Induction
As a manager or educator, your role is vital in shaping the early experiences of new Support Workers, helping them to feel confident, competent, and connected from day one.
Here you’ll find practical tools, guidance, and best practices to deliver consistent, high-quality inductions that ensure support workers deliver safe and effective person-centred care.
Benefits of a planned induction
Time spent by managers and teams preparing a good induction for new support workers will be well worth it. Joining any new organisation or team can be stressful, particularly if it is an unfamiliar setting. Support Workers work in diverse roles, they may be staff providing direct or indirect patient care, handling patient sensitive data, or providing a service to patients.
If induction can be seen as a process of learning new facts, systems and relationships, it will act as a secure building block for future learning. As a new employee, a Support Worker will feel supported and in a better place to learn the new job routines, meet new colleagues and understand their role in relation to patient experience.
Benefits of a good induction experience include:
- A new Support Worker will feel valued and welcomed
- They will understand quickly how their role fits into the wider team / organisation
- Appreciation of the role boundaries - what can and cannot be done safely
- Public protection and patient safety is built in from day one
- A strong foundation is built for developing the person's future capability within the role, and within the organisation
- Team members can share their knowledge by playing an active part in supporting their new colleague
Signposting to support worker resources
There are a range of people who can help and assist Support Workers, see the Who can help? page for more information.
As part of induction, remember to signpost Support Workers to resources which will support them on their continuing learning and development journey.
For example:
- Development and Education Framework for level 2-4 NMAHP HCSWs - clarifying knowledge, skills and behaviours required at each level of practice and offering opportunities to identify learning needs across the four pillars of practice
- Turas Professional Portfolio - provides opportunities to record reflections and evidence of learning, as well as seek feedback from others
- Events - short online events specifically for Support Workers on a wide range of topics with recordings available post event to watch at a time to suit
- Newsletter - quarterly news updates and announcements on learning and development activities and opportunities
- Self-directed learning resources on a variety of topics providing opportunities for ongoing development
Support Worker Code
The Support Worker Code will replace the Induction Standards and Code of Conduct for all Support Workers. You will find more information about the Code and the supporting resources on the Support Worker Code page.