Retaining employees is of paramount importance. Unemployment is at an all-time low and companies are adding jobs at a rate of over 200,000 per month. When you hire a new employee the path to retaining them long term starts during the first few days of their tenure.
The quality of a new hire orientation dictates the employee’s first impression of your company. I have even seen employees leave new jobs in a month or less. That means they were job hunting just after they started working. Their opinion of the future environment and success potential was so low, that they were willing to endure the stress and uncertainty of job hunting.
Employees are inspired (or demotivated) by how they see your company meeting their future needs. Each piece of your orientation should show them that they can expect support, inclusion, promotion, empowerment, and growth. Here are a few key elements:
- Have your IT person ready first thing, with logins and any needed instruction. Generally access to a computer is one of the first things an employee will need. Even something as simple as email. Show them you are an organized company that prioritizes employee needs.
- Tour the new hire through every part of your facility. Even if there are sections that might not be a part of their daily work routine (other unconnected departments). Let them know you are open, transparent, and inclusive.
- Introduce your new employee to a minimum of every department head, and key front line employees. Imagine if someone calls for your new employee and the receptionist doesn’t know they exist, or the janitor skips their workspace because they didn’t know anyone was using it.
- Prepare a written list of activities for their first few days. Every Manager has great intentions, wanting to spend maximum time with a new hire, but business critical things pop up and odds are the new person is going to be left to their own devices for some period of time. Avoid having a new hire sitting and staring around the office wondering what to do next, feeling abandoned.
- Have a successful employee, that started in a similar position, sit down and give them their story. Explain how they navigated the job, and were able to flourish.
When a person starts and can see that you are attentive to their needs, and make them feel a high level of inclusion you are giving your company the best opportunity to retain them.
If you need more help crafting an orientation plan, just contact us. We can definitely help!