ONBOARDING IS AN OFTEN-OVERLOOKED WAY TO RETAIN EMPLOYEES: EXPRESS EMPLOYMENT PROFESSIONALS

Staffing Industry Analysts / October 10, 2019

Many employers are ignoring onboarding as a way to retain employees even amid unemployment at near record lows, according Express Employment Professionals.

“Onboarding is frequently overlooked as a key element of employee retention,” said Shane DeCoste, Express franchise owner in Halifax, Nova Scotia. “Proper onboarding protects the investment employers make by ensuring that a new employee becomes properly exposed to their new work environment, its team members, culture and vision and values.”

The company says there are four critical components for good onboarding, its “four Cs”:

• Company — “Helping the employee understand the company’s mission, goals, policies, customers, organizational structure and how their job fits into the big picture.”
• Connection — “Helping the employee build relationships and information networks with colleagues.”
• Culture — “Ensuring that the new hire understands the company’s values, beliefs and environment and how they can thrive in that environment.”
• Career — “Mapping out the employee’s personal objectives and how they are measured and realized, as well as setting out expectations for success and advancement.”

Express CEO Bill Stoller said first impressions are everything.

“If an employee’s first week or first month is spent fumbling their way through a new job and new company without any help, they won’t feel like part of the team, and soon they will be looking for an exit,” Stoller said. “But if a company invests in them, they are far more likely to be invested in that company for the long haul.”