As a Human Resources Consultant, I frequently field questions about employee tenure, retention, and of course, temination for no particular reason other than the employee is “…not a good fit.” I remind my clients that it all beings with interviewing and selection and effective onboarding. As most Human Resources Professionals can attest, there is no exact science to candiate selection, but there are proactive measures that must be taken. A multi-step interview process, beginning with a phone interview, followed up with multi-level interviews, and the use effective behavioral based interview questions, used to determine culture and behavioral fit. Utilizing thorough and consistent hiring practices will result in improved employee retention.
Onboarding, or otherwise referred to as new hire orientation, may very well dictate the tenure of the employee. Human Resources Professionals will agree that what a new hire experiences in the first minute, hour, day and week of a new job will build loyalty or have him or her running for the door. Onboarding programs should include staff introductions and subsequent organization chart (pictures help), review of company history, mission and vision. Employees should know how their individual contributions assist the the organization in achieving goals. Simply showing someone where the restrooms are located will not yeild the same result!