You just got hired as part of a company’s sales staff. It’s your first day and one harassed-looking employee got assigned to give you the orientation. It turned out that there’s no computer, no phone and not much of anything on the ‘desk’ that is supposed to be the new hire’s office.
This is one possible scenario that you need to prepare for as a new hire. Although there are some companies which conduct thorough orientation sessions for new hires, most of them are ill-prepared for it. They simply allow the newbies to adjust to a new working environment on their own terms. Although there’s not much that you can do about it, as a new employee, you can do your research and learn what employer induction is. Knowing what to expect and having an open mind is also part of the process.
Employer Induction: The Basics
First, let’s have a quick definition of the term employer induction. For companies who have a specific sales department, the employer induction is the final step in the hiring process. Prior to this, hiring sales personnel involves:
- Soliciting applications.
- Short listing the strongest candidates.
- Conducting initial interviews.
- Narrowing down the list to the suitable applicants.
- Conducting final interviews.
- Hiring the best possible applicants.
- Employer induction.
Basically, employer induction involves formally welcoming news sales staff into the marketing team. Companies who care about their freshly hired employees fitting in should not simply distribute handbooks, show a “Welcome to the company” video or have the new hires spend an entire morning filling out confusing forms or reading a manual.
As a new hire, you should be welcomed into the company by one of the members of the upper management team. Your immediate supervisor should also see to it that all your questions are answered, and that you are acquainted with the rest of the staff.
Know What to Expect during an Employer Induction
Next, what are you supposed to expect during an employer induction? During the orientation, the following questions should be answered:
- Which specific industry is my company in?
It’s the responsibility of your new employer to give you a preview about the exact industry that you are getting into. If you have previous experience in the same line of business, you might already have an idea about how things work but you should still be familiarized with how this specific company works.
- What are the products and services offered by my company?
As a new member of the sales staff, you should be given comprehensive information about the products and services offered by your new employer.
- What is our target clientele and business objectives?
During the employer induction, you should also be given information about your target clientele and business objectives.
- How does the basic sales process go?
Finally, as part of the sales teams, you should be given complete details on how the basic sales process goes. Although individual sales people have different ways of approaching a prospective customer and closing a sale, there are specific techniques used by different companies to entice buyers to purchase their products or services.
Whether it’s a video, a short talk from a boss, a new employee manual or dozens of forms, knowing what to expect during an employer induction session will help you a lot in adjusting to your new working environment.