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Making new hires stick: engagement is the key
By Elaine Varelas, 8/1/2005
For new employees, identifying the unspoken rules and rituals of an organization can be tricky. The office hours are 8 to 5, but are those who leave at 5 pm considered slackers? Is it a voicemail or e-mail culture? Is a closed door meeting a common occurrence or a sign of bad things to come? What are the CEO's pet projects?
The answers to these questions can't be found in the employee handbook, but they are key indicators of an organization's culture. How much and how fast a new hire learns about the culture of a company can drastically impact his or her success. Will the transition be smooth, or will the new employee trip and stumble through those first vital months at work?
Statistics show that 60% of all new executives fail within the first 18 months on the job. With this knowledge in hand, organizations must take a close look at the factors that make their employees succeed and fail, and establish protocols and resources to increase the likelihood of success for all new hires. While assimilation must ultimately be driven by employees and their managers, HR deserves an equal share of the challenge of making new hires stick, especially at the executive level.
Traditionally, HR managers are responsible for the formal orientation program: ID pictures, employee handbooks, benefits and policy explanations, on-the-job training, supervisor meetings, and office assignments. Employees are then left to flourish or perish - at their own risk!
Those with a savvy assistant usually fare well. From the assistant, the new executive may learn that nobody drinks the coffee in the break room, or that staff meetings start at 8:00 a.m., but most arrive at 7:30 because the CEO has been known to start early (and chastise latecomers).
Aside from assigning a helpful assistant to every new hire, what can HR managers do to help new employees assimilate? And why is it so important?
The new buzzword in HR circles goes well beyond retention - now, it's all about "engagement." You're not just trying to keep people, but engage them. If new hires are fully integrated into the organization's culture, they can make their highest and best contribution most quickly - which leads to a higher level of commitment and success.
How can HR managers help engage employees?
Formalize Hope - Before any person is hired, there is always hope about what that person will do for the organization. Verbalize that hope. Let people know why they were chosen over other candidates. Discuss the positive impact the new hire's success will have on the organization and on his or her peers, so others are motivated to help them succeed. What is the one key difference that person brings? New employees should also be clear on priorities and goals, with a time frame to roll out their initiatives.
Share Your Culture - What is the company's vision and mission, and how did it come to be? How does the team work as a group? Does the new hire's work style mesh with the accepted style? New employees do best when armed with information. When you can, speak your "unspoken" expectations by including them in discussions (early and often).
Assign a Mirror - Designate a colleague to offer honest, critical information about the new employee's performance for the short term. Interpersonal skills need tweaking? The mirror is there to give feedback, support and encouragement.
Evaluate and Check-in - Schedule routine check-ins with the employee's manager every quarter for the first year. Is the person contributing at the expected level and meeting goals? If not, enlist the help of the employee and manager to identify the barriers, and the means to knock them down.
Make Connections - We know networking is an important part of landing a job, but it also helps executives succeed in their jobs. Assist the new employee in forging alliances and building an interior network of support to help them navigate the organization. They may need feedback from workers in different departments, or even vendors or customers.
HR managers should be accountable for the successful engagement of new employees.
After all, they helped hire them. The key is to foster an environment of open communication and continued support throughout the organization - a place where an employee can ask those tricky questions, and actually get answers!
Elaine Varelas is Managing Partner of Business Development at Keystone Partners, a career management firm headquartered in Boston, and has over 20 years of career development and HR experience. She also serves on the board of directors for Career Partners International, the world's largest career management partnership. E-mail her at .
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