Workplace induction

Workplace supervisors are responsible for the 's local induction — alongside whatever wider induction the employer or host organisation runs. A good local induction is the difference between a confident new who is contributing within weeks and one who feels like a stranger in their own team six months in.

What good looks like

A structured first month with clear expectations, named milestones, and weekly check-ins. Don't leave it to drift.
Real introductions — face-to-face where possible — to the people the will work with. Each introduction should answer three questions: who they are, what they do, and why the will be working with them.
Practical access sorted before day one: ID, IT login, email, case management system access, smart card, parking, room booking. Every hour the spends chasing IT in week one is an hour you've already paid for that produces nothing.
Shadowing with experienced colleagues for the first two weeks — including (importantly) the rest of the personalised care team where it exists locally: , care co-ordinators and similar roles.
A first observation by the clinical supervisor booked within the first month, even if the is not yet running a full caseload.
Mandatory training booked, not vaguely promised. Whole-day blocks in the calendar.

Be explicit about the local context

What is going on locally that the needs to know? Things that don't appear in the JD or the modules:

Current public health priorities your region is investing in (e.g. cardiovascular prevention, severe mental illness physical health checks).
A change in commissioning or service contracts that affects local pathways.
A community partner the team relies on heavily (or one to handle with care because of capacity issues).
Local sensitivities — a community where trust has been damaged, an area with high deprivation, a recent service closure that has changed where people go.

Don't leave the to work this out by accident over six months. Brief them.

Common pitfalls

Sole often arrive into a team that doesn't know what to do with them. You are the bridge. Run a 30-minute "what's an " session for the wider practice team. The cannot do this alone — and if you leave them to it, the role drifts toward whatever the loudest voice in the practice asks for.
Inductions that focus only on systems and forms. The systems matter, but they're the vehicle. The destination is the relationships — with patients, colleagues, and the community.
Silent assumptions. Don't assume the knows the unwritten rules — when meetings start, what to bring, who to ask first. Spell them out.

Book in protected time

Early on, the needs time for:

Mandatory training — allow whole days, not stolen 30-minute slots between cases.
Modules 1–6 — typically 6–8 hours each, expect this to span several weeks.
Community outreach — meeting partners, local authority colleagues, faith and community groups, libraries. This is real work, not an indulgence.
Shadowing — across the , the personalised care team, and at least one partner.
Reflective practice and supervision — booked time, not "if there's a gap".

If protected time is not in the calendar from week one, it gets squeezed by case work and never recovers. What you measure becomes what gets done. Protect what you want the to be good at.