Onboarding is important for assimilation and productivity, but it’s also your first opportunity to boost retention.
‘There’s Nothing I Can Do’
Many managers have the attitude, “I wish management would do something about retention.” That’s the first thing to correct—it’s every manager’s and supervisor’s job to work on retention. They should realize that it’s for their own good. Turnover (of good people) is their department’s most debilitating disease.
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First of all, it eats away at the manager’s personal productivity—job requisitions, postings, interviews, reference checks, and training suck up a lot of valuable time.
Second, turnover is a morale killer. Everyone else has to pitch in and get the job done while the position is vacant. And then there’s the inevitable, “Why are all our good people leaving? What do they know that I don’t know? Should I start putting together my résumé?”
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Retention Starts Day One … and Continues Every Day
Managers and supervisors who have great retention rates share several behaviors: They think of their employees as customers; they recruit every day; and they remember that their actions are always on display.
Employees Are Customers
How far would you go to retain a good customer? Make sure you put that level of interest in retaining your employees.
- What do they care about?
- Do they understand their contribution and do you show that you value that contribution?
- What can you do today to make sure you retain them as a customer?
Recruit Every Day
As the saying goes, better recruit your best people every day … your competitors are. Try to avoid that oft-referenced situation where managers and supervisors spend 80 percent of their time on the poorest-performing 20 percent of their employees.
Recruit with confidence—regardless of your organization’s size. Find out how to revitalize your small business’s culture and attract top talent with the free report, How Small Businesses Can Win the Recruiting Battle. Learn More
You Are on Display
Your actions speak louder than any policy or handbook declaration. “Our employees are our most valuable asset” sounds good on paper. Do you live up to that premise in your day-to-day dealings with employees?
You Have a Road Map
During the interviewing process, you found out about the new employee’s aspirations and expectations. And you probably made a few promises about the future as well. Together, those lists will help you build a retention road map for that employee.
Onboarding
Too many managers think that onboarding is something HR does with new employees the first day to get them signed up for benefits.
To be effective, onboarding is an involved process that lasts weeks or months. There are business methods and approaches to be learned, contacts to be made with key players in different departments, and various assimilation activities that help the new person be comfortable and contributing.
Remember that new employees are often reluctant to ask for help, so keep careful tabs on their work. Consider assigning a “buddy.”
In tomorrow’s Advisor, we presenta helpful infographic on retention and onboarding, plus we introduce the special report from BambooHR, How Small Businesses Can Win the Recruiting Battle.