Get the most out of your new employees

We have all been through the process of hiring a new employee. Sorting through resumes, conducting phone and face-to-face interviews and checking references. It’s a long process, however, when you find the person you believe is truly a great fit for your company, it’s only then that the hard yards really begin.

McCrindle Research predicts that by 2020 the average job tenure will be approximately three years, which means as employers, we have to make sure every moment an employee spends with us counts – and that we get the best return on our human capital investment.

Imagine this: your new hire has turned up for their first day on the job, they are introduced to the team, given a brief overview of the systems and what you do, and then they are put straight to work.

They get conflicting information from different sources about what is required of them and advice from multiple people on the best way to do their job, and then they are left to piece together the jigsaw puzzle the best they can.

The end result? A staff member that can take months to work out exactly what it is that is required of them, and isn’t necessarily working towards the common goals of the business.

The solution? A streamlined, invaluable onboarding process!

Many SMEs are wising up to the value of proper onboarding processes. They understand that new hires need to be given a sense of why their role matters, where they fit into the ecosystem of the organisation, and what values they need to be demonstrating on a day-to-day basis.

Why? Because the clearer a new member of the team is on their roles, responsibilities and duties within the company, the sooner they will be able to produce results!

But it doesn’t stop there. What about your existing staff? You may have hired them in the early days, before you had time to even think about inductions or values, or even policies and procedures manuals. What do you do with them?

Why not try re-boarding? Take them back to square one; it doesn’t have to be a long and involved process, as these staff already have so much contextualised knowledge.

Bring them back into the circle by revising:

• The organisation’s values, vision and mission, and how they translate into day-to-day conduct;
• The organisation’s short and long-term objectives, and how each role contributes to them; and
• The specific value that each individual has brought to the business in their time.

It can be easy for individuals to become disenfranchised when they lose touch with why their role matters. Fundamental job tasks lose significance, and engagement levels hit all-time lows.

The importance of keeping your staff members, old and new, aligned with your business and working towards a common goal should never be undervalued. Your people are your biggest asset so ensuring their commercial value by starting them off on the correct foot is a no brainer! 

Sue-Ellen Watts is the founder and director of wattsnext, specialists in HR, recruitment, compliance and people performance.