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You are here: Home / Archives for New Hires

3 Critical Elements in a Successful Employee Onboarding Program

September 16, 2016 by recruitdc Leave a Comment

By James Mitchell

Employee onboarding is a crucial component of effective business operations, providing your new hires with the background knowledge they need to perform their job duties to expectations. New employees may have industry experience or expertise, but they’re reliant on you to equip them with the knowledge they need to perform well within their role. To build a solid foundation with every new employee, your onboarding program should contain several critical elements.

Demonstrate Values, Procedures, and Policies Through Employee Stories

Your organization may have regulatory oversight, or you may have your own policies and procedures that create the framework for the way you deliver products or services. While you could simply provide new hires with a manual and expect them to spend the next three weekends poring over every detail, it’s more engaging and effective to demonstrate these values and company policies with real-world stories and examples from existing employees.

Not only does the sharing of stories cultivate information retention by putting concepts in context, but it also helps to communicate unspoken standards that exist within the company’s culture. Finally, stories can help to make new hires feel like they know something about their new co-workers and can provide fodder for ice-breaking conversations.

Clearly Convey Roles and Responsibilities with Organizational Charts

If you think organizational charts are outdated and obsolete, you’re in for a surprise. These traditional staples remain valuable tools in modern organizations (think ‘meet the team’ pages on company websites complete with roles, titles, bios, and headshots), particularly in the onboarding process. Giving new hires an organizational chart helps them understand the chain of command, learn what roles exist within other departments and who they might be interacting with, who to approach with questions about specific functions, and more.

What’s more, today’s organizational charts are living, functional tools that can be as unique as your organization. If you’re not a fan of formal titles, have fun with it by assigning roles such as “Chief Coffee Brewer” that lighten the mood while still conveying responsibilities.

Integrate Interactive Activities to Facilitate Two-Way Discussion

Onboarding was once a boring proposition for employees who just landed a new job, often consisting of a full week or more spent idly watching toiling through slide deck after slide deck with little information retention taking place. Onboarding doesn’t have to be boring by nature. Integrate opportunities within your onboarding program for new employees to interact with and ask questions of various representatives from the organization.

Not only does one-on-one or small group interaction lead to better engagement, but it enables employees to meet new co-workers with more than a mere, “Hi. Nice to meet you,” in passing. Spending time to learn how employees do their jobs on a day-to-day basis – even in departments not directly impacting a new hire’s responsibilities – cultivates appreciation for the many tasks that go into your overall business operations.

Ultimately, giving an interactive glimpse at the company as a whole leads to more-invested employees from the start, which can reduce turnover rates and thus lower your training costs. Think about how you can introduce your next new hire to the various facets within your organization through powerful stories demonstrating abstract concepts in real-world contexts, fun, living organizational charts that exude the personality of every individual employee, and other tactics that turn the old and stale into the new and engaging.

 

James Mitchell recently left a stressful career in finance because he wanted to find a more fulfilling career. Today, he is working as a freelance consultant. In addition to his new career, he enjoys volunteering for InternSolutions.net and finds it very rewarding to connect young people with lucrative career opportunities.

Image via Pixabay by Unsplash

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: New Hires, Onboarding

Don't Let Relocation Dislocate Your New Hire

September 17, 2015 by recruitdc Leave a Comment

By Cathy Ware Partridge

Imagine that you have found an amazing candidate with the perfect blend of skills and personality.  Hiring discussions are going well and the candidate is excited about the new role until – they hear the word “relocate.”

Are you prepared to talk relocation or is your discussion dead in the water?

Don’t Underestimate what Relocation entails

Just talking to a candidate touches one of life’s biggest decisions – a new job.  By adding relocation to the discussion you add a second – deciding where to live.  The conversation changes from the exciting job opportunity to one that encompasses the candidate’s entire life.  As a recruiter, you need to understand the candidate’s situation and look for a mutually satisfactory decision.

Set expectations

The position might have been open for months, but the candidate is not on your schedule.  Rushing relocation adds additional stress to an already stressful situation.  Frequently, a quick relocation leads to a “trailing spouse”, where one spouse is left behind to handle everything. Unless the candidate was already prepared to move, there are usually expensive and time-consuming repairs needed prior to listing a house.  Until the candidate has their family together, their mind is generally in two places – which is not a great start.  The more flexibility you show with the start date, the more likely the candidate will be to accept the position.

Do your homework, know your competition

Good recruiters and candidates know that hiring discussions are simply a negotiation – be prepared.  Does your company have a competitive Relocation Policy in your marketplace?  Relocation policies come in all shapes and sizes.  It is not usually an apples to apples comparison.  You need to be able to differentiate your opportunity within your industry. 

Be prepared with answers

The first place candidates look for answers is on the internet – which usually generates more questions.    If your company is working with a Relocation Management Company (RMC), have them start Pre-Decision Counseling.  The RMC facilitates the relocation allowing the candidate to transition seamlessly.   Using an RMC immediately demonstrates that the company values their employees – a true differentiator in today’s job market. 

Be prepared for basic relocation questions:

·       What are the benefits?

·       Do I pay or does the company?

·       What about my family?

·       What is it like to live there?

·       How does this affect my compensation? Taxes?

Are these questions that you can answer?  If your company is not already working with an RMC, you need to find internal resources to answer them.  The quicker you can answer, the quicker the candidate will proceed.

Distractions count

Have you ever sat next to someone who is buying a new house?  Distracted, aren’t they?  A study conducted by the IMPACT Group (http://mobility.worldwideerc.org/i/124049-mo-may-2013-issue/93?) showed that the average employee spends one hour each day for the first six months addressing personal issues after a move.   Expect a change in the tempo of the hiring discussions once relocation enters the picture.    They will either pepper you with questions or be slow to respond while they do research on their own.  Be patient and use this as a chance to watch their decision making process, it’s a great chance to test their fit with your company.

Dollars matter

Candidates want to know how much it will cost them to move.  Relocation benefits vary by industry- from small lump sum to comprehensive relocation services.   Realize that the bigger and farther the move the more expensive it is in terms of time and money.  How do you overcome the obstacle of a relocation policy that does not cover all of the costs? Our team has developed programs that operate at no cost to the company and provide cash incentives to the candidate to offset the cost of the move. 

Don’t let relocation dislocate your next hire – Understand the candidate’s situation and anticipate their problems.  Be prepared to answer their questions or refer them to someone with expertise in the matter – either within your company or your RMC.  Know what it costs to move and balance their need versus your offer.

Finally, if you need help, please don’t hesitate to ask. 

Cathy Ware Partridge is a Client Services Manager with Interstate Relocation Services. You can connect with her at Cathy.Partridge@invan.com or on LinkedIn

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: New Hires, Onboarding, Relocation

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