Canada Employed

Employers Need to do Better Job Welcoming New Employees if They Want to Keep Them

• All Aboard! Employers Need to do Better Job Welcoming New Employees if They Want to Keep Them

• Express Employment Outlines "Four C's of Onboarding"

• The Best Way to Keep Workers is to Welcome Them Properly

With unemployment near record lows, retaining talented employees is a top concern among employers across the country. But while a welcoming onboarding experience is essential to employee retention, many employers are ignoring this important process and losing their best employees in the process. 

Express Employment Professionals has laid out the four critical components for keeping good workers right from the start - the Four C's of Onboarding:

1. Company - Helping the employee understand the company's mission, goals, policies, customers, organizational structure and how their job fits into the big picture.
2. Connection - Helping the employee build relationships and information networks with colleagues.
3. Culture - Ensuring that the new hire understands the company's values, beliefs and environment and how they thrive in that environment.
4. Career - Mapping out the employee's personal objectives and how they are measured and realized, as well as setting out expectations for success and advancement.

Express provides these and other onboarding insights as part of its " Engage to Retain " initiative.

Shane DeCoste, an Express franchise owner in Halifax, Nova Scotia, explains that employers must have a well thought out onboarding plan. 

"Onboarding is frequently overlooked as a key element of employee retention," he said. "The labour market is tight, and employers spend a lot of time and resources in attracting qualified talent. Proper onboarding protects the investment employers make by ensuring that a new employee becomes properly exposed to their new work environment, its team members, culture and vision and values.  This can only happen through a dedicated onboarding program." 

Jessica Culo, an Express franchise owner in Edmonton, Alberta, agrees.

"After just their first day on the job, a new employee has determined whether the people and company are a great fit, or they are concerned with the company culture and may not feel like part of the team. The onboarding process is critical, and one of the biggest determinants of whether or not the person will stay in their new role."

According to both DeCoste and Culo, one of the most important onboarding tools is to pair new employees with a mentor or navigator.

"New employees being onboarded should be assigned a mentor or a veteran employee who can explain the company culture and answer any questions they have about their new employer and new position," DeCoste said.

"If new employees share connections with long-time employees, whether it be supporting the same sports team, where they grew up, places they've visited or familial similarities, it goes a long way to create a positive experience for a new employee, creates trust right off the bat and helps them feel like part of the team," Culo added. "But that can only happen if an effort is made to immediately connect a new employee with other employees, and that requires a mindful onboarding plan." 

Another important onboarding strategy is to ensure new employees are immediately made to feel like part of the team.

"Employers should make formal introductions on day one to fellow team members, organizational leaders and key employees to foster a comfortable, open environment for the new employee," DeCoste said. "Too often new employees are left on their own to find their way and it can often become isolating and frustrating, leading new employees to question their fit with their new employer."

Culo encourages companies to consider a start date of Friday instead of the traditional Monday.

"Often, Fridays are more casual, people tend to have more time to connect, visit and learn from each other," she said. 

First impressions are everything, agrees Express CEO Bill Stoller.

"If an employee's first week or first month is spent fumbling their way through a new job and new company without any help, they won't feel like part of the team, and soon they will be looking for an exit. But if a company invests in them, they are far more likely to be invested in that company for the long haul."

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If you would like to arrange for an interview to discuss this topic, please contact Ana Curic at (613) 858-2622 or email ana@mapleleafstrategies.com.

About Bill Stoller

William H. "Bill" Stoller is chairman and chief executive officer of Express Employment Professionals. Headquartered in Oklahoma City, the international staffing company has more than 800 franchises in the U.S., Canada and South Africa. Since its inception, Express has put more than 7.7 million people to work worldwide.

About Express Employment Professionals

Express Employment Professionals puts people to work. It generated $3.56 billion in sales and employed a record 566,000 people in 2018. Its long-term goal is to put a million people to work annually. For more information, visit ExpressPros.com.