Induction training in the first week should follow one rule: give each new joiner what they need for the next day, not everything at once. Start with safety, access and who to ask on day one, move to role basics and systems in the middle of the week, and end with a check-in on understanding. Shift length, language and site conditions change the detail, not the order.
Induction training is the planned introduction a new joiner receives to the organisation, their workplace, their role and the rules they must follow. It's shorter and narrower than onboarding, which runs for months.
What should induction training include in the first week?
Acas advises employers to plan induction before the person arrives and to tailor it to the individual. Its induction checklist covers who's who, how the organisation works, its rules, practical facilities and how the role fits in. Health and safety is the one item in that guidance marked as a legal duty.
For a practical week, group the content into five blocks:
- Safety and access: hazards, emergency routes, reporting, tools, logins and permits.
- People: manager, buddy, team and the person to ask when stuck.
- Role basics: the three or four tasks the joiner will do first, shown in sequence.
- How work runs here: shifts, attendance, leave, escalation and approvals.
- Check and adjust: a short conversation and a simple test of understanding.
What does a week-one induction schedule look like?
The table below is a hypothetical office-and-field example, not a Probbit client plan. Adjust the days to your shift pattern.
| Day | Focus | Format that usually fits | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Safety, access, who's who, one small task | Live walk-through plus a short safety module | Manager and buddy |
| Day 2 | How the team works, tools and systems | Live demo, followed by a short video to revisit | Buddy |
| Day 3 | First role tasks, supervised | Shadowing with a one-page task guide | Team lead |
| Day 4 | Policies, conduct and escalation | Short modules, one idea each | HR or People team |
| Day 5 | Review: what is clear, what is not | Live conversation and a few scenario questions | Manager |
Keep the first day light. Acas warns against making day one overwhelming, so deal with essential documents and safety, then stop.
How long should induction training last?
The first week is the core of a formal induction, but many organisations keep a lighter structure for the first few weeks so questions have somewhere to go. For roles with safety-critical tasks, don't treat the end of week one as permission to work unsupervised. That decision belongs to the safety officer or line manager, and in regulated settings to whoever carries the legal responsibility.
What is the difference between induction and onboarding?
Induction is the opening stage: orientation, rules, safety and first tasks. Onboarding is the longer process of becoming productive, including role training, relationships and probation reviews. If you want the wider picture, see our post on how employee onboarding videos cover the journey, which takes the full onboarding view rather than the first week.
What should be video and what should stay live?
Use video where the content is the same for everyone, must be accurate every time and is worth revisiting. Keep live what depends on people and judgement.
- Video suits: safety basics, site or system orientation, policy explanations, step-by-step task demonstrations and anything needed in several languages.
- Live suits: meeting the team, questions, judgement calls, equipment handling that needs real supervision and any conversation about concerns.
Short modules work better than one long welcome film. Our note on splitting content into a microlearning video series explains how to cut a topic into pieces a joiner can finish between tasks. Probbit builds onboarding and induction video as one part of this mix, with your subject experts approving the content.
How do you induct shift workers and frontline staff?
Frontline joiners often have no desk, no company email in week one and limited time away from the floor. Plan for that directly:
- Deliver modules on a phone, a shared screen or a kiosk, not only through a desktop LMS.
- Offer the content in the language the worker uses on the shop floor, and have a bilingual supervisor confirm the translation.
- Repeat key safety messages at the start of the first few shifts, since night and weekend joiners miss the Monday session.
- Assign a buddy from the same shift.
Equipment demonstrations and legal safety requirements, such as those under the OSH Code or site rules, need qualified review. Treat any video as a supplement, and confirm requirements with your safety officer or counsel.
How do you check that new joiners understood?
Don't rely on a completion tick. Use three light checks: a short scenario question after each module, a supervised first task on day 3, and a five-minute conversation on day 5 asking what was unclear. Record the gaps and fix the content, not only the person. If the same question appears from three joiners, the module or the schedule needs changing.
Where Probbit fits
Probbit is a corporate training video studio that produces onboarding and induction modules, with your team reviewing and signing off the script. Delivery timing depends on approved source material, scope, languages and review rounds, and we confirm it in the project brief. If you're planning a first-week programme and want to decide which parts should be video, schedule a call.