Employee On-Boarding—The First Year
Written by Michelle Wachtel, SPHR
New employee on-boarding continues well beyond their first 90 days with your company. Don’t take for granted that the early indications guarantee long-term success. Make sure to have regular conversations with them regarding their progress and solicit feedback as to their expectations.
The average tenure for any employee is three years. If there are other opportunities within your company for a new employee to grow or transfer into, make sure the employee understands and is empowered to take the proper steps to make that move. If you spend one third of an employee’s time with your company acclimating and training them, why not capitalize on that investment and work with the employee to move within your company versus look outside the organization to start all over with another new hire.
Sure, that’s easier said than done. However, strategically and cost-effectively it should begin when you are interviewing and assessing the candidate for hire. Make note and follow up on their aspirations as well as the opportunities you perceive for them. The quickest distance between two points, isn’t always a straight line. Sometimes a skilled curve can be an excellent way to retain the talent you hired and avoid starting over with on-boarding. This is where performance conversations and regular, real-time feedback become critical managerial skills to employ and play a big part in retaining the employees you worked so hard to integrate into your company.
