MODERN RECRUITMENT they have to . It is important to note at this point , however , that the success of ‘ values alignment ’ relies on an organisation ’ s commitment to consistently doing what it says it will do . The moment someone detects that their employer is behaving in a way that contradicts the organisation ’ s stated values , they will feel this inauthenticity , and their motivation and accountability will start to decline .
Aligning vision and performance To further maximise the commitment of prospective and current employees , it is crucial to ensure that their individual performance objectives are clearly tied to the overall vision of the organisation . If an employee cannot see how their job contributes to the company ’ s success , they will quickly become disengaged . One way to ensure new employees commit to your vision , and accept accountability for their performance , is to have a well-designed onboarding process . Unfortunately , too many organisations still do not have an effective on-boarding process for new hires or recently promoted staff – preferring to rely on an archaic and potentially costly ‘ sink or swim ’ approach , which all too often sets these employees on a path to poor performance , disloyalty or all-out failure .
Why good on-boarding is so important A 2008 study by the Aberdeen Group discovered that 90 % of employees make their decision to stay at a company within the first six months of their hire . Further research , by the SHRM Foundation , found that on-boarding can increase retention rates by 50 % and reduce timeto-productivity by 60 %. To build a fully-engaged workforce , and hit key business-performance targets , it is vital for an organisation to establish a best-practice on-boarding process , in addition to any induction system that might already be in place . That is because a typical induction simply provides a new employee with the tools and compliance training they require to perform their role .
On-boarding goes a lot further , by ensuring the new starter :
• Embraces the purpose , vision , values and culture of the organisation
• Knows what skills , information and behaviours are required to be successful in their job , and
• Understands their individual responsibilities and performance objectives .
Sadly , induction and on-boarding are commonly confused , leading to a situation where the seeds of genuine accountability have never been planted and will therefore never grow .
Leaders who want employees to be purpose-driven , self-motivated and take pride in their work need a recruitment process that brings people who already have these attributes into their organisation . Concise position descriptions , quality candidate screening and a good on-boarding process will greatly improve your ability to attract and retain loyal , talented people , who will hit the ground running , with skill , passion and accountability .
An energetic entrepreneur , recruiter and executive coach , Christine Khor is the Managing Director of Chorus Executive ; a talent management company focussing on the recruitment , coaching and personal branding of executives . She is also Chair of The Hunger Project ’ s Victorian Development Board and a finalist for the 2015 Telstra Business Women ’ s Award . Her book Hire Love : how to hire passionate people to make greater profit has recently been published . Visit www . chorus-executive . com . au to learn more about the work Christine does .
June 2016 ModernBusiness 43