"First" Impressions

"First" impressions matter - for real. And not just the impression that is made when your new employee walks in the door on their first day, although that critically matters as well.

Recent research from BambooHR found that, on average, employers only have 44 days to influence a new hire's retention. And that's the average, meaning 50% of your new hires are making their decision quicker than that!

What this means is that you MUST be intentional with your new employee - throughout their ENTIRE onboarding process - making every effort to ensure that all the things you shared as true in the interview process are in fact true in their job and their team, and with the organization they've chosen to be a part of. For all intents and purposes, it was a "leap of faith" for them to join up with you. Make sure that that leap has as soft and pleasant a landing as possible - or you might find that employee is taking another "leap" in the near future - to an organization other than yours.

Oftentimes, we overcomplicate things. We convince ourselves that big programs and sophisticated initiatives and fancy mission statement wall hangings and all the "things" will solve our staff retention problem. And don't get me wrong, there is a place for all of those, but when it comes to new hires, it's usually the simple and demonstrative that have the greatest impact.

Ask yourself these questions...
1. Am I facilitating connection for my new hires with their new colleagues?
2. Have I provided the necessary resources to equip my new hire for success?
3. Am I checking in periodically (perhaps even daily for the first weeks) to "take their temperature" on how things are going?
4. Have you asked them - "has your experience so far matched up to what was discussed during the interview?" If the answer is 'no,' find ways to quickly close those gaps.
5. Does my new hire feel seen as a person? Are there ways in which you could be more accommodating or flexible, recognizing that they are a "whole person" that has a life well beyond the four walls of your company?
6. Are you celebrating their little "wins" along the way?

Care for your people and the business results that you want can co-exist - let's make the best set of "first" impressions that we can - your new hire and your business will be all the better for it.