The Importance of the Hiring and Onboarding Process

July 1, 2019

Have you ever consider the reason why there is a high turnover rate at some companies or why you see several open positions at other companies? Are they growing or replacing employees that have left the company? Turnover happens in all companies but how long do employees stay before considering other opportunities? Do they determine in the first day or week that they made the wrong choice and start to look elsewhere or do they give the company longer to see if they will fit within the environment and worth investing their time? According to workplace.com, 20% of turnover happens in the first 45 days of employment. The time it takes to replace employees and the cost of training makes it important to invest in an onboarding program that creates a welcoming environment and shows the benefits of investing time in the company as an employee. Each step in the hiring and onboarding process is important and sets the standard of what you expect of your employees as well as the support you are willing to provide for the success of each team member.

Whether a company is hiring to replace a position or growing their team, the process around hiring a new employee can be daunting. The hope is to fill any open position as quickly as possible to continue to retain the client business with little or no disruption. However, the hiring process can sometimes take 2-4 weeks or longer if there is not a positive response to the job posting. For larger companies, there may be an approval process for a new position prior to opening the available posting, which could delay the recruiting process. While interviewing candidates, it is important to remember that the initial interview is the first impression any new employee will have about a company and the people they employ. During the interview, it will be necessary to give a clear understanding of the job requirements and expectations of the new employee. You are looking for the best person to fill your position; however, they are looking for the best position and company that fits their personal needs. It is important to sell your company to the interviewee as much as it is for them to sell themselves as your best candidate. The first way to retain an employee is to be honest with them from the start. If it is a difficult job, do not gloss over that information. Let them know there are some challenges to the position but back it up with what benefits the company and the team has that will make the position worth the work. Giving them an idea of what to expect prior to their employment will help to reduce any concern or confusion that may result after they start. Being honest in the job interview also starts to create an open relationship with the potential new hire and the manager.

Once the best candidate is selected and the hiring process is complete, the next determination will regard the onboarding process. We all want to hire someone who is qualified and can immediately jump in to do the job with little training; unfortunately, most companies have specific company policies or account information that will require instructional time before being left to work independently. Some questions to answer while selecting the best onboarding process are the following: will the employee be virtual or in an office with other employees? Does the company have an official trainer or will a manager conduct the training? Is there already a structured onboarding process to follow for the company or will one need to be created specifically for this employee? Answering all of these questions prior to the employee’s start date is the best way to create a structured training plan and stable environment for the new hire. While creating the onboarding process, you may want to be as detailed as a day to day list of actions to be completed or a general overview of information to touch during the first few days or employment. Creating the training plan prior to the start day also allows you to show that you are invested in the development of your new employee.

On day one, it is important to introduce the new employee to their manager, their team, and the person they will be working with closely for the training process. If they are virtual, create an electronic introduction to the team by email or through the company intranet. The team will want to be familiar with the new employee as well and help to create a welcoming environment on their first day. After the introductions, take them on a tour to make sure they are familiar with the building, their desk or office location, where the break room and facilities are located and provide any the access needed to the space they will be using daily. After the initial greeting and tour, set up a meet and greet with the CEO of the company if possible or their manager’s manager. Providing an opportunity for the upper leader to meet their new employee and explain to them the importance of their job and how they will fit in with the company will open up the line of communication on day one and allows the new employee a bit more insight into how the company functions. A meeting with their direct manager should also be included day one to help create an easy level of communication. This meeting could also dictate the additional specifics of the daily job as well as give the new employee an opportunity to express their future career goals. We all want to hire someone that is determined to be successful in their current role, but if they are looking for more, it is important to know that as well. Helping employees grow and meet their goals within your company is another way to retain them. If they do not feel they have an opportunity to develop within the company, they will start to look for some place that can offer this option.

The meeting with the manager should also explain the next steps of the training and provide a schedule. The training schedule could be basic for each day or broken down by time specific details throughout the day. Either option will help create an understanding of how long it is expected the training to take as well as give a clear understanding when they plan for the employee to be ready to be on their own. Training can be online, with a group, or individual instruction or a combination of all three. During any training, it is important to make sure the new employee feels comfortable asking questions and having conversations with a trainer or manager to clarify any information they may not understand. Through the training process, scheduling quick chat meetings, daily or weekly, with their manager will be a good way to track progress or allow for any additional questions. Opening this communication will also help the new employee create a bond with their manager and allow them to feel that they are an integral part of the company and team. Most employees appreciate having an open door policy with their manager for the ability to discuss the job, any challenges or concerns they have. Open conversations with their manager can help the employee feel as though their opinions matter and investing their time within the company is worth it.

Whether you are planning a virtual or onsite training, handing the new employee a training schedule for the day or week will help to answer some of their initial questions about what to expect. It could also outline contact information and location of reference material if something were to come up unexpectedly the first week. A training plan is just as important as determining who will be conducting the training. Whoever is managing the training will need to make sure that they are clear, concise and consistent. Part of the training strategy is the understanding that putting too much information in front of the new hire could overload them and reduce their retention rate. Break up the training with introductions to the team or give them the time to observe other employees who are in the same position. They can have a clear understanding in the first few days the types of clients they will be helping while in this position. The onboarding process should also include time to review company policies or national standards and can be broken down through the first week or covered the first day of employment. Providing a structured training schedule the first day is a great starting point and sets a good impression with any new candidate. Without some type of structure, it could be cause for the new employee to feel less important or start to consider they made a mistake with selecting this company and already start looking for other opportunities.

After the training is complete, it is important to continue to provide added support for the new employee. Providing efficient reference materials is also key to enhancing the new hire experience. The information provided will need to be valid and located somewhere easily accessible. Since most information is electronic, it may be wise to create a share drive where the team or company will be able to access the information needed. Having the information electronic also allows changes to be updated timely and accessible to all that use it daily. Any reference material can enhance the training process and allows the new hire to review the material at their own pace. Providing a team mentor or “buddy” for the new employee to reach out to with questions could help them become more comfortable with the daily job and create added communication within the team. It allows them someone to reach out to for quick questions outside for the weekly meetings with their manager. The weekly manager meeting does not have to be long, but just enough time to review things that may have been briefly covered during the initial training or possible changes that may be coming to the team. These weekly meetings can be done as a group meeting with other new hires or as an individual meeting with the manager and should allow the new hire to freely ask questions that may have come up the previous week. These meetings do not have to continue as the new employee settles into the position, but it can help add to the open communication up with their manager. If the weekly meetings are between the new hire and manager only, it could be a good time to review the employee’s progress and performance metrics and help in any development they may be seeking within the team and company. The manager should also be willing to listen and receive feedback from the new employee as their past experiences may be part of why you hired them. They may be new to your company, but their wealth of knowledge could help your team or company’s progress. Being open to change as a manager and listening to the new employee’s feedback on the training, reference materials or daily processes, can also allow the new hire to feel that they are contributing and necessary to the company.

Successful hiring and onboarding can help reduce any concerns that an employee has selected the wrong company for their career. Creating open communication with their manager and upper leaders also allows the employee to feel they are a contributing partner to the success of the team and company. Overall the onboarding plan should be the initial key to creating an environment that new employees will feel confident in their decision to join your company and develop their career. Knowing the potential reasons for turnover can be simply that the employee does not feel the job is what they signed up for, having a poor relationship with their manager or they had a bad training experience can all be corrected in the hiring and onboarding process. It will help reduce the time and money spent on training someone who was already looking for a new opportunity on the first day of employment with your company.