In this tough labor market, it is more crucial than ever to retain talent. Hiring new staff takes a large toll on company resources. If you have a strong relationship with a reputable employment agency, you may not be contributing to the up-front costs of advertisements and screening. However,  you are investing time to properly train these new staff members! If you have high turnover in the first 90 days of an employee timeline, something needs to change.

Develop strong, detailed job descriptions

As a job seeker, there is nothing worse than looking through multiple job boards and seeing short, generic job descriptions! A passive job advertisement will receive passive job applicants; if you do not take the time to describe the job atmosphere, expectations, responsibilities, and detail the benefits, you are going to find yourself with 100+ applicants with little-to-nothing in common. However, with a proper job description, you have a better chance of attracting applicants that are both qualified and eager for this role.

Have no idea where to start? If you know that you need to make a hire, first conduct a needs assessment: where are you short-handed and what functions or skills will this new person need to perform in order to best help? This assessment will help to identify key job responsibilities and essential functions for your job description. Next, identify what qualifications or competencies will be required or desirable to achieve success in this role. Finally, it is important to assess mental of physical demands of this role to include in the final job description.

Job descriptions are critical in the hiring phase and even more important to new employees- they can be a strong tool to hold new employees accountable for performance!

Set your new employee up for success with PROPER TRAINING!

Lackluster training can be a source of major problems. If the new hire is not educated on policies, procedures, and basic job functions, how can they be expected to adhere to them? More importantly, an employee will not be engaged or invested in his new role if he does not feel valued. The easiest way to do this? Be prepared with a training plan for at least the first few weeks of employment.

When creating a training plan, it is good to first set expectations with time frames. If you want a new receptionist to be able to answer phone calls independently by the end of the first week, your training plan should reflect this goal. Once clear expectations and responsibilities (guided by that handy job description) are established, creating training steps to accomplish those goals becomes easier.

Encourage open communication

The retention process continues on far after the first few weeks or months of a new job. If your company doesn’t practice an “open-door policy”, employees should still be encouraged to discuss employment concerns with immediate supervisors. If management is not aware of an employee issue or training discrepancy, how could it be remedied? The sad truth is  poor communication will lead to job dissatisfaction and, ultimately, high turnover. Creating an atmosphere of open communication and encouraging feedback from all staff members (especially new hires!) is one of the best tools you have as an employer to improve retention.

Once training is complete, it is a good idea to schedule periodic “check-ins” with this new staff member. Establishing a 90-day meeting for new hires is always a good practice. This time can be used to address any current gaps in performance or training, communicate intentions for future responsibilities or tasks, etc. Additionally, this is an opportune time to evaluate the employee’s job satisfaction and future development goals.

 

Last tip:  if you want to ensure success for your new staff members, consider the golden rule: Put yourself in their shoes. What training or treatment would help you to be most successful in a new role?

If your company has been struggling to retain top talent or general staff members, Affinity Personnel Solutions can help! Contact one of our Certified Staffing Professional’s to discuss how we can use these tips and more to help your company.

 

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