You undoubtedly want your new hires to hit the ground running and excel in their new roles. But if a new hire leaves or fails to meet expectations, you don’t want it to be due to an avoidable onboarding or management mistake.
According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), recruiting and onboarding a new employee can cost between $4,700 and 3-4 times their annual salary. To maximize your investment and avoid the hassle (and cost) of rehiring, take these three crucial actions:
1. Set Clear Expectations
While it may seem straightforward, ensuring new hires grasp expectations and understand how their performance will be measured can be easier said than done. Even seasoned managers can face challenges in delivering feedback and may encounter these common goal-setting pitfalls:
- Setting goals that are too vague or subtle, leaving employees to “read between the lines” to understand expectations
- Communicating expectations verbally without formalizing them in writing
- Providing unbalanced feedback, whether it’s overly positive or overly critical
One study found that approximately one-third of new hires leave their job within the first 90 days, with the top reason being the day-to-day role was not what they expected.
You can mitigate this risk by communicating expectations as early as the recruitment process. Creating clarity via well-written job descriptions, honest conversations about job responsibilities during interviews, and robust onboarding practices are all great ways to help employees understand what success looks like on the job.
Once employees are on board, follow up by crafting specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals that you revisit with employees on a routine (e.g., weekly or biweekly) basis.
2. Empower Employees with the Necessary Resources
A lack of resources should never be the reason a new employee fails. When employees don’t have what they need to feel empowered and perform at their best, it’s not just frustrating for them—it can also lower their engagement and drive them to leave.
The resources employees need to succeed go beyond the necessary equipment and an introduction to company policies and processes. They also include:
- Valuable interactions with cross-functional partners, customers, and other key stakeholders
- Exposure to organizational leaders and mentors who can offer ongoing guidance and support
- Access to training and development opportunities that enhance their skills and growth
3. Deliver Ongoing, Balanced Feedback
Providing honest feedback about employee strengths and areas for growth shows your dedication to their development. This approach not only fosters trust in the relationship but also helps employees feel valued and supported. By addressing potential issues early on, you can prevent more minor concerns from escalating into significant obstacles down the road.
Some key ways to do this include scheduling regular one-on-one meetings with each direct report and providing timely feedback rather than waiting days or weeks.
Giving balanced feedback isn’t always easy. Tough news can be difficult to deliver, and many managers aren’t equipped to do it properly. Gallup research found that only 14.5% of managers strongly agree they give feedback effectively, underscoring the value of manager training and strategic HR support.
Our team at Aspen HR can assist you in establishing robust performance goals that are reinforced with effective feedback mechanisms like the Situation-Behavior-Impact (SBI) feedback model.
Create a Path to Success for Every New Hire
Investing in your employees’ short and long-term success begins with a well-structured onboarding process and continues with ongoing support and development opportunities.
To ensure the success of your workforce and business, Aspen HR provides a comprehensive suite of PEO services—including onboarding, training, and performance management. As your trusted workforce management partner, we can help position your new hires to thrive and positively impact your company’s success. Speak to a member of our team to learn more.