36
36
BUSINESS AND TRAINING
Making a new
employee happy
The way you introduce a new employee to your
company can make or break their experience of the
company and be the difference between whether
they become a productive part of your enterprise or
simply a drain on your resources.
By Warren Robertson
Your employee onboarding programme
is the first and, in many ways, the only
opportunity you have to get your new
employees on the right track. Far too many
companies railroad individuals through
an abbreviated ‘orientation’ programme
that is simply outdated, off-putting, and
counterproductive.
You cannot simply drop new employees in
with just a few hours’ worth of ‘training’
and expect them to be successful, or even
capable of doing their jobs. Nor can you expect
them to perform their best without proper
acclimatisation to their new roles. This goes for
new hires right off the street and for long-time
employees that are transitioning into new
positions within the company.
Preboarding
Many successful companies these days are
starting to engage in onboarding their employees
before they have even stepped through the
door for their first day. Studies have shown that
it is not uncommon for employees to accept a
position, only for their excitement to diminish
dramatically in the few weeks before they
actually start the job.
Preboarding is the attempt to fill that time gap
between acceptance and attendance with
activities and events aimed at quelling those
inevitable nagging doubts in new employees’
minds. This is no small thing, as workplace
research indicates that nearly 90% of new hires
decide in the first six months of employment
whether or not they plan to stay long term.
Moreover, other studies indicate that onboarding
Employees need to be integrated fully — not just
slotted into their new roles. So, what can you do
to boost your onboarding programme to minimise
costly turnover?
Fitting a new employee into your company should be done gradually.
www.plumbingafrica.co.za
@plumbingonline
@plumbingonline
@PlumbingAfricaOnline
September 2019 Volume 25 I Number 7