Train to Retain: How to Engage New Employees

What’s the MOST important piece of training new employees? Is it the essential tools and skills they will need to do the job? Is it the foundational elements of what will be expected of them? Is it that they read the entire employee handbook? While each of these are critical in their own way, they are not enough. Training cannot be all about technical skills, procedures, requirements, and paperwork. Human Resource professionals and business leaders have an opportunity when building or further developing their onboarding program to train to retain.?

Robust training programs that increase engagement and retention have 4 goals:

To Educate on Policies

A fundamental goal of robust training programs is to educate employees on the organization's policies. This education ensures that everyone is aware of the rules and guidelines that govern workplace behavior and decision-making. By providing comprehensive training on policies, employees are better equipped to adhere to ethical standards, comply with legal requirements, and understand the procedures that affect their roles. Well-informed employees contribute to a more transparent and accountable work environment, ultimately fostering a culture of trust and integrity within the organization.

To Convey Expectations

Another critical objective is to clearly convey the expectations the organization has for its employees. This involves setting performance standards, outlining roles and responsibilities, and defining success metrics. When expectations are communicated effectively, employees have a clear understanding of what is required of them and can align their efforts with the company's goals. Clarity in expectations helps in minimizing misunderstandings and reduces the likelihood of conflicts, thus enhancing productivity and job satisfaction. By knowing what is expected, employees can take ownership of their roles and strive towards achieving excellence.

To Welcome to the Culture

Welcoming employees to the organizational culture is an essential aspect of training programs. Culture encompasses the values, beliefs, and practices that define the work environment and influence how employees interact with each other. By introducing new hires to the culture, organizations help them feel like a part of the team, which boosts morale and encourages engagement. Cultural integration is vital for building a cohesive workforce where employees feel valued and motivated to contribute to the organization's success. Emphasizing the importance of culture in training fosters a sense of belonging and loyalty among employees.

To Build Relationships

The final goal of effective training programs is to build strong relationships among employees. Training sessions provide opportunities for team members to connect, collaborate, and communicate in meaningful ways. By fostering an environment where relationships can thrive, organizations enhance teamwork and cooperation. Strong relationships among colleagues lead to better problem-solving, increased innovation, and a more supportive work atmosphere. Additionally, training that emphasizes relationship-building helps create networks that employees can rely on for support, guidance, and professional growth. Ultimately, cultivating robust interpersonal connections within the workplace is key to enhancing engagement and retention.

The 4 C's

Onboarding is a crucial process for any organization as it sets the tone for a new employee's experience and can greatly impact their long-term success within the company. Effective onboarding not only helps new hires to feel welcomed and integrated into the company culture but also ensures they understand their roles and responsibilities from the start. This can lead to increased job satisfaction, higher retention rates, and improved productivity.

A well-designed onboarding program can also accelerate the time it takes for new employees to become fully productive, as they are provided with the necessary tools, resources, and information to excel in their positions. Additionally, onboarding can help to foster strong relationships between new hires and their colleagues, managers, and the organization as a whole, leading to a more engaged and motivated workforce. Investing time and effort into onboarding can ultimately result in a positive impact on the overall success and growth of the company.

Onboarding is not just a process of paperwork and orientation; it is a strategic investment in the future of the organization. By prioritizing a comprehensive and engaging onboarding experience for new employees, companies can set the stage for long-term success, employee satisfaction, and a positive company culture.

The 4 C's framework - compliance, clarification, culture, and connection - provides a structured approach to evaluate and enhance the onboarding process.

Compliance: This is the fundamental element, or the “baseline”, of the onboarding process. While going over procedures, policies, rules, and requirements does little to engage employees, training programs miss the mark when this step is overlooked.

Clarification: This step serves as an opportunity to outline assignments and answer questions that have come up. While it may seem trivial, this step is essential to ensuring that employees feel comfortable asking for what they need to succeed.

Culture: Do not underestimate the power of implementing culture in the onboarding process. Many companies skim over this step by merely teaching employees about the values and mission of the organization in the training process. That is not enough to help employees identify themselves as a part of the organization and feel as though they belong. Programs that train to retain should include company norms, traditions, shared values and any essential or influential elements of the culture in their training process.?

Connection: This step cannot be overlooked. Organizations that offer relationship building opportunities in their training program increase both retention and engagement in their workforce. It is important to note here that new hires should not only have opportunities to connect with their peers and fellow new hires. They should be given a chance to connect with individuals throughout the organization and from multiple levels of leadership. This helps them feel as though they are accepted by and are comfortable with those around them.?

The connection and culture pieces are essential to training to retain. According to OC Tanner’s 2023 Global Culture Report , a sense of belonging in the workplace has the power to increase retention by 43%. A sense of belonging stems from both the culture and the connection elements of training. As employees recognize elements of the company culture that they identify with, they begin to feel as though they are a part of something. As they form relationships with not only their peers, but also many others throughout multiple levels of the organization, they begin to feel as though they are accepted and they belong. And that’s how we train to retain. We open doors for communication and we create opportunities for connection, acceptance, and belonging.

“People will typically be more enthusiastic where they feel a sense of belonging and see themselves as part of a community than they will in a workplace in which each person is left to [their] own devices.” - Alfie Kohn, Author.?