Introduction

To help employers in establishing standardised, structured approaches to induction, the SSSC, in collaboration with employers and other stakeholders, was charged with developing a national induction framework for all social service staff in Scotland (ref. “National Strategy for the Development of the Social Service Workforce in Scotland – A Plan for Action 2005 - 2010”). Such a framework will also contribute to lifelong learning, employee development and the promotion of a learning organisation.

The first important feature of a learning organisation is a structured and standardised process for introducing staff to the organisation (or in the case of many staff, to the sector). However, people's experiences of induction can vary considerably. It's also good practice in a learning organisation to encourage and enable individuals to keep a record of their learning and development, so we would suggest that employers establish the use of learning logs for staff at an early stage. These can take many forms, and the Induction Planning and Tracking Tool which accompanies this guidance is one example.

This resource is intended to offer some general guidance regarding staff induction for the sector. This document is best viewed as a place to start in constructing your own induction arrangements and seeks to highlight the keys areas that induction should address and signpost readers to additional sources of advice and additional resources which can be used.

The guidance in this resource has been developed with employers, for employers. The SSSC recognises that there are a range of approaches to induction in the sector. Employers are encouraged to adapt this guidance to the specific needs of their own workforce. 

In essence the guidance in this resource sees induction as having six, key components:

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