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VIEWPOINT
Cold welcome makes new hires quit quietly
Retention is the buzzword but as a priority it buzzes in too late. Retention ought to begin on Day One when an employee comes to the workplace for the first time. A new hire is a highly motivated employee who is eager to prove his worth to himself and the organisation. He is looking forward to his work and appropriate guidance can weave a sense of belonging and ownership, help develop faith in the organisation and create valuable association with coworkers. This constitute
s the foundation of a lasting relationship.
Organisations that realise the potential ready to be unlocked in a new hire take care to recognise it and act on it. However there are organisations that simply fail to do so and build the wrong foundation in the very beginning.
Case study: Crisply dressed and original certificates in hand, Prakash reported to work at 9:00 am (the time given by HR) at his very first job.
He was greeted by the nonchalant security and asked to wait. After two hours of waiting a HR person walked up and directed him to a room where he was asked to wait again. Gradually seven others like him trickled in by 12 noon. A person walked and introduced himself and ‘conducted’ a one-hour training lecture.
There was no question time allotted and the few questions he posed elicited vague replies. They broke for lunch. Prakash had to find his way around to the cafeteria, and also had trouble entering security zones, as he had not been given an access-card. In the afternoon he sat through some videos of the company history that he strained himself to stay awake through it.
The promised ’appointment letter’ was not given nor was another date of issue mentioned.
The session ended by 7 pm and the new hires groped their way to the parking lot as they had been informed that company vehicles would drop them home.
To their dismay they found that the vehicles had left without waiting for them. HR was informed but no alternative arrangement was made. The location being suburban the eight new hires had no choice but to wait for the next pick up which was at 10’o clock.
It was no surprise that only six of the eight got back the next day! The company had already lost two employees who were utterly disillusioned with their first day at work.
This is a real situation and a recent occurrence in a renowned corporate.
The tragedy is that the organisation still continues its old ways without even realising the loss. Resources and revenue invested in recruiting the two was wasted and the recruitment-attrition cycle sadly continues.
It is therefore important that organisations wake up to the first-day call of the new hire.
Be prepared: Contact candidates through e-mail/telephone in advance and confirm joining details. If possible read up the CV before a new hire arrives. Get the minimum administrative paper work such as appointment letter (if it has not been given already) I-card, workstation and resources (stationery, phone), a welcome note, list of co-workers and their IDs/extension numbers.
Be there: Make sure a member from the team (preferably the team/department head) is available in person to receive, greet and welcome the new hire.
The new employee needs a face to associate his workplace with.
Get to know : Introduce self and co-workers to the new hire
Give the big picture: It is important to tell and involve the new hire in understanding his position and his place in the context of the company’s commitments. Keep this in mind in an orientation session.
Explaining hierarchy, elaborating rules and regulations, setting mutual expectations needs to be done keeping in mind that a sense of belonging and ownership is the ultimate aim. This will make the session personal and useful.
Culture: Take the new hire on a real or virtual tour, or help him find his way around. Introduce him to the acronyms and other common terms used at work. Get him clued in to the dos and don’ts in terms of dress code, ways of greeting etc.
More answers: The new employee is bound to have lots of doubts. Anticipate those you can and accommodate answers in the orientation session.
Be open to talking and patiently answering other queries that are likely to come up. It would be a good idea to assign a mentor from the team for about a month.
This is just the beginning of taking the employees into the fold of the organisation. Once in he has to be nurtured with care and commitment.
A little effort at the initial stage can go a long way in laying the foundation of a lasting and productive relationship with the employee.
faqs@cnkonline.com
DEEPA KIRAN
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