New Hire Success Story? Maybe…

incipioworkstg on July 14, 2020

More Than

30 % of people quit their job within the first 90 days.

A recent survey shows upwards of 30 percent of people quit their job within the first 90 days of employment. Job turnover not only reflects poorly on a company it also is extremely costly. Onboarding – the process of integrating a new employee into a company – is your opportunity to deliver on all the promises made during the hiring process. It’s your window to make the new hire feel welcome, motivated and to guarantee the candidate experience has put them on a path to happiness and success.

All during the hiring process you were selling your organization – telling candidates they’ll find your organization a great place to work – it’s a family. That had better be what the candidate finds when they step inside the door. Because if you sold them the wrong story, there’s no expectation they’re going to be successful.

Before the new hire starts, there should be a welcome email. It should explain where they need to be on their first day, the appropriate attire, what they need to bring with them and what they can expect. Make sure all the “first day” paperwork has been taken care of in advance of the actual start date. Have a department lunch the first day so they can casually meet and see the faces of the people they’ll be working with.

So the new hire doesn’t feel isolated, the hiring manager needs to be very intentional on getting the person involved in project teams right away. They should be exposed to the broader landscape of the organization so they can see how their role fits into the company’s overall success. Make sure the new hire knows how they’ll be judged at their annual performance appraisal so it’s clearly understood exactly what is expected of them. In addition, ensure professional development programs are in place to help the employee grow and continue to be challenged.

Consider a Peer Mentor

Setting up a peer mentor program is a great idea. Choose a person similar to the new hire who has done the job or is currently in that role. This is someone who isn’t their supervisor but who can show them around and answer any questions. The mentor should be involved for at least six months in the new hire’s employment. People want to work in places where they are able to create bonds and make friends. The peer mentor program helps you create that bond.

Set up Regular Check-ins

There should be regular check-ins from the hiring manager or the recruiter. Touch base with scripted questions at the end of week one – the end of week two and at 30, 60 and 90 days. Ask how things are going. New hires will be much more open with their recruiter or hiring manager then they will be with their supervisor.

Lower Expectations

Employers should be aware in the first 30 days in particular, they shouldn’t expect the new hire to make a huge, revolutionary impact. The person is just getting acclimated and taking on a lot of new projects and likely dealing with new systems and software. So the onboarding plan should be designed to get the new hire up and running without overwhelming them.

New Hires and Those First 90 Days

incipioworkstg on July 7, 2020

Every employer today should be thinking about what the process looks like when a new hire comes into your business. What consistently takes place and is it effective? Start with examining your current process and then ask yourself, “What should successful on-boarding look like?”

Onboarding

Got Process?

Structure

Onboarding begins before the new hire walks in the door. Think about your first correspondence to the new hire. If you’ve ever signed up for Disney vacation, you’ll remember receiving a beautiful package in the mail with customized rubber bands and your name displayed on everything. The package sets up clear expectations and makes you feel special that you just spent a lot of money! Imagine that from a business perspective. How can you make new hires feel special about the money your organization is about to spend on them?

Your structure should include tasks for specific people in the onboarding process. For example, the hiring manager should be triggered to call the new hire with congratulations and details of what they should expect on day one. And it’s important the hiring manager be there to greet the person as they walk in the door before turning them over to human resources.

On the first day, it’s wise to introduce the new hire to a mentor. It could be someone who happens to be in the same job role, but if you have a person who started in a similar job role but has advanced, that’s a great person to select as a mentor. With proper guidance, a mentor program gives you the opportunity to begin setting up expectations and will go a long way to making the new person feel welcomed and engaged. This is a great time to bring your top talent into the mentor program. It will help them feel valued – even if they don’t have a direct “dotted-line” connection with the new hire.

Culture

You should be spending time in onboarding talking about culture. This is when you should promote behaviors that are most valued in your organization. You should be very specific about those behaviors and show how they apply to their job role. Talking about culture also gives you a great way to transition into setting expectations for 30, 60, 90 days, and longer. You can show the new hire exactly how they’ll be judged when it comes to performance reviews and possible salary increases.

Did you?

Once you’ve built the onboarding structure and you’re driving connections and stressing culture, you need to make sure all of this actually happens! There is nothing worse than having some leaders who don’t follow the onboarding program. I could argue inconsistency is almost worse than having no onboarding program at all. Make sure you have systems in place to ensure follow-up to measure the effectiveness of your effort. For example, talk with new hires at the 90-day mark and again at six months to get their feedback. If some portion of your process wasn’t followed, this is the time to regroup and revisit what may have been overlooked.

The Candidate Experience

incipioworkstg on July 2, 2020

Is your comapny’s job candidate experience keeping the best people away?

First Impressions: How Does Your Company Look to Candidates?

incipioworkstg on June 30, 2020

As with Online Dating, Your Company’s First Impression is Everything!

f you’ve ever tried online dating, you won’t be surprised to learn it’s all about the first impression. At that initial meet-up at the coffee shop or on a Zoom chat, you have to be on-point because you likely won’t get a second chance. It’s the same for companies looking to hire top talent. Even with the Covid-19 crisis, the job market today is competitive and it’s likely the candidate is speaking with four or five other companies.

Does Your Online Presence Give the Right Impression?

So you have to make a connection quickly. How do you do that? It starts long before the interview process. Your organization must be seen as a place people want to work. Are there things in your job posting that really help people understand what you’re providing to your customers in terms of products and services? How old is that job description? Your pool of applicants might be small because a competitor has a “compelling” job posting. It’s not sexy because it’s all glitz and glamour. It’s compelling because it’s appealing to somebody who wants to do that type of work with a progressive and successful organization.

What are the behaviors you truly value? If you say you love innovative, involved employees at every level and the candidate just wants “a job” and to be left alone, making those values clear will stop you from wasting everyone’s time.

Putting a consistent, systematic hiring process in place is a must. You need to have a standardized approach for every interview and every touchpoint. Candidates will talk to each other and if their stories are different it’s potential fuel for people to say you have “issues” in your company. Do you have managers who say, “Oh I don’t need a standardized process – I just sit back, meet the person and we have a conversation.” That personal approach might be okay if you’re a small business owner hiring three people and that’s all you have. However, as you get to scale, that can be perceived as preferential treatment – and you can get burned.

Cost/Benefit and The Candidate Experience

incipioworkstg on June 26, 2020

Do you remember the last time you were a candidate for a job? How did it feel? Were you frustrated? Did the process drag on without the prospective employer giving you regular updates? If you didn’t get the job, do you still have a positive impression of the company?

The answers to all of these questions are dependent on what we call “the candidate experience.” As we talked about last month in our blogs, your recruiting process is a direct reflection of your employer brand. Prospective employees today know a great deal about your company long before they come in for a face-to-face interview. Combine that knowledge with how applicants are treated during the employment process, and it can have a lasting positive – or negative – impact on your ability to hire and retain top talent.

Before a job is even posted, it’ important to determine exactly what is needed in a new hire. Set up clear expectations and a communication process so candidates remain interested and engaged. Studies show the biggest letdown for most candidates is a lack of communication.

Once you’ve brought the candidate in the door you have to work to keep them there. Make sure you have a program of professional development in place to ensure your company’s culture helps the new hire grow and continues to feel challenged. The cost of a new hire walking out the door unhappy is enormous.

In talent acquisition, perhaps the most crucial step you can take is developing a positive candidate experience. Not only will the applicants you hire feel even more welcomed by your organization, but also the candidates you don’t hire will still respect you. As a result, they will be more likely to refer other job seekers who may be a great fit for your organizations. That in turn leads to your company seen as a great place to work and makes your hiring process efficient and successful. The best idea is to treat prospective employees as customers. Because if they aren’t customers today, they could be in the future!