What do new hires wish for?
Have you ever been asked, “if you were given one wish, what would you wish for?” Just thinking about the answer puts a smile on our faces as we dream up something great. How do you think your new hires would answer that question? Do you think it would be mostly the same answer among all new hires? As HR professionals, we all dream that a new hire’s wish would be simple new-hire retention. But it’s not about us. It’s about your new hires.
We bet you’ve all heard the familiar saying before: “An employee doesn’t leave the company, they leave their boss.” In fact, around 50% of employees leave their company to get away from their bosses. So, is the wish of new hires a supportive boss that doesn’t micromanage?
If you could grant your new hires just one wish, what do you think it should be?
What steps would you take to grant them their wish?
The #1 wish of new hires
Now this may be an over-generalization, but the number one wish of new hires is to be right about their decision to join your company.
- First: No one likes being wrong, especially when it’s about such an important decision that could impact your entire family, where you live, how financially comfortable you would be, and/or the ability to cover necessary medical expenses.
- Second: No one wants do a job search all over again. Job change is listed among the most stressful of life events, and it’s easy to understand why. It takes approximately one month to find a job for every $10,000 of total earnings; that could really add up to a lot of months with today’s average salaries. Additionally, the time it takes to find a job only gets longer with only 2% of candidates receiving a call for an interview for a job they submitted their application to.
According to Gallup’s 2017 American Workplace Report, employees come into a role wanting frequent communication with their manager, development opportunities, flexibility and autonomy, coaching and a sense of stability and security. Click suggests that the hiring managers address each item from the list below with every new hire to the organization. Why? Because it provides a clear understanding between the new hire and the manager just what their expectations are with each.
This is what you should be asking your new hires:
- How often is frequent communication with your manager? Is a one-hour, in-person meeting once a week with your manager enough?
- What kind of development opportunities do you want? Are these online tutorials, local college classes, or having a mentor at the company?
- What are you looking for in terms of flexibility and autonomy? Are there certain hours you can’t work? And what decisions do you believe you must make yourself?
- When it comes to coaching, do you want someone in addition to your manager to coach you? Are there particular wants or needs that you want coaching on?
- How can we help provide a sense of stability and security? Would ensuring management walks our department through the monthly and/or quarterly report help?
If only it could be as easy as waving a magic wand to have our new hires stick with us for the longer-term! In reality, though, each of us – as HR professionals – have the opportunity to grant this particular wish, sans a magic wand, pixie dust or even a rabbit in a black hat. Fortunately, companies are realizing more and more that their most valuable asset is their people. Providing new hires with an unforgettable onboarding experience and connecting with them throughout their first 12 months will enable a much higher retention rate.
When you’re ready to focus on people and let the process run itself, we’re just a click away.
