The liberalisation of economic activities has an impact upon the nature of work of an organisation, employment, labour markets and employee. It is evident that MNCs has opened production sites at various locations around the world and these production sites can be relocated easily according to the company's objectives. This relocation of production sites of multinational companies affects the employee and HR practices.

The multinational companies are thought agents of change. They bring new information's and thinking for the local organisations and the latter follow these ideas and standard in the field of HR.

Traditionally, retailing even wholesaling is considered as a localized sector, which means composed of small-scale operations. The introduction of various laws that encourage free

trade or lessen trade barriers through international treaties has made commerce vital to attain economic growth resulting in lesser barriers in worldwide employment.

Huge multinational or national retail chains are considered among the largest businesses in many developed countries, and accounted for a huge share of the approximately US$6.5 trillion in international commercial transactions in 1997.

There are various contributing factor for this phenomenon. Leading among them are the technological advancements (including electronic commerce for instance) introduced, the international movement of enterprises and quickly spreading competition-driven changes such as just-in-time production and sales. Ironically, these are considered both the cause and result of an increasingly integrated and highly competitive global market that deeply affect the organization and human resource strategy of commercial organizations. Despite its development and dynamism, deterioration of employment and working conditions are also getting prevalent causing concern among business organizations.

The trends of regionalization and the effects of global operations have heightened the need to set up HRD strategies to acquire and retain competent workforce for them to maintain competitive market positions. The skill shortages often pertain to managerial and professional skills, clerical and production workers and an overall shortage of IT skills for all economies.

It is important to keep the capabilities of both managers and workers presently working for the business at the same time introduce structural changes to allow a smooth transition to higher value-added industries. The solution for the multi-national companies as well as local companies in production sites and strategic regional centers could be in better forecasting of HRD needs, a cost-benefit training framework, better labor market policy-making, and quality vocational and training programs that are jointly conducted by the government and the private sector.

My alarm clock went off at 5-15 (Many thanks for that!) and the adventure began at 6-15. Arriving at Leeds City Station at 6-35 armed with my metro news and numerous sheets of A4 with advice, plans and maps from my colleague Jonathan, for surviving the underground jungle.

GNER welcomed me to the 7-00 Leeds to Kings Cross service, this was followed by an uneventful journey until we reached Stevenage when we were told we would be stopping at every signal due to speed restrictions, passengers as well as tracks were now becoming overheated. We arrived at Kings Cross 30 minutes late at 9-35.

What followed was a surprisingly smooth journey on the underground to Gloucester Road tube station, this was either due to brilliant planning or sheer luck (delete as applicable). When reaching Gloucester Road at 9-55 I spotted a girl with an A4 Mercer information sheet and map, I decided to follow her in the style of MI5.

We reached the Holiday Inn via Harvey Nicholls, Topshop, Boots and Ann Summers. Having registered and been given identity badges on arrival, I joined a table which included people from far flung offices such as London, Sydney, Liverpool, Chicago and IT Dept Whitehall, Leeds.

The Induction course which followed was, as expected very professional and informative. Area's covered before lunch included What's in it for you, Who Mercer is, Where Mercer is going and Operating as a team, these include slide shows and video's including a very interesting one about Geese!

The lunch which followed was very substantial and varied and didn't include goose. Following lunch there was discussions about Professional standards and the Regulatory environment followed by the dreaded “Team Working session” which we all greeted with a sigh of relief that role-playing was not part of it, in fact it was quite entertaining as we had to design a poster about Mercer using only newspaper / magazine cuttings, my team just kept within the laws of decency despite having one headline “I joined the company and got pregnant!".

The final part of the day discussed Partnering for Success, Learning and development opportunities and Options. It was very informative about how to obtain or change your options package and the intra net in general. The course ended at 3-45 with handshakes and goodbyes.

Back at Kings Cross for 4-40 and news that trains to Leeds were running twenty minutes late. A mad dash as soon as the barrier was opened was followed by the usual fight for a seat, two submissions and a knock-out seemed to win a window seat.

The uneventful journey home gave time to think about what had been learned during the day. Having been on Induction courses before this was by far the best, being very informative without being boring, it also enabled you to meet people from other sites and knowing that if you had a problem or query you can contact them directly instead of contacting a faceless name from the Mercer directory.

Arrived home at 8-30 relieved the day was over but pleased to have learnt more about my new company, and its values, which after all is why we are sent on Induction courses.

It is a simple but vital process of introduction, information giving and planned training which enables people to become comfortable and productive in their new job role in the shortest possible time.

Why is it necessary?

• To provides new starters with important information about the organization and get them off to a good start.
• To introduce them to their working environment and their job and to integrate them into their team.
• To equip them with the knowledge and skills they need to do their job so that they can become effective in a short space of time.
• To help those who are new to a job role (for example first time managers) to settle confidently and easily into it and to become effective as quickly as possible.

Who is responsible for it?

Induction is the responsibility of the line manager for the new, returning or redeployed employee.

It needs to be:

• Carefully planned
• Well structured
• Tailored to meet the employee's individual needs

Who should be involved in induction?

As soon as the need for induction arises the line manager should:

• Decide who will be involved.
• Convene a planning meeting.
• Develop the Induction Plan.
• Assign responsibility for delivery.
• Monitor and review the induction.

The line manager for the new employee should lead the planning of the induction process and decide who will be involved in it. A contribution should be made by other members of the team.

Line managers do not have to personally deliver every part of the programme although they must be involved and they are responsible. Team members and other support staff can all play an active part in induction.

This helps the new starter to integrate and form good working relationships at an early stage. It also spreads the workload involved in the induction process. The more people that are involved, the quicker the new employee will settle and become effective in their job.

A “buddy” within the team should also be appointed. The role of the buddy is to provide a helping hand to the new employee, answering questions, offering advice and information and guiding the person through the first few weeks in their role.

The buddy, along with others in the team, may also be involved in delivering one to one training for the new starter.

An induction planning meeting should take place at least a week before the new employee starts. The line manager and others who will contribute to the induction of the new employee should meet to:

• Assign a buddy.
• Brief those involved in the induction.
• Agree what aspects they will be responsible for.
• Allocate timed slots and venues for each topic.

The outcome should be an Induction Plan which caters for the new employee's needs for up to the first few weeks of their employment.

Towards the end of the first 2 weeks, a progress review should be made by the line manager and, if required, the plan should be adapted. We all learn and assimilate information differently and some people may take longer than others to settle into their role.

New starters are keen to learn as much as possible about their new employer so sending them information before they start is welcomed and appreciated. There are a number of advantages in doing this:

• It enables the new employee to learn something about the organization, in their own time and at their own pace.
• It gives them an opportunity to think about questions they might want to ask when they start their employment.
• It helps to overcome the common problem of “information overload” once they are in post.

A visit to the office or place of work before the formal start date has the following benefits:

• The employee is able to meet their line manager and immediate colleagues.
• Tthey can see the office environment and the area they will be working in.
• They can check out their journey times and route to the office.
• It may help to overcome first day nerves or apprehension.

It is recommended that the line manager should take responsibility for conducting this visit, introducing the new employee to their immediate team members, showing the new employee around the office and answering any questions.

On the first working day the line manager should meet and greet the new starter on the first day of employment and spend time putting the employee at ease, making them feel welcome and explaining that they will go through the Induction Programme.

The Induction Plan should be shared with them and the line manager should conduct the tour of the office and make introductions to their immediate team members. The line manager can then hand over to or involve other staff members who have been designated to take part in the Induction Programme and who have been assigned responsibilities within the Induction Plan.

The overriding priority is for the employee to be introduced to their work environment and the organization's basic operating systems. Right from the start, the new starter should feel valued, supported and comfortable in finding their way around the office and their work area.

By the end of the first week the employee should be able to carry out their work and correctly use the range of resources and support that are available to them, with guidance and supervision.

The designated buddy plays a key role during the first week and they should be ready and able to offer advice, answer questions and steer the new starter whenever required.

During the first week the emphasis should be on helping the employee to become familiar with the operating systems that enable them to carry out their work and do their job.Sufficient time should be allocated to discuss progress, allow the employee to ask questions, check their work and ensure that they are correctly using resources and following procedures.

The line manager should meet with the employee at the end of the first week and discuss how they have settled into the job and deal with any queries or concerns they may have. He/she should also take feedback from anyone else who has been involved in the Induction Plan so far and adjust or extend the plan if necessary. Arrangements should also be made to meet any training needs that have been identified.

Once the employee is settled into their role and comfortable about carrying out their job, they can be gradually introduced to other information about the organization and the business.

This information might be complex and there may be a lot to take in. This part of the induction should be prioritized, covered bit by bit and in sufficient depth for the person to understand what the organization does, how it is done, and who the clients or customers are.

Information overload is a problem. The best approach is to plan and diarise short sessions during which different topics are covered with time in between for the employee to do their work.

During the first month, the line manager should maintain regular contact with the employee and with those who are involved in the Induction Programme. The Induction Plan should be reviewed and amended if required.

The employee's work should be monitored for quality and quantity and it should be made clear what is expected in terms of their performance. Feedback should be given to the employee about how they are doing, what they may need to improve upon and what is going well.

At all times the new starter should be encouraged to ask questions and seek help in any aspect of their work or to get to know more about the organization.

Line managers should be confident that all aspects of the Induction Programme have been covered and that people who are new to the organization or those new to a role have been given the best possible start.

One of the most common reasons for high turnover of staff and people leaving a job shortly after they started is because there is no planned induction and they are left to fend for themselves. Don't let this happen to your organization!