*This was originally posted in The Asia Pacific Headhunter last year* Although this happened in Tokyo, it addresses the global issue of transitioning new hires into your company.
About six years ago, I placed a mid-level
executive with a company in Tokyo. As is my policy, I always check up
periodically with a newly placed candidate to see how they’re getting
along in
their new job. After the first week, my candidate was a bit overwhelmed
with
the work they had given him. His direct supervisor was actually on a
business
trip, so he had to fend for himself for the first couple of days
searching for help from others. Because he wasn’t given his own
workspace
yet, he had to set up at a conference table. After the second week, he
was
thrown into the deep end to face clients about the company’s products
despite
receiving minimal training. Moreover, he was still at that conference
table. At the end of the month, he had serious doubts about whether he wanted
to stay there. He hadn’t been given his business card yet (which in Japan is extremely
important to have and easy to get), and felt that he wasn’t given any clear
goals and how he was to be assessed. As you can imagine, he just didn’t feel it
was the kind of company he wanted to be a part of.
The company was actually a successful and growing one. What went wrong? To say the least, this was a pretty extreme
case of terrible onboarding. Unfortunately for all parties involved,
time and money was wasted – he left after two months, and a repeated search for
his replacement followed. A huge lesson was learned from all of this:
Onboarding quickly and smoothly is key to productive happy employees who will
stay.
What is “onboarding”? It’s getting your newly hired talent up to
speed with the policies, processes, culture, expectations, and day-to-day
responsibilities of your company. It’s making them feel welcome and excited,
confirming why they joined your company.
Whether you’re a huge brand name
corporation with thousands of employees, or a small start-up with 3 employees,
all businesses have a similar goal: to attract talented employees and to keep
them motivated to continuously contribute to the success of your business.
Getting them motivated and on board starts
from DAY ONE.
Why onboarding is so important:
1) It builds your company’s REPUTATION for being a thoughtful
employer, with great training, clear leadership, and strong organization. Good
reputation equals good people wanting to work for you. Nobody wants to
work with a company that has unclear goals, no sense of unity, a lack of
training, and a haphazard, unorganized environment! First impressions really
count here! If this is the first impression a new hire gets, they won’t stay
there very long – and will tell everyone all about it.
2) It helps to RETAIN YOUR EMPLOYEES. After investing so much
time and money in recruiting the right candidate – why ruin it by letting them
down from day one with a poor onboarding program?
3) It REDUCES HIGH TURNOVER COSTS – in terms of both money and
time in searching, recruiting, hiring, and training.
4) It gets new employees to REVENUE-PRODUCING LEVELS quickly.
Welcome, encourage and nurture employee productivity from the beginning because
a long period of struggling to get them up to speed results in productivity
loss.
5) It builds a COHESIVE TEAM, therefore raising EVERYONE’S
productivity. Once a new hire is up to speed, the whole team moves forward,
rather than having to make up for the slack of a slower player.
Below are some basic ideas of what you
would want to do to make a new hire feel like he made a great decision to join
your company, and to want to stay there. Some things you may find really simple
and obvious – but it’s quite surprising how many companies actually don’t do any
of them, leaving the new hire to feel lost, uncertain, unmotivated, and
frustrated, like my poor candidate back in Tokyo.
Eight Ways to Effectively Get your New
Hire Onboard:
- Clearly
WELCOME them on the first day. Greetings and introductions to everyone
(or key colleagues for bigger companies). We often provide a cake with
the message “Welcome to the Team!” on the first day for morning or
afternoon tea. This is a GREAT and compelling reason to get busy
employees away from their desks for a few minutes to chat with their
new colleague over cake and coffee. Another good option is to have an
informal get-to-know you lunch with colleagues.
- Even before their first day,
give them a written full job description and company manual/policies
that clearly explains job responsibilities and goals, outlining what’s
expected of them and how they will be assessed. Poor onboarding
programs often fail to clearly explain what’s expected of the new
employee – with no clear goals or outcomes defined.
- Set aside a good length of
time with no interruptions for the employee to sit with you so that
they can ask questions about the job description/company policy that
they have already read.
- Designate a “mentor” to help the new employee during the first couple weeks.
- Automated onboarding software
is the way to go, esp. in larger companies. Administrative things like
payroll, healthcare, stock options, sick days, etc. – all those things
need to be ready to go.
- Discuss with the new hire how
you’ll be checking in on their progress. Schedule 20-minute meetings
for the end of the first day, first week, first month, six weeks, etc.
to gain feedback from the employee on their self-assessment and general
concerns. Be prepared each time with a
set of questions/checklists to go over.
- Incorporate a set TRAINING
PROGRAM on your company’s products and services. Avoid throwing a new
hire into the deep end without giving them sufficient training, no
matter how experienced or quick on their feet they are. Of course, this
all depends on the nature of the position and the qualifications of the
employee, but gauge carefully how much you throw at them without giving
them proper training.
- Have designated workspace all
ready with all office supplies provided. You wouldn’t believe how often
a new employee is stuck in a cubicle with everyone else’s stuff still
in it. Or having to wait for his computer to be networked.
By doing any
combination of these, preferably all, you are showing your new employee your
commitment to helping them succeed and achieve personal and business goals in
their new position and environment. By investing time in getting them onboard
quickly and smoothly and making them feel welcome, you are being a thoughtful
employer people want to work for and stay with.
Next Action
Points:
1) What is your onboard program?
2) How can you improve it?
