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Training might look like: management training to prepare them for promotion or higher duties courses that sharpen their existing skills, learning a new computer programme courses that develop their product knowledge on-the-job training so that they can excel in their role. This may feature in the induction and may be carried out in-house. What if I pay for training and my employee leaves straight after? If you have an explicit cause in your contract or an employee agrees in writing, you may be able to recoup these costs if an employee leaves within a specific period of time. However, relying on these to deduct from the employee's pay may not always be lawful. For instance, if the benefit of a training course is solely or mainly for the company this clause would probably be viewed as unenforceable.

In contrast to training, development often focuses on soft-skills. This is equally important to your employees morale and to their allegiance to your business. Development might look like: Asking employees to mentor other employees. This develops their skills in supervision, leadership and support. Personal study. While this may not always seem to have a direct relation to your business, investing in your employees makes them feel valued. In addition, study can also increase organisation and critical thinking. Performance Reviews A crucial part of development is regular performance reviews. While performance reviews are typically associated with performance improvement plans, they are an important part of positive development. They allow you to harness the enthusiasm and the development of your employees through coaching. They are an opportunity to: find out about the employees goals and work on a path towards them constructively raise any potential issues set a plan for development and training discuss any pay rises, bonuses or KPIs find out further details about the work environment, employee satisfaction and culture. Review this document: Employer Direct Performance Review template

Good faith means: being honest and not acting in a misleading or deceptive way being responsive and communicative. consulting employees before making a decision which may effect their employment being communicative raising issues in a fair and timely way being respectful, constructive and positive not having predetermined outcomes in restructures, disciplinaries etc This applies to all parties in the employment relationships, including employers, employees and unions Example: If you are carrying out a restructure, it is important that you genuinely consult employees that may be affected before making a decision. Having a predetermined outcome is not acting in good faith. Failure to do so could result in penalties being ordered by the ERA.

The principles of good faith, communication and reasonableness are integral in using either a 90 day trial or probation period. For instance: Good faith - employees must know about their trial or probation with sufficient time before agreeing to it by signing their contract Communication - if there are issues in a probation period, an employer must communicate these so that the employee can address them Reasonableness - an employer must be reasonable when considering terminating employment. A reasonable employer would induct and train where required in order to set up an employee to succeed. Review these documents: Employer Direct 90 day trial and Probation period implementation checklist Employer Direct Guide to 90 day trials & probation periods

Next up, start working on Level 2: The beginning of the employment relationship.

Starting the employment relationship off on the right foot is not only important in ensuring that your processes are lawful but it ensures that you hire the right fit for your business which adds value and increases retention. After you complete each part of this module, your knowledge will be assessed through a series of questions. At the end of this module you should be able to confidently do these things with assistance from the Employer Direct document library.

Before you advertise, consider What you're looking for: hours of work - do you envisage this being full-time, part-time, fixed term or casual? skills, education, expertise and experience needed What you're offering: pay rate and perks education or progression Review these documents: Employer Direct Recruitment Guide (General) Employer Direct Seek/Trademe Guide

You should let the candidate know that you want to check references prior to contacting their references. You should only ask questions that are related to the role and their fit with the workplace. If you have concerns about the feedback, you may wish to raise this with the candidate however you should check with the reference prior to doing so. Review this document: Employer Direct Reference Check Template