Maximize the Return on Your Hiring Investment: How to Welcome, Engage, and Retain New Employees with Your On-boarding Strategy in 2020

Whether you call it Onboarding, Induction, Enculturation, or New Employee Orientation (NEO), the process used to welcome and train your new employees while capturing their excitement of a new job and reducing their new job jitters is critical to their success. NEO is not a one day event, but rather a process that begins after their acceptance of the job and extends through the first year of their employment. Studies show that the new arrival's primary concerns are three things--my job, my boss, and my coworkers.Dealing with new employee jitters and uncertainties is a high priority in orientation programs. How long this mental mayhem lasts may depend a great deal on employee orientation.  It’s been said that new hires have about 90 days to “prove” themselves in their new workplace. According to the Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM), 500,000 Fortune 500 managers change jobs every year while, overall, managers change jobs every 2 – 4 years.Non-management employees may change jobs even more frequently.The process of orienting new employees to their new position, their new work environment, and their new colleagues takes time and if not done effectively, the new hire leaves and goes elsewhere. Onboarding is the process that welcomes and integrates the new hire into their new position and workplace so they become engaged and committed to their role in assisting the organization in reaching its mission.  Onboarding is a strategy and a process that extends well beyond the first day on the job.  It is a critical process to get the new hire off and running in their new environment, their new position, and with new colleagues enabling them to enjoy their work and their employer. 

• To identify HR, the supervisor, and theBuddy’s roles in welcoming and training the new employee
• To discuss the new employee’s role in her or his orientation
• To differentiate between the orientation to the organization and the orientation to the department
• To assess, develop, implement and evaluate your Onboarding strategy
• To examine Onboarding best practices
• To explain gap analysis, force field analysis, and SWOT analysis in assessing your organization’s onboarding requirements
• To assess, design, and develop, implement, and evaluate your department’s NEO strategy­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­
• To describe new-hire web-based onboarding portals

• Sample checklists for the manager/supervisor, HR, and the Buddy are provided
• Tips on orienting the virtual employee
• How to evaluate your Onboarding process
• To discuss importance of Checklists for what to accomplish the first day, first week, first month, and the first 90 days.
• To list suggested lists and topics for the onboarding portal
• To examine onboarding portal systems
• To Tips on how to select and utilize a Buddy
• Orientation Evaluation forms for the new hire, HR, the buddy, and management
• Tips on the manager-new hire “expectations” discussion

Onboarding needs to include fun activities, using “buddies” to streamline the new hire’s experience, beginning from the point of the job offer. It is one of the most important elements an employer should invest in.A comprehensive Onboarding process plays a pivotal role in catalyzing your new hire’s engagement into their new role, responsibilities, and the organization. The new employee reaches productivity a full 2 months sooner, function as a team member quicker, less likely to quit, and more likely to be an active member of the organization.  All of this equates to huge financial savings on the part of the organization. By 45 days after a new employee begins their job, 20% quit!  By 7 months, 50% have quit.  Forty six percent of new hires fail within 18 months, and only 19% achieve success. The exodus of these new hires costs the employer approximately 20% of each employee’s salary. Considering the percentage of employees who never engage with their new job – the costs are enormous. If those  employees engaged, research shows that the stock value will have higher earnings per share, and the business will experience 22% higher profitability, 21% higher productivity, 10% higher customer engagement, 25% to 65% lower turnover, 37% lower absenteeism, 28% lower shrinkage (theft), and 48% fewer staff safety incidents.

• All industries - Human Resources – generalists and managers
• Supervisors and managers of departments or units in any industry

Dr. Susan Strauss is a national and international speaker, trainer and consultant. Her specialty areas include management/leadership development, organization development, communication, and harassment and bullying. She is an expert witness for discrimination and harassment lawsuits. She trains and consults with business, education, healthcare, law, and government organizations from both the public and private sector. Dr. Strauss has authored over 30 book chapters, books, and articles in professional journals. She has been featured on 20/20, CBS Evening News, and other television and radio programs as well as interviewed for newspaper and journal articles. She has her doctorate in organizational leadership, is a registered nurse with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and human services, a master’s degree in community health, and professional certificate in training and development.