THE KEY to keeping staff is for managers and employers to implement a formal onboarding process, which is designed to help integrate a new employee into the organisation’s culture, and develop their skills and training needs, according to a national recruitment firm
THE KEY to keeping staff is for managers and employers to implement a formal onboarding process, which is designed to help integrate a new employee into the organisation’s culture, and develop their skills and training needs, according to a national recruitment firm.
“It’s about maintaining new employee’s expectations – ensuring those expectations are realistic from the start, and then meeting those expectations – particularly within the first three months of work,” said Lorraine Christopher, general manager for Chandler Macleod’s Recruitment Solutions.
“It has also been shown that the more quickly an employee is integrated and settled into a new working environment, the faster they will achieve returns for an employer.”
If an employer or manager can keep closely in touch with their new employee, she said they will be better equipped to know what that person needs to become engaged in their business, and committed to contributing to that company’s success.
While there are no quick fix solutions to reducing staff turnover, Christopher said it is important to realise that each part of the recruitment and onboarding process is a link in the chain.
“In the current climate, if employers don’t pay attention to their new staff, they may become disillusioned very quickly and are likely to quit unexpectedly, or are vulnerable to being poached back from their former employee.”
Forty-seven per cent of staff turnover occurs within the first ninety days of employment, according to Recruitment Solutions research.
As such, there has been an increasing number of organisations, both large and small, taking action to address this issue, according to Christopher. While acclimatising a new employee to the organisation may seem like a big investment at the time, it is simply too big a risk for an employer to ignore, she said.
“The cost of losing an employee in their first year of employment is estimated at three times their annual salary, plus the hire cost of approximately 25 per cent to 30 per cent. If we take an employee on a salary of $50,000, this equates to a loss of up to $165,000,”she said.
“Just multiply that by the number of staff lost in the past year, and some companies may be shocked by the figure they come up with.”
There are a number of techniques for ensuring employee satisfaction and long-term commitment, according to Christopher, which should start at the beginning of the recruitment process.
These include: creating a meaningful job description; having clear performance indicators; having a clear profile of the individual required for the role; and providing a true and accurate profile of the organisation.
Steps in onboarding
There are a number of steps in putting together a creative and structured onboarding program, according to Lorraine Christopher, general manager for Chandler Macleod's Recruitment Solutions, which can include:
· A session on corporate history and values of the organisation
· An overview of the CEO's strategy and financial goals
· A meet-and-greet session with senior-level executives
· An explanation and example of performance reviews
· A tailored coaching and mentoring program
· Skills development and training
· Regular formal and informal two-way feedback to assess the employee's progress and concerns
