity and inclusion team
• visit the Job Access website.

1 month before they start

A good onboarding process starts before your bicultural workers' first day.

Below is a checklist of things you should do a month or so before they start.

Regularly check in with them. Don't assume they'll come to you with questions.

Checklist:

• Ask how they like to communicate.
• Ask if they need information in different or accessible formats.
• Send them information about the tools you use and provide training if required.
• Ask them what workplace adjustments they need.
• Discuss their flexibility needs and come up with a solution that works for everyone. Find out more by reading the flexible work policy.
• Check what equipment they need and make sure it will be available on their first day.
• Arrange for IT to install the software they'll need and set up their logins.

1 week before they start

Below is a checklist of things you should do a week or so before your bicultural worker starts.

Checklist:

• Call them to see how they're feeling and ask how you can support them.
• Confirm any adjustments and equipment they need. Explain how they'll get them and use them.
• Assign a buddy to help them adjust to their new job and use their technology.
• Set up 1:1 meetings with each team member and anyone else they'll work with.

On their first day

Make your bicultural worker feel welcome and show them that you're excited to have them.

Below is a checklist of things you can do.

Checklist:

• Give them a tour of the office and introduce them to people.
• Announce their arrival at a team meeting and send an email to all staff.
• Introduce them to their buddy.
• Check that everything works like security passes, logins and technology.
• Help them learn and use new software and equipment.
• Ask them if their workplace adjustments have been met or if they need anything else.
• Give them information about your organisation's culture, values and functions.
• Give them policies and guidelines to read.
• Give them key contacts including your IT department or Cenitex.
• Let them settle in and don't overload them with information.
• Schedule regular check-ins to discuss progress, provide feedback and address any concerns.

In their first week

Your bicultural worker can't do their best if they don't know what they're expected to do.

Below is a checklist of things you should do in their first week.

Checklist:

• Set clear expectations around their work, hours and work-life balance.
• Discuss and explain what a probation period is.
• Set up regular meetings to discuss performance, provide feedback and address concerns.
• Assess their workstation and do an ergonomic assessment.
• Tell them about the employee assistance program (EAP) and how to use it.
• Confirm they've read and understood the public sector values and code of conduct.
• Talk to them about their learning and development options.
• Introduce them to the organisation.
• Explain what each area in the organisation does.
• Talk to them about your organisation's strategic plan and give them a copy.
• Book a time for them to do your induction program.
• Show them how to do any mandatory online inductions activities.
• Show them how to join a government network.

During their probation period

If your bicultural worker is new to the Victorian Public Service (VPS) they'll have to go through a probation period.

The probation period for VPS employees is 6-months. This gives both of you time to see if they're right for the role.

In addition to your regular catch-ups, meet with them every 4 weeks and give them feedback. Discuss any concerns with them early and often so you can both work out how to support them.

Speak to your people and culture team to find out more about probation and read the common policy on probation.

Performance Development Plan

Your bicultural worker might not know what a performance development plan (PDP) is.

Set up a meeting to explain how the process works and help them create a plan.

You should have a completed and signed-off plan by the end of their first month.

Speak with your people and culture team to find out what your PDP process involves.