Trends in Onboarding and Retention - Allied HRIQ Webinar Nov. 2013

Stay for Awhile…

What you need to know about Onboarding and Retention

Steve Boese– November 2013

Presenter Info • Steve Boese • Co-Chair HR Technology Conference • HR Exec Magazine Technology Editor • Host of HR Happy Hour Show and Podcast • Blogger at Steve’s HR Tech • BBQ Aficionado

For 2 years, Allied Van Lines has championed a research project, Allied HRIQ, aimed to provide

business professionals with data on current workforce trends.

Today, we’ll discuss some of the onboarding

and retention trends.

Learn more about the study and see results at:

www.Allied.com/HRIQ

Agenda • Onboarding Practices • Onboarding and Performance • The role of Retention • Pulling it all together • Wrap-up, Q&A

Onboarding Practices

<Your desk is over there, the restroom is down the hall, lunch is at 12:30. Got it?>

HR: The owner of Onboarding

But there will be no money for you

Interestingly, those reporting highly successful onboarding programs

do not spend an inordinate amount of money.

In fact, they spend less than those

companies with moderately successful onboarding (but about

twice as much than companies with unsuccessful onboarding)

Onboarding can be disrupted • Innovative technology solutions

are shaking up Onboarding and turning it into an interactive and social experience

• Connects people with resources, mission, and people they need to succeed in their new role

• Leverage video and user-generated content to share knowledge and welcome new employees

• cFactor Works Virtual Day 1

Songs in the key of Onboarding • Most successful Onboarding

programs incorporate the following elements:

• Set and communicate clear job expectations

• Incorporate coaching and mentoring elements

• See the program as ‘long-term’ • Involve leadership and

management in the program

The link (or missing link) between Onboarding and

Performance

<60% of surveyed companies care about performance 100% of the time>

It seems that there is a pretty clear connection between successful onboarding and a successful employee. Yet, many companies are not making that connection, or at least measuring the outcomes of their programs.

Remember, no one is a star on Day 1

How to tie Onboarding to Performance from Day 1

• Keys to realizing performance and retention rewards from the most successful Onboarding programs incorporate the following elements:

• Formally measure the productivity and success of new employees

• Incorporate coaching and mentoring beyond the ‘official’ onboarding period

• Reinforce key Onboarding messages for the long-term

• Ensure relocation is managed

Onboarding and accountability

The Role of Retention

<Or, would you rather start the entire recruiting process again?>

Why should you care?

Churn, churn, churn

Retain don’t Recruit • Recruiting – Estimates vary, but it can cost up to 200% of an individual’s salary

to find, hire, and train a replacement • Learning – All that time you spent getting the last new hire up to speed? Be

prepared to do it all over again. And we know how much experienced staff LOVE training newbies

• Workforce Management – That important project you committed to deliver in Q4 once your team was staffed up? Well, the boss STILL needs it delivered in Q4.

• Culture – Remember all the ‘unwritten rules’ that the new guy needed 6 months to figure out? Well, the latest ‘new guy’ doesn’t know any of them either.

• Employer Brand – Excess turnover often sends a message to the market – ‘That is a messed-up place to work.’ People naturally will second-guess an employer that seems to be leaking talent.

• What are some of the ways that employers can strengthen these parts of the Talent process, and help build a Talent and Leadership pipeline?

Pulling it all together

<Retention has to be easier than recruiting, right?>

Five Closing Thoughts…

• Managers – You simply can’t underestimate the importance of the manager as it impacts employee retention and success. Spend time and more time with managers to make sure they are involved, providing clear direction, and feedback.

• Mentors – One of the best ways to help new employees feel welcome, and less overwhelmed is to connect them with formal and informal coaches and mentors. Expand the ‘buddy system’ to encompass more elements of the new employee experience.

• Momentum – Look at Onboarding as a long-term, year long program. Remember the average time to full productivity is 8 months. Unless you want a lot of sinking, ‘sink or swim’ is usually not a winning approach.

• Mobility – Understand the mobility ability and preferences of your best talent and Hi-Pos. Don’t surprise an exec and say he/she needs to move to Shanghai in order to progress and not know if they are ready for that move.

• Mix– Mix things up, enable new employees to bond with each other inside and outside the office, create an atmosphere that stimulates and inspires while avoiding workplace ruts increase the chances that your organization will retain a valued employee – and maximize the company’s return on its investment.

That all start with ‘M’

Let’s admit it seems simpler and easier to try

and buy or rent talent when we have a gap,

rather than work to retain and develop from within

sometimes.

DEEP THOUGHTS: How do you get your HR organization and your leaders to think

about talent and people with a slightly

longer view?

[email protected] steveboese.squarespace.com HRTechConference.com Twitter: @SteveBoese LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/steveboese