Policy Brief on New Staff Induction by Line Managers

Introduction

Academic studies show the importance of socialising new recruits into organisational culture while showing the influence of both formal and informal organisational factors in this process. It shows that inculcating recruits into missiondriven or performance-based cultural norms and values is critical for organisational performance both in developed and developing countries.

The period when new recruits join the Federal Civil Service of Nigeria is a crucial one for learning both for them and the Service. This is a period when the work attitudes of recruits remain malleable and public organisations can play a key role in shaping and moulding them to be productive and committed to the Service. Line managers or direct supervisors socialise recruits by helping them learn about their jobs and roles within the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) where they are posted and their socialising behaviours shape the latter’s long-term work motivations and career outcomes.