It’s hard to fill a bucket when there’s a hole in the bottom of it. Similarly, growing your team is much more of a challenge when your new hires aren’t even staying on for 30 days.
Implementing straightforward changes to your onboarding program can make a world of difference when it comes to helping employees feel confident and comfortable in their new roles.
Roll Out the Welcome Wagon
It cannot be overstated how important it is for your new hires to feel a sense of belonging with your team early on. If team members feel disposable, it’s that much easier for them to walk out the door after a couple of bad days on the job.
It’s best to have new hires fill out their necessary HR paperwork prior to their start date so the first day can be spent connecting them with their peers and touring your facility. Additionally, having their uniforms, PPE and necessary login credentials ready and waiting for them is another signal to them that they matter enough to plan ahead.
From day one, take the time to get to know new hires personally as being intentionally invested will help them feel supported. Small gestures like providing employees with a goodie bag, a gift card to their favorite restaurant or a hand-written card from the owner can all leave a lasting impression.
For instance, Ground Works Land Design opts to create a video introducing their new hire to the rest of the team by highlighting the person’s interests. At the end of the week, the company has a restaurant deliver food to the new hire’s house for their family.
Set Clear Expectations
Another key to setting employees up for success is taking the time to educate them on how the company operates and explaining your company’s mission and values. Instead of focusing on the what, explaining why you do what you do can help team members have a better sense of their purpose.
It’s also important to go through each individual’s job expectations and what success will look like in their role.
“I think it’s good, regardless if somebody is experienced, to talk about the expectations of what a day looks like and the expectations for a month looks like,” says Chris Psencik, partner and vice president of McFarlin Standford. “Because everybody, even though they may all be account managers managing maintenance portfolios, they all come from very diverse backgrounds. The methodology that we may have and teach may be the polar opposite from what they’ve experienced.”
Basic safety topics should also be covered so they know the PPE is nonnegotiable and who they should ask questions to if something feels unsafe.
Avoid Information Overload
While it can be tempting to cover every single aspect of safety and training in one day so you can get new workers out in the field as soon as possible, this is also a formula for employees to feel overwhelmed and confused.
It’s been said if you want to teach someone nothing, show them everything. Instead, structure your training at the level of the employee being onboarded and focus on breaking the information into digestible chunks over the span of 7 to 14 days. Tapping into a video training platform can also allow new hires to learn at their own pace.
Pairing your employee with a mentor can assist with them feeling safe to ask questions on the job. The mentor doesn’t have to be their direct supervisor. Sometimes selecting an experienced peer can help them be more likely to speak up.
Schedule Regular Check-Ins
One of the best tools to help with early retention is checking in with your new team members on a regular basis. This can provide you with a chance to note any early warning signs of disengagement. These meetings shouldn’t be used to check the box but to address any small frustrations they may be experiencing early on, so they don’t result in them eventually quitting.
Avoid only addressing the mistakes the new hire may be making in these meetings. You can discuss the employee’s progress without leaving them feeling discouraged. Praise them for where they are doing well as this helps reinforce that behavior.
Ask them about what’s been going well and if there’s anything that’s still unclear for them. Some other questions to consider asking include:
- Is anything about the job different from what you expected?
- Is there any equipment or task you’d like more practice with?
- What would make your day-to-day work smoother?
- What’s one win you’ve had this week?
- What’s something we could do better for new hires?
