New employees: navigating successful onboarding and probation

by Ilga Horvat

Ilga Horvat from Boutique HR shares valuable insights into the processes involved with bringing new staff into a business.

Starting a new job can be both exciting and nerve-wracking, but understanding the importance of successful onboarding and probation can make the transition smoother for everyone involved. During onboarding, new hires get acquainted with company culture, expectations and their role within the organisation. This period sets the stage for a positive work experience and helps employees integrate into their new environment.

Last month we spoke about how to hire the right person for your organisation. Now that you have them, how do you ensure they succeed in the role and achieve what you need them to?

No matter the role, it is essential that the person hired understands what they should be doing day to day and given a rundown of the processes that are followed in the business.

It may sound obvious, but so often when everyone is busy, it is often assumed that the new employee will know what they should be doing and come with an intuitive sense of how things work in the company. Allowing that bit of extra time and resources to properly show a new starter “the ropes” will ensure you have a more efficient worker in the short term.

What to include in the onboarding process?

Your new starter should have received their contract, any relevant company policies or employment handbook and required tax, superannuation and banking paperwork prior to starting and have completed it. It is a good idea to check their understanding of your company policies. The employer’s Positive Duty obligations highlight the significance of ensuring employees understand the importance of what behaviour is considered to be unlawful and the consequences of this occurring in the workplace. Induction training covering your code of conduct, sexual harassment, bullying and harassment, EEO, safe work practices, data protection etc.  is advisable.

Regardless of whether it is noted in the Employee Handbook, it is prudent to take the employee through the basic points of when they will be paid, who to call if they are running late or sick. An outline of who is who in the company and what their roles cover and introducing them to the key people they will be working with or may need to indirectly work with will save time later and make the person self-sufficient.

Depending on the specific position, implementing a buddy system can prove beneficial.  Assigning a mentor or guide to new employees allows them a reliable source for inquiries and direction as they acclimate to your business. Not only does this support newcomers, but it also grants valuable insights into their abilities. By observing their strengths and areas requiring additional support, you can allocate tasks more effectively, reducing errors stemming from inexperience or miscommunication.

Consider this scenario. A large project required landscaping to be done to complete the project. The job seemed simple, so the tasks of digging out the garden beds, lining them and planting was allocated to a new employee. The new employee was only one week into the job. They were nervous, inexperienced and on a tight deadline to finish the task. No one supervised this new employee, nor did they provide detailed instructions or check off a task list with him. A few months later after a dry summer, it rained heavily and the garden beds were flooded. No drainage holes were put into the garden bed. The manager had assumed the new employee would know to do this even though they were an inexperienced 1st year apprentice. A team had to be allocated to dig out the garden beds again, lay drainage and replant. This additional cost and time could have been avoided if the new employee had been given guidance and support.

Creating an environment where the new employee feels at ease and embraced is crucial for a seamless start. Simple gestures, such as organising morning teas for team introductions or arranging daily lunches with a designated colleague during their initial week, can facilitate deeper personal connections and integration into the team dynamic.

In November last year, I wrote about the importance of providing feedback. Establishing this feedback loop early in the employee lifecycle is a good way to set them up for success.

Check-in with them after their first week. Discuss how they found their first week, what they enjoyed and what was a challenge, what value you saw in their contribution, what they could improve upon.  Do they have any questions, is there anything they are unsure of?

Goal setting

The next stage will be to set up some objectives and goals for the employee to work towards. No matter if they are a vineyard hand or a production manager, they will still need to know what they are expected to achieve so they can work towards it.

As noted by Julien Fortuit in the Forbes magazine article ‘Mastering the Art of Goal Setting’, “Intentionality in goal setting is as important or more so than setting the goal itself, as far as the likelihood of success. In short, if you want to get something done, you have to commit.”

If the person is part of the goal setting exercise they will own the goal and it will be something they commit to. As opposed to a task that has been imposed on them and they may not be 100% willing to do, pushing it to the bottom of the task list.

Working through the objectives together allows you to outline the company and department’s vision, current objectives and targets, and the importance their role plays in that. This process will allow you to gauge the employee’s practical experience rather than the overview you may receive in the interview or first week.

The employee will be in their probation period which should have been outlined in their contract. This is the designated period at the start of a new job during which both the employer and the employee assess each other’s suitability. It’s essentially a trial period where the employer evaluates the employee’s performance, behaviour and overall fit within the organisation, while the employee gauges whether the job meets their expectations and aligns with their career goals. Depending on the size of the company the employee may not claim unfair dismissal during the first six months of employment, which is often set as the probationary period depending on the complexity of the role and contract provided. However, there are caveats around this, so employers should not think this gives license to terminate an employee they deem isn’t a good fit without process.  It is crucial that procedural fairness is followed and employees are provided with clear guidelines of expectations and feedback throughout this period.

For employees, knowing about probation allows them to actively engage in their performance, seek feedback and take necessary steps to meet expectations and secure their position within the company or realise that it is not a good fit for them.

Now that the clear objectives and more immediate tasks have been identified it is important to track how the employee is performing.  Establish a regular WIP (work in progress) catch-up with the employee where you review their progress and provide them with constructive feedback so they understand the standard expected and have the support required to meet it. They can identify challenges and through this process you can assess their long-term suitability for the role. When actively managed the probation period provides an opportunity for the employer to address any issues or concerns early on, before they become more significant problems.

Often managers do not invest the time to have regular catch-ups to provide feedback in this early stage. Consequentially they miss the opportunity to support the employee to succeed and attain the ideal standard of work required or identify that the person is not a good fit for the role or team. Certain points that are not addressed or rectified early on then grow into problems a year into employment. For employees, knowing about probation allows them to actively engage in their performance, seek feedback and take necessary steps to meet expectations and secure their position within the company or realise that it is not a good fit for them.

Actively managing performance during probation will ensure an employee is set up to grow within an organisation and add long-term value or, provide the opportunity to offboard them minimising the investment made.

If you would like a template to use for your probation WIP discussions, please email us at  hello@boutiquehr.com.au and we will send you one.

 

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A new dawn for agriculture’s workforce

After five years of advocacy by the NFF, an Agriculture Visa is one step closer to becoming a reality with the Governor General signing the legislation into law.

NFF chief executive Tony Mahar said the milestone represented a new chapter in Australia’s approach to addressing agriculture’s workforce shortages.

“We look forward to continuing to work with Minister Littleproud and the Government on the details of the Visa and how it can best cater for farmers and workers.”

The Ag Visa will widen the recruitment opportunities for low to highly skilled workers from ASEAN countries. The NFF believes negotiations are well under way to extend the visa to other countries.

The NFF has led the calls for the development of an Ag Visa to complement the successful Pacific Labour Scheme and Seasonal Worker Program.

Mahar said the primary intent of the Visa was to provide an option to a different cohort of farmers and workers, than that provided by current pathways.

“The Ag Visa is a bespoke instrument designed to specifically address agriculture’s many and varied skill deficits. To be most effective the Visa must be portable and allow workers to move between farms based on work demand.”

Mahar said claims by the ACTU that Ag Visa holders would be at risk of mistreatment were nothing more than an attempt at cheap and uninformed point scoring.

“If the ACTU would bother to educate themselves, they would know the NFF had always recommended the Visa be open only to farmers who can demonstrate that they take care of their workforce and who haven’t been able to hire locally.

“Providing a positive and safe experience for farm workers is a core tenet of the Visa and of paramount importance to the NFF.”

Mahar said the onus was now on state and territory governments and their chief health officers to approve quarantine arrangements to safely house incoming foreign workers, including consideration of on-farm quarantine.

“During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, agriculture continues to be the engine room of the economy,” Mahar said.

“Farmers have not missed a beat in keeping supermarket shelves stocked in support of all Australians.

“Solving agriculture’s worker deficit is of paramount importance to agriculture achieving a farm gate output value of $100 billion by 2030 and a key component of NFF’s 2030 Roadmap,” Mahar said.

Penalty rates, hidden compliance costs come out in survey

Source: Grapegrower & Winemaker, May 2015, www.winebiz.com.au/gwm

A RECENT survey of wine industry employers from across Australia has found the current workplace relations system to be complicated and expensive.

Real-life examples from employers were collected earlier in the year by the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia (WFA) and the South Australian Wine Industry Association (SAWIA) in a bid to
identify the impact of current workplace relation laws.

The move came ahead of an important submission to a national review by the Productivity Commission into Australia’s workplace relations system. As well as finding the current process
complicated with often delayed decisionmaking, employers noted the main sources of compliance costs related to the award system, leave entitlements and termination of employment.

Industry feedback was gathered using an online survey and individuals share their views and experiences in order to give real examples for the case to simplify the system. While the contributors will not be identified in the submission, their experiences will support the comprehensive submission being made to the Productivity Commission, and ultimately to the Australian Government
later this year. Aimed at uncovering hidden costs in the wine industry, the survey also found penalty rates for weekend and public holidays were major costs and caused concern for employers, especially during vintage and for cellar door operations.

The issues led to support for abolishing the Modern Award system and incorporating some of the core award entitlements into the National Employment Standards (NES). The results and feedback will be used by SAWIA as recommendations in their submission to the Productivity Commission’s inquiry, according to Brian Smedley, SAWIA chief executive.

“So this is a unique opportunity for wine industry employer’s right across the country to have a say on how workplace laws effect our operations and also to suggest ways flexibility and productivity
can be improved,” Smedley said.

“Some areas we know are problematic such as penalty rates and public holidays and we also want to highlight the need to cut red tape and reduce the unnecessary compliance burden on wine businesses.”

More information about the Productivity Commission inquiry can be found at www.pc.gov.au/inquiries.

Winemakers forced to recruit overseas workers over lack of applications from Adelaide’s jobless

GRAPE growers and winemakers say they are being forced to hire foreign workers because people from Adelaide’s high-unemployment areas seem unwilling to move even temporarily to the country.

More than 105,000 temporary work visas were granted by the Department of Immigration to foreign nationals in 2013-14.

The South Australian Wine Industry Association has told a Senate committee inquiry into temporary work visas that many of its members experience difficulty recruiting skilled and unskilled workers. More

Source: News.com.au

Fair Work Ombudsman’s presence helped ensure ‘level playing field’ for Hunter Valley grape harvest

Source: Fair Work Ombudsman, http://www.fairwork.gov.au/

Employers say scrutiny of wages and conditions for seasonal workers in the Hunter Valley last summer kept some rogue labour-hire contractors out of the NSW wine-producing region.

The Fair Work Ombudsman flagged late last year that it would be active in the Hunter Valley as part of its three-year national Harvest Trail project.

In mid-November, with the assistance of the Hunter Valley Wine Industry Association, Fair Work inspectors addressed employers and labour-hire contractors at an information session in Pokolbin in the heart of the region.

This was followed-up in December by visits to eight youth hostels and random site visits in January and February to 16 vineyards and six grape picking labour-hire contractors around Cessnock, Muswellbrook and Singleton.

Some local employers subsequently told the Fair Work Ombudsman its presence “stopped some dodgy contractors from coming to the area”.

“They say the combination of our media and education activity, along with the field visits, kept non-compliant operators away and created a far more level playing field for local operators,” Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James revealed today.

The Harvest Trail program is in response to persistent complaints and concerns about the horticulture sector’s compliance with federal workplace laws.

Fruit and vegetable growers and labour-hire contractors around Australia are being asked to open their books to show seasonal workers are being paid their correct wages.

“The horticulture sector relies heavily on labour from unskilled workers, temporary workers and employees from a non-English speaking background who may not be fully aware of their workplace rights,” Ms James says.

“It is important that employers and labour-hire contractors understand their workplace obligations to this vulnerable group of employees.”

A number of vineyards in the Hunter Valley use the services of contractors to provide pickers and other seasonal workers, rather than employing them directly.

A key focus of this activity was checking that employers were meeting requirements of the Wine Industry Award 2010 and the Fair Work Act 2009.

Of the 500-strong workforce engaged by the 22 businesses audited during the harvest period, more than 400 were overseas workers, some under the age of 25.

Many were on 417 working holiday visas from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, France and Germany and working to support an application for a second-year visa.

As part of their inquiries, Fair Work inspectors discovered four employers had collectively underpaid 68 employees a total of $14,120.

Half of the underpaid employees were overseas visa-holders, including about a dozen under the age of 21.

The bulk of the underpayments related to one business, which was found to have short-changed 51 of its workers just over $11,000.

Contravention Letters were issued to three businesses.

The most common issue was underpayment of penalty rates for weekend and public holiday work.

Some workers also had money unlawfully deducted from their wages.

The Fair Work Ombudsman discovered money being deducted for the cost of pruning shears.

Under the Fair Work Act, an employer can only deduct money from an employee’s pay if the employee agrees in writing and the deduction is principally for the employee’s benefit – or if it is authorised by a Court, the Fair Work Commission or an award or agreement.

Other issues identified included employers not keeping accurate records, not maintaining individual flexibility agreements, part-time agreements not being in place for part-time workers, and the Fair Work Information Statement not being provided to new employees.

As a result of its findings, the Fair Work Ombudsman will again return to the region in January, 2015.

Ms James says the findings highlight the importance of employers seeking correct advice about their obligations under workplace laws.

“A lack of awareness of workplace laws can easily result in an inadvertent underpayment of wages or workers’ rights being compromised, as has occurred here,” she sai

“We have a range of tools and resources on our website to assist employers to understand and comply with workplace laws, but they should check with us if they are unsure about their obligations or have any hesitation about what is considered lawful.”

Ms James says that while it was disappointing to find a number of underpayments, it was pleasing the employers agreed to rectify the mistakes and accepted assistance from Fair Work inspectors to put processes in place to ensure ongoing compliance.

Any employer or employee seeking further information about workplace laws is encouraged to get in touch with the Fair Work Ombudsman via the website www.fairwork.gov.au or by calling the Fair Work Infoline on 13 13 94.

A free interpreter service is available on 13 14 50 and information on the website is translated into 27 languages atwww.fairwork.gov.au/languages.

Follow Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James on Twitter @NatJamesFWO, the Fair Work Ombudsman @fairwork_gov_au or find us on Facebook www.facebook.com/fairwork.gov.au External link icon.

Media inquiries:

Tom McPherson, Media Adviser
Mobile: 0439 835 855
tom.mcpherson@fwo.gov.au

Draytons Wines fined over $200,000 for blast that killed Trevor Drayton, Eddie Orgo

DRAYTON’S Family Wines has been fined more than $200,000 over the explosion that claimed the lives of winemaker Trevor Drayton and welder Eddie Orgo.

Workcover NSW prosecuted Drayton’s, and Mr Orgo’s employer, Perfab Engineering, in the District Court’s criminal jurisdiction for two breaches each of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

MORE

New Zealand job market full of opportunity

The New Zealand job market continues to thrive, according to an analysis of more than 50,000 roles listed on Trade Me Jobs in the first quarter of 2014.

Head of Trade Me Jobs, Peter Osborne, said the number of listings on the site rose 21% year-on-year, following on from a 17% lift in the final quarter of 2013.

“The national employment market is flourishing with Auckland, Wellington and Canterbury all seeing positive growth,” Osborne said. “Our analysis aligns with recent data from Westpac McDermott Miller which found employment confidence at an all-time high since the recession.”

Osborne said there was plenty of opportunity for employers too with recent research commissioned by Trade Me Jobs finding 45% of employees willing to relocate for a new job.

The Auckland region remains the powerhouse of the national job market with a 20% boost in job listings compared to the same period last year.