How to get new recruits up to speed … fast!

In a lively employment market, and at a time when skills shortages are becoming a

real issue, employers need to make sure they keep hold of their best talent.

But research suggests that many businesses are finding it challenging to hang on

to their Gen Y employees for any substantial length of time.

A study from Ashridge found that the average job tenure for today’s “digital

natives” is just two years, while press reports suggest that at tech companies like

Google and Amazon, it can be as little as 12 months.

Of course there are a whole host of reasons why people decide to change

employers:

• The position didn’t turn out to be as expected

• They don’t get along with their boss or colleagues

• They’ve had a better offer

A carefully planned on-boarding process can help to settle new employees—and

avoid the recruitment costs that come with fast turn-over.

So, what can employers do to get new people up to speed and productive as

quickly as possible?

1. Plan for new arrivals

Managers often feel that they don’t have time to plan out a standard on-

boarding process for new starters, so instead they give a quick tour and leave

them to get on working.

1. Plan for new arrivals

This can leave newbies feeling lost. Make sure your on-boarding process helps

your recruit to orient themselves in the first couple weeks. Make sure it covers all

the essential information and people they need to know—but spread the

meetings and appointments giving them a chance to breathe.

2. Be clear about roles and responsibilities

To settle into their role, a new recruit needs to know: the task at hand, who to go

to for help, and how their success will be measured. It’s best to sit down with

them in the first couple days to be clear about what their objectives should be.

2. Be clear about roles and responsibilities

The key to setting people up for success (and happiness) is open, honest

communication with their manager. Setting up frequent, informal check-ins can

be a great way to start.

3. Give people the tools to do the job

More often than you’d think, employees show up to their first day on the job to

find they haven’t been allocated a computer, e-mail address, or security pass.

New employees also need to be informed about company rules, policies and

procedures.

3. Give people the tools to do the job

Make sure all the basics have ben sorted out in advance—so they at least feel

expected. With an up-to-date HR solution, employees can find all the company’s

central information in one place, like an HR portal

4. Help new recruits build strong internal networks

It is important that people feel welcome from day one. Once they’ve settled in,

provide plenty of opportunity for new recruits to get to know people from across

the business as well as those they’ll be working with directly.

4. Help new recruits build strong internal networks

Using internal social portals (like those that come with a modern HR system) and

digital org. charts are great ways for people to easily find who’s who and allows

staff to connect and collaborate informally. Failure to establish inter-personal

relationships is one of the key reasons people leave their jobs, so make

community culture immersion a priority!

5. Provide training

To feel fully confident in a role, people need training. This could greatly

differ, based on the position, but at the very least introductions to internal

software/databases and company specific jargon and acronyms are critical.

5. Provide training

Familiarise new recruits with the “way things work” and how decisions are made in

the business. The first few weeks are also a good time to emphasise the importance

the business places on developing its staff—a key factor in many employees’

decisions on whether to stay with a company. Openly advertise training

programmes, job shadowing and stretch projects to develop your recruits’ careers.

One action to take this week:

Find out what your retention rate is for new hires. Think about what small measures you can put in place immediately to improve chances of people staying.

For more HR tips, check out Cezanne HR blog:

http://cezannehr.com/hr-blog/