In an earlier post (and featured article) we discussed the value of making your new employee a valued part of your team. The focus in that article was safety. Clearly genuine concern for your employees’ physical well being is important for everyone in your organization. It also is a means to communicate your personal interest in each employee’s success in your organization.
After all, success is why we all go to work isn’t it?
Well, maybe not everyone. This new article discusses the results of a survey of 1005 employees over 24 years of age to find out why they’ve quit jobs in the past. While some of the top 5 reasons might be out of the control of the employer, for example the employee changed their mind about the type of work they wanted to do, there are several items that better on-boarding and better supervisory choices would help.
For example, who hasn’t worked for a jerk? If an employee has a choice there’s little chance they’ll put up with someone who is out to defeat them and, by extension, the company. It makes anyone wonder what senior management was thinking when they promoted someone like that.
Assuming supervisors and management understand that company success depends on individual success, then the next sensible step to retaining new hires is to properly bring them on board. Things like assigning a buddy or mentor to help bring them into the fold, or training them to be successful in the ways of your company and your expectations for their job performance seem obvious, but evidently are commonly overlooked.
The result is high turnover and all the waste of resources that go with it. The survey report gives concrete ideas on how you can improve your company’s performance by better on-boarding practices. Whether or not you are suffering from high turnover, quickly making your new employees effective and successful in your business is something that can always be improved.