Better Late Than Never…Except When it Comes to On-boarding Your New Employees

I was catching up with a long term friend for lunch a few days ago and listening to him complain about the high rate of turnover his business was suffering - especially with relatively new recruits. His medium sized business had three employees leave within their probation period over the past two months.

As my mate continued to bang on about the lack of commitment that people have towards their job these days and the annoyance of having other organisations offer inflated salaries to entice his employees elsewhere, I simply asked him “at what point did you start the on-boarding process for these people?”

My mate barely drew breath before launching into an extended explanation of how each new employee arrived on their first day to a desk that was clean and completely stocked with stationery, a list of logins to all required technology systems and a full week of timetabled induction training including meetings with necessary managers.

He assured me that all new starters in his organisation were well looked after. “The HR Manager has all that under control” he informed me.

As I continued through my toasted sandwich, I started writing this blog in my head!!!

If you think on-boarding starts on day one, then you’ve missed the boat!
In my opinion, my friend’s issue and the issue that I see many employers face is that they start their employee on-boarding activity on the first day of a new starter’s employment.

Starting an on-boarding program on the first day of employment sounds logical, but when you think about it from the employees’ perspective, it’s way too late.

At the point where your new starter is walking into the office on their first day, they have already developed an opinion of what your business does, what your business stands for, how your business operates and why your business exists.

They have done their research and they know the history of your organisation, they know the history of the senior leaders in the business, the history of their manager and their colleagues. These days, thanks to social media, they even know what your customers think about you!

All of that, and my mate believes he will win his new starters loyalty by ensuring their desk is fully stocked with stationery with a few week one induction sessions!

I don’t want this blog to sound as though I’m preaching, but I really believe that a successful on-boarding program starts well before an employee’s first day, and I certainly don’t believe the HR team should take sole responsibility.

Let me explain what I mean.

First perceptions last
The way I see it, the on-boarding process begins at the point where an individual builds a perception of your brand. From that point, the formal on-boarding activities you implement will either add to or detract from that perception and influence the success of the employee in your business.

If an organisation is known for providing outstanding products and or service and is seen in the market as being honest, innovative, engaging and adding value then most individuals will develop a positive perception. Whether they are a prospective customer or not is inconsequential.

At the point where a job seeker has an opportunity to apply for a role within such an organisation, that job seeker enters the process in a positive mode. As long as the basic expectations are continually met during the recruitment process, the experience remains positive (whether or not the desk draws are full of pens on day one does not matter so much!).

I know from experience one of the most difficult things a recruiter will have to do is recruit for an organisation that has a really poor brand perception. The role might be great, the salary outstanding but generally speaking people will be wary.

Basically, and rather obviously, a positive perception is best, a neutral or non-existent perception is manageable as the perception can be developed during the recruitment process and a negative perception paves the way for a few tough conversations.

Personal connection
As a candidate moves through the application, interview and acceptance stages of a recruitment process, there is obviously an opportunity to build a much more targeted and structured connection through formal interviews, non-formal meetings with team members, site/office tours, personalised phone calls prior to starting to relax nerves.

The framework for this formal activity prior to an employee joining your business – all of which I still classify as on-boarding – should be developed by an expert HR team based on qualified theory, but the delivery of these actions should absolutely come from a management and peer-level employees. 

On day one
As a new employee moves to their first day on the job, the aspects of an on-boarding program which my friend held upon high such as a clean and stocked desk, access to necessary technology and a structured learning program which blends both classroom and desk training needs to be available. These elements alone are very much basic expectations and should not be seen as a complete on-boarding program.

My experience
At this point, I can reflect on my journey in joining Kelly Services. I was first approached to join Kelly three years prior to me actually starting. At that point my perception of the Kelly business in Australia was not overly positive and while I investigated the opportunity to a point my perceptions were not altered. I was comfortable at that time Kelly was not for me, and I declined to progress to interview.

Two years later I was approached again. Since the last approach two years earlier Kelly had undergone a complete overhaul of its business. A completely new senior leadership team was in place, and the business was heading in a whole new direction. Kelly at that point had a freshness and vibrancy about it. The perception in the market was that Kelly was a business which was going places, and while I was interested, the timing was not right, and I declined, but the decision to decline at that point was much more difficult than it had been two years earlier given the positive perception I now had.

Luckily, a year later I was contacted by Kelly again and after hearing first-hand the exciting future Kelly’s leadership team was driving and the culture that was being reignited at Kelly, I was a Kelly convert.

I remember distinctly the day my daughter was born. It was a month before I was scheduled to start with Kelly. A hamper arrived at my home along with a congratulations card, personally signed by the MD and the two senior leaders to whom I would be reporting. Despite it arguably being a small thing, I remember the overwhelming feeling of happiness and comfort I felt along with my wife as we reinforced to one another that we had made the right decision.

Of course I arrived on day one to find my new desk completely stocked with stationery, a list of logins and a full week of timetabled induction training (in fact the National Training Manager joined me in Perth for my first week), but all that didn’t matter because I knew intrinsically, a full month prior when the hamper arrived, that Kelly was the place I was going to be for a number of years. I was already on-board well before I joined!

So to wrap up, I hope this blog has struck a chord with any employer who:

• Believes brand perception has no influence on employee engagement
• Expects HR to own and deliver 100% of a new employee's on-boarding process
• Believes the on-boarding process starts on a new employee’s first day in the office
• Believes that even a small pre-start date gesture such as a phone call to relax nerves (or a hamper!) is not beneficial
• Believes a desk full of stationary is the key

Because if this is you, I’m afraid that like my good mate, you will continue to see a flow of great talent exiting your business sooner than you would like.

Remember it’s not a lack of commitment or an inflated salary motivating your new employees to leave. I believe my mate is a good leader, they are not leaving due to his leadership skills, but they are not staying long enough to experience them. It’s the great experience your competition has given them in comparison right from the first moment they engaged.

I’d love to hear your ideas and comments about on-boarding… how does your business approach the new starter process and do you have any experience where the company you joined was not right for you.