The numbers are well documented: Failing to retain a new hire costs companies a considerable amount of money. Hiring the wrong people who fail to achieve success is equally costly. If your goal is to hire well and retain the employee long-term then there are a few things you need to do to set the new hire up for success in their first three months. Here are some tips to help your new employees succeed.
How to Set Your New Hire Up for Success
Onboard early.
New hire success starts before they even walk in the door. Your onboarding process should give them the tools they need early, before their first day. For example, we recommend sending new hire paperwork the week before the job starts. Train your recruiters to keep in touch with candidates in that crucial two-week window before they start the job to help them feel more at home. That way, the new candidate can literally hit the ground running by having their paperwork completed and feel that they are already a part of the team.
Set expectations.
Each new employee should have a clear set of focused, attainable goals. Setting expectations early on, even during orientation, and certainly in the first week, is a good way to give the new employee a sense of how to be successful. Train your managers to meet with employees to map out long-term career goals. Each employee should have monthly and quarterly goals to attain. Management should lead more with the carrot than the stick—make sure they reward workers often to help keep them engaged.
Start out small.
Set goals with the new worker, not for them. The goals should be small, incremental, and measurable so that the worker can hit the numbers frequently during their first 90-days. This will keep them motivated. Over time, you can work together to build up goals to make them more challenging and chart a roadmap toward promotion and growth.
Open door policies.
Don’t stifle the creativity and innovation of your workforce by shutting down their questions and ideas. Establish an open-door policy across the organization. Allow your teams to ask questions, make suggestions, to help them feel at home right out of the gate.
Give them a mentor.
Team the new employee up with a long-term employee in the department so they immediately have a buddy on the team. The mentor can take the new employee out to lunch (even if it’s a virtual lunch) and be there to answer any questions and help. This immediately will make the employee feel more at home and welcomed to the organization.
Have weekly check-ins.
The key to keeping an employee on track is to be sure they’re happy. But if you’re not touching base with the employee regularly, how will you know? Weekly check-ins can help managers take the pulse of the new employee over their first 90-days—and beyond. Create an open dialogue with your new worker, which will help you understand any problems that the worker might be having well before they turn into a problem big enough to make them leave.
A.C.Coy knows setting a new hire up for success starts with top candidates as well clear communication between the recruiter, the company-client, and the future employee. Talk with our team about how we can help your company meet its hiring goals.
