January 2008

Get On Board with “On-Boarding” By Carol A. Hacker

It makes no difference whether you use the term “on-boarding” or “new-hire orientation” to describe what you do to help new employees successfully transition from outsiders to insiders. The effort that you put into the process of easing your new hires into their jobs will help them get over the “new kid on the block” feeling. The payoff for the business owner/manager will help to impact employee retention and the bottom line. Are you ready to step up to the plate and do whatever it takes to make a positive first impression? Can you see the value of time invested in on-boarding activities? If you can, and decide to make the investment, you will have the leading edge as an employer. It’s one of the most important steps you can take in engaging your employees and keeping them on your payroll well into the future.

Have you ever been the newest employee on the payroll? You know — you were the last hired and didn’t know a soul. Maybe you felt apprehensive because you weren’t sure that you made the right decision by leaving your old employer for a new one. Or, perhaps, you weren’t really sure what you were supposed to be doing once hired. Your supervisor had a day off the day you started, so you were on your own. If you’ve ever had any of these feelings, you’re not alone. Most new employees experience many of the same things you’ve experienced, but that doesn’t make it right.

Laying a Strong Foundation

Whether your goal is to hire and keep Generation-Y employees or recruit seniors, baby boomers and Gen-Xers, on-boarding will help you get new employees up to speed quickly if done properly. It lays the foundation for everything you do to keep your employees committed to you and your business. It’s expensive to recruit and train new hires, only to have to start the process over when someone quits. You may prepare your employees to do their jobs with industry-specific training later on, but keep in mind that what takes place during the first days and weeks on the job is the most important training you can provide. If your on-boarding process is lackluster, mundane or “like watching paint dry,” your chance of losing new recruits accelerates. The proof of your investment in time and money for this activity is in your future profits.

Research by the U.S. Department of Labor indicates that employees who participated in a structured on-boarding process were 66 percent more likely to remain with the business after three years than those who did not participate in this kind of introduction to the new job. Other data indicates that simply improving on an existing on-boarding program could reduce turnover by as much as 70 percent within the first six months that the employee is at work. With this kind of information, both research and common sense lead us in the direction of taking on-boarding seriously and giving it a try. Some of the benefits:

• It helps relieve anxiety on the part of new employees as they take a leap of faith and leave behind their support systems and that which is familiar to them to join your business. It can be an extremely stressful time for new hires.
• It fosters an understanding of your business, its values and position in the marketplace.
• It’s a great opportunity to help new hires develop good work habits from the start.
• It can cut the learning curve in half; as the old adage says, “Knowledge is power!”
• It ensures that everyone gets the same information, eliminating breakdowns in communication and petty misunderstandings. They hear it from you, the owner or manager, not one of their co-workers, who may not share your insight or message.
• The new hires immediately get involved in productive activities rather than sit around waiting for a supervisor to assign work that is sometimes viewed as trivial.
• A solid introduction to your business can reduce turnover by helping employees quickly feel like they are part of the team. The faster new employees make friends, the greater the likelihood that they will stay and become an integral part of your team.

The Benefits

Now, fast-forward to today and take a good look at your business. How do you help your new employees get off to a good start or, better yet, a “jackrabbit” start? It doesn’t matter how big or small your operation is. Ensuring that new employees get the support they need is critical in keeping your top performers motivated to work for you.

But besides impacting employee retention and productivity, here are some additional things to keep in mind. On-boarding in its most ideal form is an ongoing process, not an event. It starts with recruitment and selection and continues throughout the new employee’s employment with you. It’s a major commitment for the owner, managers and supervisors to make it work. Your entire team of employees needs to own the orientation process because the payoff can be huge. For example, it can:

• promote trust, cooperation and motivation.
• help reduce “buyer’s remorse.”
• cut down on mistakes caused by lack of communication and understanding.
• speed the development and contributory worth of a new team member.
• clarify the quality of standards and expectations by which performance will be measured.
• empower employees to be confident. The more confident they are, the faster and more efficiently they will learn.
• ensure that new employees get accurate information.
• give the new employee a chance to develop good work habits from the beginning.
• help the new employee feel welcome, relieves anxiety and starts the individual toward being a loyal, productive member of your business.
• foster pride in working for a garden center that values its employees and stresses the theme of quality throughout its operation.

Unfortunately, many businesses miss an opportunity to make a great first impression and to “close the sale” on a newly recruited individual by providing a ho-hum introduction to their businesses. As a result, they inadvertently slow the new employee’s development and the time it takes for them to reach their expected productivity. An ineffective new-hire introduction to your business may simply be a missed opportunity to “wow” a new employee, but it may also turn into a disaster if the on-boarding process contradicts the initial impression garnered during the interviewing process.

A Worthwhile Investment

What about the costs? On-boarding may seem expensive, but the reality is that the amount of time and money it takes to develop and maintain the process is minimal compared to the loss the employer incurs when the new hire quits. Every business, regardless of size, has an obligation to help new hires adapt to their new work environment. The more comfortable new employees feel, the more likely they are to stay employed for the long haul. The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that the cost of a poor hiring decision is 30 percent of the first year’s annualized projected salary. Recruiting expenses escalate as the position’s level of responsibility and pay range increase.

Here are some things to consider after new employees have accepted your job offer — but before they start working for you:

• Send a welcome card signed by everyone at your store to the new employee’s home. Encourage your employees to write a brief note, not just sign his or her name. The more personalized this card, the better.
• Distribute an announcement to current staff that includes some details about the new employee.
• Pre-assess the new employee’s training needs and schedule the necessary training before they start. This should include in-house as well as formal outside training and education.
• Determine what you expect the new employee to be able to accomplish during the first three months on the job. Write those expectations down and be prepared to discuss them on the new employee’s first day on the job.
• Define how much authority the new employee will have during the first three months on the job. This is authority to make decisions without having to ask permission. (There may be limited authority during the initial days and months on the job, or there may be significant responsibilities and the authority to carry out those responsibilities). This is very important and should be determined in advance of the new employee’s arrival. Write it down. Study it. Make sure you have included everything that’s important. Discuss it on the first day.
• Prepare a packet that contains the store’s employee handbook, job description, performance evaluation form, information about the history of the business, and payroll, insurance and benefit plan forms.

Here are some things you may want to do during the new employee’s first week on the job, starting with the first day. They are written with the intent of helping the new employee feel comfortable and oriented to your work environment:

• Commit to make the beginning of a new job a celebration and a process to make the new employee productive right from day one! The celebration approach assumes that the first days, week or month is crucial to getting a new employee “signed on” to your garden center’s culture and shared vision.
• Plan a lunch, either potluck or catered, so that everyone can help celebrate the new employee’s first day on the job.
• Greet the new employee in person. The owner/store manager and the new employee’s immediate supervisor should be available to do this. If that’s not possible, a designated alternate should be assigned this important task.
• Introduce (or reintroduce) the new hire to all employees. If some employees are absent, be sure the new employee meets them immediately upon their return.
• Introduce the new employees to the physical layout of the store.
• Demonstrate how the office equipment works and be sure they know whom to notify in case of a question or problem.
• Make sure the immediate supervisor meets with the new employee to discuss information about store operations and goals. The supervisor should also discuss accountabilities, rules and procedures, schedules and store hours, record-keeping requirements and initial responsibilities.
• Arrange for the new employee to complete employment forms and records, get an explanation of the store’s compensation and benefit program, review personnel policies, and any other related information.
• Discuss expected telephone techniques and etiquette with everyone, not just a new receptionist. Everyone in the garden center is part of the marketing team.
• Have a current job description ready to share with the new hire on the first day of work.
• Tell new employees what to expect regarding breaks, meals and time for personal business, including using the telephone and Internet.
• Share your agenda in terms of what they can expect during the first week on the job.
• Once the employees’ basic job training is complete, the supervisors should review the job descriptions again to be sure everything has been adequately covered and is understood.
• The new employee’s supervisor should follow up on a more formal basis with the new employee at the end of each of the first four weeks, at the very least, to ensure that the job is being done correctly and that all questions have been answered.

Looking Ahead

Whether you have hired what some managers think of as the “fickle” Generation-Y employee or an older adult, you will want to provide career mentoring and opportunities to advance within the business where possible. Engaging employees from all generations can be a challenge, but it is nonetheless important as you help them get off on the right foot with a solid on-boarding experience. It may even be custom-designed for each new hire, based on the job and the generation of each employee. Life’s experiences offer many opportunities to learn as well as make mistakes. Even if you hire more experienced staff members, that doesn’t mean that you’re off the hook and can skip or go lightly on the on-boarding process. All employees should quickly become familiar with your business and what you expect of them in their jobs.

There are many things you can do to ensure that your new employees are truly on board. It’s your job to see to it that everyone who joins your business feels important, accepted and secure. The time and money you invest in new employees will pay dividends for years to come.