Onboarding Matters For Employee Retention
How a new employee joins a company from day one is one of the most critical touchpoints. Beyond the interview process, it is their accurate first impression of the culture from the inside, which can dramatically impact their perception of the organization, satisfaction, ambassadorship, and loyalty.
According to TalentLyft, 69% of employees are more likely to stay with a company for three years if they experience great onboarding.
I’ll share two different scenarios from my experience…
Scenario 1:
A former colleague of mine once shared a story from when they started a new job. The first moment was in a room with HR filling out paperwork, then logistics of setting up workstations, and then meetings and meetings about systems and project plans. He went home that day pretty drained, and it made him feel that the company didn’t care about him as much as a person.
This ended up playing out more as the month went on. He wasn’t given time and a process to build relationships before starting projects. It became challenging to move the needle in his role to influence others across various departments. Have you ever experienced this?
Scenario 2:
I learned a lot from this colleagues’ story, and as a marketing leader at the time, I met with my own team to brainstorm ways that we could create a solid first day for new team members. We created a structure that included a warm welcome by the hiring manager and our full team, with a special gift that is aligned to the values of our culture with a fun sign [or even a personalized cupcake at their desk!], followed by a team bonding breakfast, and then conversations around who each person is, what inspires us, and how we each like to be communicated with, before then sharing more about the company vision and exciting initiatives on the horizon that will positively impact people’s lives.
I heard from team members how they were going home that day feeling really energized and so excited to be part of such a great team. They brought high energy in the days that followed, allowing them to get really engaged with every person they met over the first month and thus built strong relationships quickly. Have you ever experienced this?
Why did I choose to lead with Scenario 2?
It’s because it’s a true people-first mentality. Allowing for the time and space to connect with and truly get to know the person, accelerate the connections with team members in an authentic way that is not first about “let’s get s*** done,” will build a strong foundation for the new employee’s success. How we onboard thoughtfully shows intention and our care for the person we just invested so much time in to hire. We want a deliberate process to make people feel welcome – not a half-baked “throw them into the fire” and get to work attitude, which will help accelerate relationships to establish connection points and start building trust.
We spend so much time recruiting to find the “right culture fit” why do we not focus on how a new hire can “enhance the culture” from the start?
According to a study published by Harvard Business Review, “Organizations with a standardized onboarding process experience 62% greater new hire productivity, along with 50% greater new hire retention. Those that invest time and effort in their new employees reap the benefits….one of the ways to do this is to focus on Social Onboarding by building a strong community. Building relationships during their first year can help new hires feel less isolated and more confident.”
So how can you create powerful social onboarding connection moments?
1. Make the First Day Connected
First impressions matter. Here are a few ways to make sure you make the best one possible:
- Give a warm hello. Welcome the new employee with a smile (and hug!) and share why you are so excited they have joined.
- Create a team social welcome gathering (coffee, breakfast, etc.) where you share stories about recent highlights in business & life
- Give a unique gift. They’ll feel welcome and like part of the team. Everyone likes gifts, and even though it’s something small, it will brighten their first day.
- Spend some quality connected 1:1 time. As the manager, get to know your new hire better and share ways they can connect with other employees to start to build strong relationships
- End the day with a meaningful check-in conversation. Ask how the day went, see if they have any questions or concerns, and thank them for helping out. They’ll leave the office feeling supported and valued, and they’ll come in the next day feeling like they belong.
2. Make the First Week Connected
Second impressions matter. Here are a few ways to make sure you maximize their first week:
- Give a warm hello every morning.
- Set up a listening tour of connection meetings. Give context for how the employee with works with that person. Use it as the opportunity to get to know them, their background, role, what matters to them, what they are challenged by, and what they hope you may be able to help with once you are up and running. Encourage them to be curious, listen, and learn.
- Schedule a connection gathering for the team. Whether virtual or in-person, make it a priority to create a space for the team to connect meaningfully and learn more about the new hires’ stories to create an emotional connection.
3. Make the First Year Connected.
Keep it going! This is beyond just the new hire’s success, but the entire team’s. Deeper relationships are the foundation for a robust and vibrant culture with high engagement. Being intentional about carving out time to strengthen relationships and connection is perhaps the most crucial component in building a better workplace culture that is more productive and efficient because connected teams drive collaboration, nurture healthy working relationships, and promote knowledge-sharing.
- Create space for meaningful conversations – team offsites, virtual social hours, and personal growth experiences.
- For example, Cognizer.ai, which helps companies have more sales & marketing intelligence to maximize customer success, uses the Water Cooler App to help foster virtual conversations that used to be more impromptu flyby conversations.
The quality of our relationships is the key to our success in business and in life. So no matter what you do, what matters is that you make it a priority and have fun with it!
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Need support creating a powerful virtual experience to connect new hires? I can also support with New Hire Connection Social. Enjoy the meaningful conversation that will dramatically accelerate your new hire’s relationships with their team, and as the leader you can just kick back, participate and and enjoy connecting!
One company client team member said, “Loved this! It was great to get to know our new team member and have a space to connect and learn more about each other!” – Board Member, YYC Growers.
This is a guest post by Lisa Kalfus.
Complimentary gift: To help you accelerate and strengthen your relationships click here to download a free toolkit on the 3 Simple Ways to Connect Better, including some of her favorite conversation starter questions!
About Lisa: Lisa Kalfus is a Human Connection Facilitator and Conversation Coach and the founder and Chief Connector of Firestart Connections. She is deeply passionate about helping people create meaningful, authentic relationships by quickly elevating conversations from small talk to real talk to ignite a more connected life and workplace culture.
As the creator of Connection Hour™, a powerful experience that ignites meaningful conversations to deepen relationships, she is on a mission to help teams and individuals have better conversations to connect better with anyone. To learn more about this powerful virtual experience to improve connectivity on your team in a virtual world, visit: www.connnectionhour.com or email Lisa a quick note at connect@firestartconnections.com.
Photo by Isaiah McClean on Unsplash
You can set up a time to chat with me about your marketing challenges using my calendar. Email me jeffslater@themarketingsage.com Call me. 919 720 0995. The conversation is free, and we can explore if working together makes sense. Watch a short video about working with me.
