Employee Retention - Harness the Energy of Your New Hires

The call comes in with an offer for your dream job. It is the call you have been waiting for. You want to scream in delight – but you keep your excitement in check. You accept the job and hang up the telephone. Then you let loose with a fist pumping shriek. Your spouse runs in from the other room to see what happened. When you say that you got the job, the two of you dance around the kitchen floor like you just won the Super Bowl. Suddenly you feel like taking a trip to Disney World.

Starting a new job ranks as one of the most stressful events that a person can experience. Yet, most people feel that it is a new beginning for them and a way to show what they can do. The challenge for the hiring company is to channel that enthusiasm for the long-term benefit of the employee and the organization.

Here are a few questions to ask to do a self analysis of your orientation process for new employees.

Are your current employees tainting the on-boarding process? The first step of the challenge is to determine what your employees are really saying about your company. The best designed and motivating employee orientation program has little value when the new employee’s co-workers speak negatively about the company.

What is the status of the cliques in your company? In every organization, groups and cliques are formed. How welcoming are they to new employees in the group. Do you promote a culture that is open to new employees and new ideas or do you allow one that is closed and inhibiting?

Do you oversell the job? Many people start a job expecting it to be a professional challenge only to find it to be boring and routine. When interviewing, be sure to give the employee a realistic expectation of the job duties and responsibilities. There is nothing worse for a new employee than to have high expectations shattered within the first few days or weeks on the job.

Do you make implied promises that you may not be able to keep? Statements such as, “There is unlimited opportunity for advancement,” may make someone think they will be promoted in a short period of time. There are few guarantees in life and there are definitely no guarantees in the business world.

How effective is the initial on-the-job training? Effective new employee training includes some formal training that is supplemented with an experienced mentor. It does not matter whether the employee is an entry level individual or an experienced executive. Both have to know the basics of the job and then have someone they can turn to for questions and support. Throwing someone to the wolves or having them sit and read policies for a day is no way to indoctrinate the new employee to the culture of the company.

The initial and most lasting impression on the individual is the first impression – make it the best impression possible.