Lecturer Induction Programmes: A Case Study of Midlands State University and Zimbabwe Open University in the City of Gweru, Zimbabwe

Abstract

Staff induction is designed to give newly appointed employees the support they need in any organisation. If properly designed and provided, induction activities can be instrumental in ensuring that new staff become productive in the shortest possible time. In their new organisation, new staff should be familiarised with the environment and processes, introduced to key persons, and trained in the use and application of new IT systems. Despite the many ways in which staff induction is critical to efficiency in institutions, it was necessary to find out whether universities also provide apposite inductions for new staff. A case study was conducted to investigate the views of newly appointed lecturers on the adequacy of their induction at Midlands State University (MSU) and Zimbabwe Open University (ZOU) in the city of Gweru in Zimbabwe. Twenty-two lecturers were conveniently and purposively sampled to participate in this study. The findings of the study indicated that some critical components such as familiarisation with the work environment and formalised knowledge transfer needed by the lecturers to conduct their work were done at the two universities under study. Nonetheless, the induction disregarded the work load and the majority of participants did not get training in new IT systems. The study recommends that university staff inductions, inter alia, should be load related, done timeously, and incorporate all critical components.