Get the first few weeks wrong and you’ll lose an employee for good. How are smart companies winning the war of attrition?
Presidents and prime ministers generally give themselves 100 days to get their house in order: when Barack Obama reached the milestone in his inaugural term, he produced an interactive report card to steal a march on critics. Business thinker Michael D Watkins says 90 days may be a better benchmark for new CEOs, and sales of his book setting out a to-do list for the first three months suggest many agree.
The bad news is, when it comes to ensuring rank-and-file staff are happy and high-performing in their new post, you might not even have that long. HR consultancy The Wynhurst Group says 22 per cent of staff turnover happens in the first 45 days, and in some sectors it’s even starker: a report on the hospitality industry found 45 per cent of employees left full-time roles within three months, including 15 per cent in the first month.
Sometimes, losing a new hire might be best for all concerned – particularly if the role isn’t what the candidate was expecting or they feel they won’t adjust to the environment. But if you’d rather not go through the time and expense of hiring all over again, there are ways to stop your joiners becoming leavers before your eyes.
Get onboarding right
The concept of onboarding prompts much rolling of eyes outside HR circles. That’s probably because the term itself sounds so impersonal: but having a structured plan for new employees is anything but ephemeral. You might not go as far as cosmetics firm L’Oréal – where new joiners go through a two-year, six-part integration programme called ‘L’Oréal Fit’, including corporate orientation, meet and greets with key insiders, on-the-job learning, mentoring and shadowing – but pointing out the break room and leaving them to get on with it isn’t exactly conducive to proper inclusion.
“There is a basic level of need employers have to satisfy quickly,” says Roger Philby, director of consultants The Chemistry Group. “This should involve clear processes that help all starters feel valued, but we are also big believers in pre-onboarding. We give people a laptop a month before they join, so they have time to play with it and know how to use it.”
Chemistry’s ‘welcome boxes’ are also sent out in advance, and contain generic advice and company background, as well as three management books the firm expects new starters to have read before their first day. “It’s designed to give joiners a view into the company, but it’s also us saying ‘this is what we expect of you by the time you’ve joined, and if you haven’t read the books, you’ll fall foul of our expectations’,” says Philby.
Involve them in the culture
The first few weeks in a new role are still part of the elaborate employment courtship ritual. If companies aren’t making the effort to impress new hires, they shouldn’t be surprised if they aren’t fully committed to the relationship.
“Confirm the reasons why people chose to join you in the first place,” advises Charles Gould, CEO of learning consultancy Brightwave. “HR directors have to move away from a sink-or-swim approach. The cost of losing a graduate is £30,000, so it’s vital firms encourage them to feel part of the organisation – either through social activities, or social IT technology that lets people access each other and useful materials.” Access to senior leaders can help immerse staff in company values.
A global survey of 30,000 people by talent consultancy Futurestep found 76 per cent felt they ‘risked it all’ when they moved to a new job. The firm’s vice president of strategy & development, Leslie Parsons, says: “It’s high stakes for people when they move, and the most common complaint is that new staff find employers don’t define the early phase of this transition well enough.”
Don’t forget benefits
There’s nothing worse than new joiners feeling like second-class citizens, having to wait to enjoy key company perks, says Cathy Winsey, HR director at consultancy Brand Learning. Her business ensures benefits are available to all from day one, and she encourages others to follow suit. “To tell new people, who are supposedly of value, that the flexible benefits window has just closed and they’ll have to wait a year before they can change their pension, would be a pretty lousy thing to do.”
Buddy them up
Brand Learning doesn’t just show people a good time. Every new joiner is assigned a workplace friend who operates at the same level in a different department. “Buddies remove the surprises,” says Winsey. “We feel it’s important staff don’t feel adrift.” Each joiner also gets a board-level sponsor for more strategic concerns. And buddying doesn’t have to be a touchy-feely concept for pampered knowledge workers: it even delivers for the US Army. Its “Battle Buddy” programme sees trainee soldiers partner with experienced recruits.
Set performance targets
Throwing too many metrics at new starters can overwhelm them, but not defining their role can lead to uncertainty. Parsons says firms need to strike a balance: “We recommend they set targets early, around a restricted range of skills. Considering most new starters spend the first three months asking whether they’ve made the right decision, setting objectives acts positively to create reassurance.”
Targets also help employees understand how they add value. Telecoms giant Cable & Wireless used to set all new starters ‘First 90 day’ objectives, where targets were linked to the skills candidates had told interviewers they held. “Good new joiners respond well to being positively pushed,” says Parsons.
Why employees walk out in their first year
32%
Inability to meet expectations
19%
Role did not meet expectations
18%
Poor fit with corporate culture
10%
Inability to integrate with team
9%
Offered higher remuneration elsewhere
12%
Other