5 Tips for Ensuring New Hires Succeed

If you've been reading my Friday Fast Five articles for a while, you may recall my mention of Ben Horowitz's book, "What you do is who you are." Today, I want you to apply this mindset to your onboarding process and how you set up new hires for success or failure.

To help you establish the right tone and ensure your new superstars maintain their status, I've compiled these five tips to ensure your new hires excel during probation and continue to thrive for years to come.

1. First Impressions Matter:?Start building a positive relationship from the moment you make the offer. Consider ways to make them feel welcome during the period between offer acceptance and their start date. A welcome video reminding them of the company Purpose, Mission and Virtues, showing them where to park/how to get in and introducing key team members, can make a great impact.
2. How You Do One Thing Is How You Do Everything:?Your actions during the first day, week, month, and quarter will shape the candidate's experience. Your team's behaviour serves as a model for them. If your onboarding process lacks organisation and structure, making them feel like an inconvenience rather than an asset, it implies a lack of importance placed on planning and preparation. This can discourage them from bringing their A-game or even worse have them applying for new jobs before probation is halfway through!
3. Foster a Culture of Connection:?As humans, we have an inherent need for social interaction and connection. Gallup's study shows that employees with strong friendships at work have 81% less absenteeism and are 7 times more engaged. Start your new hires off by facilitating sessions designed to foster personal connections among team members. My personal favourite tool for this is the Icebreaker Deeper Talk Cards.
4. Paint Done:?Craft a comprehensive training program that goes beyond the bare minimum. Immerse new hires in your company culture, covering the habits, behaviours, and routines that define your business. Develop training materials, manuals, and online courses that vividly illustrate what "done" looks like. Utilise videos, images, and hands-on training to ensure tasks are completed correctly and up to company standards. Pair them with experienced mentors who align with your culture for guidance and support.
5. Clarity is Kindness:?As Brené Brown, Vulnerability and Leadership Researcher, emphasises, "Clarity is kindness, and being unclear is unkind." Offer crystal clear instructions, expectations, and regular feedback to empower employees. This clarity allows them to understand what success looks like and make necessary adjustments along the way. Establish a "Friday Feedback Loop" session to normalise feedback and ensure it's consistently provided.

In my two decades of experience and 13 years in headhunting and recruitment, I've learned that failed probations are rarely the candidates' fault. More often, it's due to organisations cutting corners and managers failing to provide effective onboarding that sets employees up for success and engagement.

If you're concerned about finding the time to implement these strategies, don't worry—I've got you covered. In our new Phoenix Project, we offer an Onboarding Success System that will fast-track this process and drive your team to success.

If you want help in creating a program that ensures probation success, send me a direct message, and our team will add you to the waitlist.

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??Jade