A Good Employee Onboarding Program – 3 Keys to Your Company’s Success

You’ve hired the best. Now what? You only get one chance to make the right impression on your shiny new employee.

Don’t learn this lesson the hard way.

I recently took a call from a very disgruntled woman who quit her job after only 10 days due to sheer frustration. She decided to cut her losses sooner than later when she realized the owner would not take the time to help her learn the ropes.

Maybe the most telling aspect of the above story is how it impacted her personally. You can take it to the bank — quite literally — that whatever she’s telling everyone about that company is not going to be good. The cost to the employer in lost time and productivity, not to mention reputation, is already well into the tens of thousands of dollars.

Support Their Success From Day One.

When someone starts new with your company they need to feel supported, believed in, and that you are 100% committed to them being a smashing success with your company.

Do everything in your power to make onboarding a top priority for every member of every team in your company– then be sure to have a 30-60-90 day check in with your new employee to ensure they are feeling on track.

Why Onboarding?

Fact: It makes you money.
Onboarding helps new employees get up to speed and productive faster and more efficiently.

Fact: You’ll get to keep making money.
A good onboarding program creates long-term employee engagement and growth.

Fact: You could stand to lose it all.
You need new employees to stay long term to offset the looming reality of the Boomer Brain Drain … which is hitting hard and fast in the next 5-15 years.

Be Prepared!

Millennials (Gen Y) who are now just hitting their mid 20’s need lots of early attention, and that means in-depth onboarding. You may be thinking that it’s high maintenance and you’re probably right. But the fact is you need them, and the pay-offs down the road will be high performers who are committed and loyal to your company.

3 Keys to Onboarding Success

Walk the talk.

According to LinkedIn, “Studies show that a strong employer brand can cut cost per hire by over 50%.” Your job board marketing collaterals, website, recruiting and hiring processes and truly need to consistently communicate the values that drive your company and workplace culture.

Mentor Up.

Assign a more seasoned employee to every new employee, not a boss or superior, but someone they can feel safe taking their questions and concerns to.

Get Personal.

New employees are too often handed an employee handbook and forms to fill out. That’s cold. Or in the case of the employee I mentioned earlier, nothing but a chair and a desk to sit at while they ponder over the enormous pile of work left behind by the poor bastard they just replaced.

A company that shows it cares about its employees from the get-go will get years of high performing loyal employees who will build an incredible culture of engagement, empowerment and generosity in your community.

Bringing people together, team building, creating brand ambassadors … when that great new hire is treated as a human being first that goes a very long way to increase the probability that they’ll be engaged and productive from day one.

Barbara Ashton is the President and Founder of Ashton & Associates Recruiting.

Ashton & Associates Recruiting… Placing Powerful People. Every Time.

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