N is for...

Whilst I don’t get to do it that often, one of the things I love most about being a HR Manager is offering someone a job. I get a real buzz out of it and am possibly as excited as the candidate.

However, managers then tend to go radio silent.

When you recruit, you take a bit of a gamble so I have put together some tips to make your new starters get off to the best start possible.

69% of employees are more likely to stay with a company for three years if they experienced great onboarding (SHRM) so it's really important to keep in contact between making a job offer and their first day.

• It is always much better if hiring manager builds the relationship rather than someone in HR.

• Follow up as soon as possible after they’ve accepted the job. e.g. “We’re so happy you’re joining us! Why not come to our drinks on Thursday night to meet the team?”

• Start as you mean to go on by treating your people as adults. Be really clear that you expect them to ‘own’ their induction experience; they need to take some of the responsibility and ask for what they need.

• Be clear where they can find out answers, the key things they need to know, who they should meet and then let them get on with it!!

It starts before they start 

• Get all of the technical stuff sorted in advance so it is ready for day one – log on details, email, phone, laptop (and any computer updates!!)

• If you can, give access to your intranet/company information before the new starter joins so they can start learning more about your organisation (they may never have the time again and they’re keen so make the most of it!)

• Send any paperwork they might need to complete in advance.

• Set them up on any internal systems i.e. HR System.

Make it social

• Do they really need to do 7 hours of boring e-learning on day one? Can any mandatory training or information be done in a different way? Try a ‘scavenger hunt’ where they go and find the information themselves?  

• Ask the team to send the new starter a LinkedIn request with a ‘hello’ message.

• Make sure they have a buddy or a mentor that can help them settle in.

• Put a balloon that says ‘hello, I’m new’ on their desk to encourage colleagues to say hi.

Make it special

• On day one, put a thoughtful gift on their desk - their favourite bottle of wine, a book, a bar of chocolate etc.

• During the first few months ask “has the role lived up to your expectations?” or “What could we do to make you want to stay here?”

Get rid of probation periods

• Probation periods are designed to catch the tiny percentage of people who won’t work out. Toss out the rule book and ditch the probation period which has a negative impact on a new starter’s experience. Instead encourage managers to have more frequent check-ins in the first few months to help them settle in or nip any performance concerns in the bud.

• Give any benefits you offer from day one rather than after a certain length of service. If you’re worried about the risks of this, look back at your leavers – how many ‘probationers’ did you actually get rid of? Very few I bet and if there are, something is going wrong in your recruitment process!

Hopefully you found my hints and tips helpful ? If you would like any help on your new starters, then contact me today.

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