Onboarding – Hiring and Retaining the Right Staff

You’ve found Ms. or Mr. Right! Congratulations!!

 Now, how do you keep them??? How do help them succeed AND help the firm be successful?

 That’s a very good question as turnover in any position is costly – money and moral.

 Recall - in a Healthy Culture…

1.       In Healthy Culture – you feel safe, understood, nurtured, respected, creative, innovative, clear, happy, ready, and wanting to work.

2.       In a Healthy Culture – it’s easy to have trusting, respectful, reliable, supportive, empathic relationships.

3.       In a Healthy Culture - individuals and the organization prospers.

First and foremost – retaining staff doesn’t just happen – don’t leave it up to chance.

Create a mindful, formal, informal, well executed onboarding plan.

“Onboarding is the process of connecting employees to the company, to the job, to their coworkers, and to the culture. It reduces turnover and mistakes due to misunderstanding. It’s all about the connection and goes beyond what it traditionally known at orientation. It is the process of continuing to check with the employee until they feel that they have ‘gotten’ it.”[i]

Let’s start at the beginning…

Welcome!

Right of the bat, the employee must feel welcomed.

Make sure everyone knows they are coming, what her/his name is and their role in the firm.

Have their workspace ready for them with a welcoming message. If business cards are important to their job, have a small supply ready for them day one. This helps to solidify YOUR commitment to them and ultimately their commitment to you.

Introduce them to peers and superiors informing the new employee what each persons’ role is.

Assign a mentor – a positive, affirming peer they can informally ask questions of and include them in social interactions and help them ‘learn the ropes’ - aid with assimilation into the Culture of the firm.

Review any policies, procedures, safety information, dress codes, etc. (e.g. Employee Handbook) so they have explicit knowledge of these formal expectations.

Next – Self Efficacy and Clarity…

[i] Onboarding is NOT Orientation – How to Improve the New Employee Experience, Haberman, Michael