06 Jul Employee Onboarding Pre-employment and Day One
Fifty years ago a new employee would enter the work force, work their way up the corporate ladder, and retire with the same company. Due to the nature of our current job market, that scenario rarely exists. Studies show that roughly 33% of employees make the decision to stay onboard with a firm or leave within the first 30 days of employment. Additionally 22% of staff turnovers occur during the first 45 days of employment with 4% leaving immediately after a disastrous first day. With such glaring statistics why do employers treat new employee orientation as an inconvenience?
Employee Onboarding – The basics
Every company is required by law to complete a few basic steps:
- Have your new employee fill out an IRS form W-4
- Have your new employee fill out an I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification and verify eligibility.
- Have your new employee complete your state’s withholding form
- Report your new employee to your state’s new hire reporting agency and, if applicable, have the employee fill out the necessary forms
Most employers just leave it at that. Some have internal paperwork such as a job application or employee identification form to fill out. If the company has an employee handbook you generally give it to your employee the first day. That’s it.
If employers are so unsuccessful at employee retention why do they place such little effort on an employee’s first day?
They say first impressions last a lifetime. As an employer, you want to create a first impression that will foster a relationship with your employee. After all, the cost of an employee leaving in the first year is estimated to be three times their salary.
The key to retention is a successful onboarding program
After you have the boring required and necessary paperwork out of the way, it’s time to begin integrating your new employee into your company’s culture. It takes nearly 6 months for a new employee to reach their potential. Anything you do to help them on the way will contribute to their success.
Prepare for your new employee
As simple as this sounds it is sadly ignored quite often. My colleagues have regaled me with first day horror stories and unfortunately many had the same theme. Their new employer did not prepare a space for them. They often had to share an office or worse stand around their first few days with nothing to do. Give your employee their own space. Have an office, cube, or desk stocked with the required tools to do their job. Welcome them with a small gift to let them know you truly want them there.
Speaking of boring paperwork
Have the forms available to your new hire as soon as possible. With the availability of cloud storage, and email it’s easy to provide them with this information quickly and prior to their first day. And for the employer, it’s also easy for you to find the forms online if the HR department does not have a copy for you.
- IRS Form W-4 can be found on the IRS website under the Forms and Publications tab
- The I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification form can be found on uscis.gov. The e-verify system is also located on the website for fast verification.
- Each state has different withholding forms. Those can be found on your states Department of Revenue website.
If your company has any internal documents, such as a handbook, insurance forms, or an application, send those ahead of time as well. There is no need to waste half of your employees first day drowning them in HR paperwork.
Your employees first day
It’s your new hires first day. As an employer you’ve already made a huge investment in this new hire. You want to be sure it is a great fit so take the time to foster the relationship. Your new employee has a new environment to adjust to, new names to learn, a new system to learn, and a new location to navigate. Make the first day special.
Greet your new employee
Let the receptionist or security know what time to expect the new employee. Make sure they alert you to their arrival so you can meet them at the front door. Get coworkers involved too. Introduce everyone in order to create a comfortable environment.
Give your new hire the run-down of the office environment
Show them where the bathrooms, printers, supply closets, and anything important for the worker’s job are located. Show your new hire where they will be working and give them a few minutes to settle in. Have the new employee shadow a coworker at first in order to be comfortable.
Explain the culture of your workplace
This can be the most important part of their first day. Does your company have casual Friday? Let them know right away. Don’t just put the dress code in the employee manual. Stress any important information contained in the employee manual. Don’t assume they have read it. In addition let the employee know how the office handles time keeping. Is your office a strict time-punching 8 to 5 business or are employees allowed to have flexible hours? Share the company’s mission statement and let them know how you feel about it. Also let your new hire know about any social engagements the office regularly participates in. Do you have a company softball team? Are there after work networking mixers? If your office is lacking anything deemed as “fun” make sure to highlight the generous benefits package and how it’s impacted your life.
Finally, have lunch with your new employee
Your new hire will be alone and most likely will not have a lunch buddy. Make them feel included. As Maya Angelou says “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Creating familiarity breeds comfort. Comfort is the key to retaining employees.
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