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You’ve interviewed, narrowed the field and hired the right person for the job. And chances are, if you’re welcoming someone new to the field, there will be some additional training involved from day one. This gives you the opportunity to take a closer look at how you welcome team members, set expectations, and encourage them to succeed (and grow) within their new role.
To be clear, your onboarding process is much more than just helping employees get situated. New employees are optimistic and eager to connect with a new position and company culture upon starting. Those who aren't properly onboarded or report that they were improperly trained are more likely to leave, and those quick departures can get expensive.
As cited in this University of Minnesota report, author Leigh Branham writes in her book, “Keeping the People Who Keep You in Business” that “the cost of losing an employee can range from 25 percent to 200 percent of that employee’s salary.” In addition to this extraordinary cost, an employee exit can result in significant reputational damage to the organization, both internally and among job seekers.
So, as a small business owner, how do you avoid this costly pitfall? If you’re in a hurry to hire, there likely isn’t time to tailor onboarding experiences for each incoming employee. It’s easier to establish guidelines that approach the training in a consistent, measurable way.
Training needs to be specialized
While customization, time and effort are often mutually exclusive, this is one area where you'll need to bend. It's not to say that employees – and the businesses that employ them – can't benefit from cross-training, of course. However, trying to teach too much too soon is an easy way to overwhelm a new hire right back out the door. Training priorities should mirror the new hire’s primary job responsibilities.
Take a loose approach to training
Again, discipline is great for consistency, but if your new hire doesn't feel comfortable straying off-book or asking questions, you're going to have problems. Strict training programs (think of an employee staring listlessly at a screen as a video series plays) are often time-intensive, expensive and quickly outdated. Think about your company as it operates today, and make sure your training emphasizes present and forward-looking values and skills.
Be ready to go as an employer
This is a logical step toward making a good first impression with your new employee. If they arrive on their first day to a scramble for a desk, confusion as to what log-ins they'll need, or muddled ideas about whom they'll report to, they're likely to mirror that behavior when it comes to "owning" their work later. Have resources on hand so that new hires only have to focus on learning their new position.
Ask something specific and set clear expectations
You know the work you're asking your new employee to do – they don’t. It's up to you to lay out expectations from the start, and a 90 or 180-day goal is a great way to go about it. Where do you see this employee in three or four months? What should they be doing independently? Set a meeting on the goal date to discuss their progress, and hopefully, their achievement. Knowing that the meeting is in their fixed future will motivate the employee to tackle obstacles with purpose, and even spur them to reach out for help if they're struggling with something challenging.
Raise excitement and invite exploration
One of the most common complaints employees share, regardless of company size or industry, is that management either doesn't listen to them or doesn't care about them. Nip this issue in the bud by helping your new employees get excited about the benefits that await them, whether it be handing them a list of paid holidays, throwing a small "welcome to work" when they arrive or giving them easy access to information about product discounts and similar perks. Ask them what they're most excited about exploring in your company and in their position and help them facilitate that. They'll feel welcomed and rewarded for their service from the first day on.
As the job market ebbs and flows, the same goes for your pool of job candidates. If your organization aims to not only land but keep the best employees available, then your efforts should start on their hire date. Your business isn't their only choice for employment, so convincing new employees they made the right decision should be as important as getting their signature on their offer letter.
For more information
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BBB Great West + Pacific contributed this article.