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?

Toxic Employees On Your Team

incipioworkstg on July 1, 2020

What to Do About Your Toxic Employees.

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!

Talent Attraction: Lots of Great Talent Available, Are You Ready?

incipioworkstg on June 19, 2020

It’s 2020 and Everything Has Changed

No one would argue the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has been dramatic. Our world has been reshaped in ways we can’t have imagined. However, as difficult at these current times are, there are opportunities for forward-thinking companies. Businesses should be preparing now for post-crisis recovery and growth.

Time to Scoop Up Great Talent

One important opportunity is that the pool of available talent has expanded. Far-sighted business leaders should stay calm and understand that many talented people are suddenly available. If you’re a strong business, well-capitalized with a solid growth plan, now is the time to scoop up top talent. It’s just like the stock market. When the market is down and you have cash – that’s the time to buy.

YOU NEED A PLAN. 30 Day. 60 Day. 90 Day

Pay can be important, but research shows what truly motivates workers is a high level of belonging and purpose. You want a candidate to say, “This is where I want to work.” Candidates will join an organization because they can see a company has a plan in place. That requires the right plan for the current situation. Your five-year plan may not work right now. You need to have a 30-day plan – with your workforce being a major component. You also need to have a 60-day and a 90-day plan – all based on where your revenues are today and where they might look in two or three months. Do you need to hire more people? Do you need to reorganize your current staff? These times demand flexibility.

RETENTION IS KEY

Once you get the right people in the door, you have to keep them. The cost of turnover is enormous. People today want to grow. They want professional development. They want to be valued – to know their opinions are being heard. They want to be an important part of an effective team.

LEAD WITH YOUR HEART

Perhaps in your organization, there isn’t a defined career ladder for a particular job. But you can still develop those employees professionally and help them become better at what they do. If you look at successful businesses, they’ve worked on this piece. They have an effective and engaging employee culture. They have learned to lead with their heart. They are invested in their people and as a result, have employees who are loyal. Businesses that haven’t learned will be the companies that struggle.

Your Company Culture, Share It.

incipioworkstg on May 28, 2020

Your Company Culture Matters-Share It!

When many millennials (individuals born between 1981 and 1996) were growing up, it was common for their baby boomer parents to encourage them to find a steady job – perhaps one with a pension plan and a defined pay scale. My own baby-boomer father has worked for the same company for 38 years. However, ask human resources professionals today and they’ll tell you that dynamic has certainly changed.

If your company wants to do a better job of hiring and retaining millennials, it’s important to understand what motivates them and what doesn’t. Research shows while millennials are looking for a salary and benefits package to pay off college debt, they are more drawn to a company’s culture. They look for growth opportunities, great managers and jobs that match their talents and interests. Organizations that award creativity, find ways to engage and develop workers are highly valued.

Millennials want to believe they’re contributing to a company that is making a positive impact in the world. For example, they take seriously an organization’s commitment to charity and social causes. They also value a collaborative office environment that increasingly blends work life with their outside-of-work interests and values. When organizations can provide these attributes, and promote them in their branding, they will attract millennials – and perhaps just as importantly – keep their millennial employees from pursuing the next best thing elsewhere.

Your Employer Brand is Already Out There

An organization’s branding may make it seem like the company is a great place to work. But is it? With just a bit of research, it’s easy for job applicants to find out. A quick search of the internet and social media sites gives applicants a first-hand look at a company’s culture. Moreover, sites like LinkedIn can easily let potential applicants find out if they know anyone working at the company to get the “real” story. The bottom line? Companies can’t fake it. As is often said, you have to “walk the walk” if you’re going to “talk the talk.”

Your Company’s Reputation from An Employee’s Perspective.

incipioworkstg on May 20, 2020

Lori Fain

Your Company’s Reputation From an Employee’s Perspective.

When I think of social media in relation to recruiting, it takes me straight to employer branding. Employer branding is simply the process of creating, growing, and maintaining a company’s reputation and popularity from a potential employee’s perspective. It’s a crucial way for an organization to prove its worth to candidates.

What is the number one reason employer branding is so important? It’s the business identity of your company. It’s what makes your company a great employer and one that stands out to candidates. It also helps your team attract and improve your candidate pool for current and future opportunities. Having a reputable employer brand is a must for an organization’s strategy by helping companies recruit and retain great talent, reduce hiring costs, and improve overall employee productivity.

Tell the World You Are a Great Employer

A great employer brand is one that offers a clear message about the organization and what it stands for. It shows the company is committed to consistent communication with stakeholders, raising awareness of what the organization offers.

The following steps are a great place to start when creating your employer brand. These tips should set you up to boost your employer brand and attract talented hires who are a great fit!

Message – Create an authentic message and tone of voice for your brand so candidates know exactly what to expect. Make sure the brand voice is consistent at every touchpoint by aligning the messaging on your career website with video content, the application process, assessment platforms, and one-on-one conversations with your talent management team.

Culture – Recruitment plays an influential role in nurturing culture and ensuring you’re finding great talent. Consider what type of culture you are aiming to create. Employer brand reflects your culture rather than something that can be prescribed. Building a positive culture within your organization is at the core of a strong employer brand.

Brand Perception – Employees will unquestionably use platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Glassdoor and Indeed to share their work experiences with an organization. These platforms are a source of valuable feedback to address elements of your employee value proposition. Of course, not all employees are happy all of the time so watch out for pain points that may deter top talent from applying. It is crucial that a company monitor its employee brand on an ongoing basis.

Technology – Technology is a positive asset to employer branding and provides better communication channels improving the candidate experience. Technology can streamline candidate engagement, job search, applications, assessment and selection processes, as well as interview scheduling and feedback. Thanks to technology, talent management teams can provide an exceptional candidate experience that reinforces the employer brand.

Candidates are Customers – Jobseekers want to know about a company’s expectations, work style and interview process and that information is easily accessible during their job search. They may also leave reviews about their personal candidate experience. For that reason, it is essential to provide a positive, timely, consistent, fair and engaging candidate experience.

Storytelling – Once you have initiated contact with your talent pool, keep potential candidates engaged through regular communication. Storytelling might include landing pages that show videos relevant to positions within the organization or sharing stories from current employees about their own experiences.

Storytelling is an opportunity to make your brand personal, to tell the story of real people rather than faceless associates. By using engaging human narratives, you will attract the type of candidates who see themselves creating similar stories. That increases the probability great talent will enter the top of the recruitment funnel.

Layers & Depth – There are plenty of tactics beyond the written word you can use to actively promote your employer brand. Providing an appealing vision that inspires people can often be best accomplished visually – through photography, imagery or video. Many companies are utilizing social media channels like Facebook and Instagram to connect with their target talent populations.

Depth also means making communication a conversation rather than a one-way street. Consider tools like Chatbots for helping candidates get answers to their questions or hosting online career fairs.

Own your space – Make sure you are where your target talent is. Whether it be LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest, make your impact in the right places. This tactic is especially valuable if you are trying to hire in an area that is outside your usual sphere – think of a company moving into new geographical markets.

Connect employer and corporate brand – A positive candidate experience adds value to both employer and consumer brands. Conversely, there are risks: jobseekers may stop purchasing or purchase less from a brand because of a negative candidate experience.

Employer Branding: Absolutely Essential

incipioworkstg on May 15, 2020

Lisa Bottorff

Essential, Engaging, Effective.

A company that is not working on employer branding is frankly missing the boat. With the abundance of social media avenues available today, promoting your employer brand has never been easier. Prospective applicants want to know your company is a good place to work. That your organization is fair. That you embrace diversity. That you treat employees like family. If all of this comes across in your brand, your organization becomes a place where people want to work. It is the most effective type of marketing available to you!

Developing an effective employer brand certainly starts at the top. Make sure human resources has a seat at the management table. Examine your policies and procedures and most importantly, your Mission, Vision and Values statement. Ask yourself, is the message communicated throughout your entire organization so employees on the front lines embrace it just like your management team?

Employees need to know how important their jobs are. Why that little piece they are putting on a wheel is vital – and what can happen if something happens to that wheel because they didn’t take the care required. Organizations with the most effective cultures make sure employees understand how their part of the puzzle fits in the overall picture.

How Do You Look?

You can’t hide these days. A quick Google search will turn up almost everything about your company from financial statements, employee satisfaction to pay and benefits. Your employer brand communicates it all to your community and your potential workforce. If you can get your employees bragging about how great your organization is then you’ve got it made. You won’t need to do a lot of marketing to find top talent if you’ve become a great place to work and you have everyone talking about it.