The three reasons why your new hire is thinking of quitting and what you can do to change the outcome.
Unless you’re aware of the psychological triggers which make people quit, your new employee will be starting to make the decision in their minds to leave during the very first week at work.
Statistics show that one in three people who start a new job will walk in the first 90 days. Often it can take as long as six months for a resignation email to land in your inbox.
By understanding why people quit and putting simple onboarding strategies in place, you can pinpoint issues at a much earlier stage.
Top three reasons why people quit according to a 2018 Jobsite survey[1].
What a new hire is thinking
“I didn’t sign up for this!”
When the reality of the job does not meet expectations, your new hire will feel confused and disappointed. This is the top reason a new hire will resign. Sometimes the job description has changed scope. Or there’s been a lack of clear communication between the recruiter, HR and hiring manager. You should check in with your new starter at the end of the first week. Ask them if there’s anything unclear about the role. Ideally, frequent check-in meetings should be planned throughout the first three months.
“Something ‘bad’ happened”
Imagine turning up on the first day to a desk with a stack of files on it. No computer, no idea where to start. Alarm bells will be ringing. You’ll quickly start looking for the door. As their manager, you may not even be aware this is their experience. In addition to an HR contact, assigning a co-worker as a buddy is important. Give your newest team member someone they can talk to. If you respond to concerns early, you have a better chance to salvage the situation.
“I don’t like how they do things around here”
The deal breaker when people are juggling multiple job offers is a company’s brand, values, and culture. At the interview, your new hire was figuring out if there was alignment between your company’s values and their own personal ones. However, interviewees won’t know whether the company culture is a good fit until they arrive. Helping a new employee to navigate the social aspects of their new working world is an important part of understanding the cultural norms of an organisation. Strong working relationships are a key driver of job satisfaction and long-term commitment.
If a new hire quits, what do you do now?
First, it’s important to assess what just happened. Have an open conversation with the person’s manager. Get feedback from their co-workers. Is it a one-off or does this seem to keep happening within the same team or manager?
Do you know what your benchmark is for retention? How is your business tracking against it? This can indicate whether there are deeper issues at play. No matter how you look at it, sometimes a new hire turns out to not be a good fit for the company, but without a clear onboarding process in place, you won’t get the chance to resolve the issues that keep great talent from quitting.
Pulse Software is an Australian SaaS company that provides a cloud-based integrated suite of Business Process Management software to help organisations manage a complex workforce, improve operational efficiency, mitigate risk and meet regulatory and compliance requirements.
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