You know what they say: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
That's certainly true when it comes to how you manage your new hire turnover.
What's so special about new hire turnover?
Well, first of all, it hurts your business in a few different ways.
When someone leaves within their first few months, you lose the time and money you invested into recruiting, onboarding, and training them.
Not to mention, the hiring manager has to start all over again while the rest of the team picks up the workload.
Of course, people change jobs more frequently nowadays in order to move up the career ladder faster or earn a better salary.
Economic shifts, new technology, and a changing job market make retaining top talent more and more difficult.
At the same time, recurring instances of "new hire turnover" may be a sign of bait-and-switch job postings, poor onboarding processes, or a work environment that doesn't align with what the candidate expected.
But how do you as an HR leader get started?
This guide walks you through the basics of new hire turnover including:
- how it differs from "regular" turnover
- why it matters
- and why new employees leave.
You'll also find helpful tips for reducing new employees' turnover and using regular employee surveys to identify areas of improvement on the new hire experience.
How to prevent new hire turnover
How is new hire turnover different from regular turnover
If you work in HR, you're familiar with employee turnover. It's an unfortunate but inevitable part of the business world. But new hire turnover can be a particularly frustrating kind of turnover to deal with.
New hires are more likely to quit than seasoned employees. Why is this? The answer has to do with attachment.
Imagine a new hire as a sapling planted in unfamiliar soil. They haven't put down deep roots, they haven't formed strong bonds with the team, and they haven't been imbued with a sense of belonging within the organization.
As a result, it's easier for them to cut ties with the organization at the first sign of discomfort or dissatisfaction.
Why does new hire turnover matter?
Employee turnover lowers morale
Your team is excited to welcome a new member, and then they suddenly quit.
Everyone had built up expectations, and it's disappointing if not downright disillusioning, to learn that someone you looked forward to working with is no longer with the company.
This sparks questions and uncertainty within the team. "Why did they leave? Could it happen to me? Is something wrong with our team or company?"
Employee turnover decreases productivity
Your new hire leaving disrupts work and decreases productivity. Your team has to pick up the slack or find a way to keep things running until a replacement's found.
This impacts the quality of work within your team and creates a productivity drag while you find a replacement.
Employee turnover also disrupts the dynamics of your team. Every team member brings something unique to the table in terms of skills and perspectives. When new hires leave, your team has to adjust to not having them.
This reduces the diversity of your workforce, leading to less innovative solutions and slower growth.
New hire turnover can impact employer brand
Every interaction an employee has with your organization contributes to your employer brand, which impacts how prospective candidates view you.
When new hires leave, they talk about their experience to the job market. They talk to their colleagues, friends, and family. They even leave reviews on platforms like Glassdoor.
And thanks to social media, their negative experience can be shared and amplified to a wide audience in no time.
A pattern of new hires leaving quickly paints a picture of an organization where people don't wish to stick around.
New hire turnover strains hiring budget
Hiring a new employee costs more than just their salary. It takes money to recruit, screen, interview, onboard, train, and process new employees.
When a new hire leaves prematurely, these investments go down the drain. What's more, you've now got to shell out the money again to fill that same position. This is money that could've been invested in other productive avenues if turnover was reduced.
Plus, having to hire again and again for the same position can lead to rushed hiring decisions, compromising the quality of your hires.
Why do new hires leave?
Poor onboarding and new employee training
Imagine starting a new job at an unfamiliar office.
You're anxious, you're excited, and you're hopeful that you're going to do something worthwhile.
But if you're not properly onboarded, those first few days and weeks can be confusing and irritating.
A messy, rushed, or incomplete onboarding process can leave you feeling uncertain about what you're meant to be doing, what your job is, and where you fit within the larger company.
This can make you feel isolated and overwhelmed. You may struggle to build relationships with your new coworkers, understand the company's culture, or even what your job actually entails.
If you're never properly introduced to your new workplace, you might decide it's not for you and quit.
On the flip side, a good training program gives a newcomer the information and skills they need to do their job confidently and competently.
When there's little to no training, a new employee may find their work hard to do, resulting in stress about their performance, dissatisfaction, and ultimately, a decision to quit.
Training shouldn't be a one-time event. It should be an ongoing opportunity for new employees to continue building their skills and knowledge.
The job isn't what they signed up for
What people expect from their job is formed during the hiring process by the job posting, interviews, and other communications with the employer.
If the actual job doesn't align with these expectations, the new employee feels unhappy and disappointed.
For instance, they could feel like there's more paperwork than they expected. They could feel like the team doesn't work together the way they thought it would. Or they could feel like the workplace culture isn't as progressive as they thought it would be.
Whatever the case may be, this causes the new employee to question how truthful and transparent the company is. This lack of trust causes them to disconnect emotionally and look for other jobs.
Similarly, if a new hire feels like the position won't give them the training or promotion opportunities they desire, this disappointment may prompt them to look for a role more in line with their long-term career plans.
They have a poor relationship with their manager
A new hire's relationship with their boss significantly impacts their experience at work. This person serves as a role model and is the primary source of direction, feedback, and support.
If this relationship is characterized by friction, poor communication, or a lack of support, a newcomer's happiness with their job and their level of engagement can decline.
For instance, if their boss is difficult to get ahold of, the new employee may feel adrift or unsupported.
Perhaps their boss leads in a way that's overly critical or fails to acknowledge anything they've done, making the newcomer feel invisible or unappreciated.
If a newcomer doesn't receive clear and helpful feedback from their manager, then their development and progress stall, leading to frustration and dissatisfaction at their job.
Similarly, if a manager fails to offer the support needed during those challenging first weeks, a newcomer may feel overwhelmed and uncertain about their ability to handle the job.
How to reduce new hire turnover
Use onboarding surveys
Onboarding surveys give you the opportunity to understand a new hire's perception of your organization, their role, and their experience during the first few days of their journey.
Tools like Sparkbay can help you manage this process effectively by providing powerful tools to create and distribute surveys and analyze the data.
With Sparkbay, you can gather feedback from new hire onboarding surveys that shed light on different aspects of your onboarding process, such as:
- The effectiveness of your orientation program
- Clarity of role expectations
- Quality of training
- Level of support provided
This data helps you understand the highs and lows of a new hire's experience and make timely adjustments to improve their satisfaction and engagement levels.
Plus, with Sparkbay you can easily conduct regular follow-up surveys to track how the new hire's experience evolves over time, creating a constant stream of feedback to improve their experience and promote a healthy, engaging work environment that encourages retention.
Improve your hiring process
How your potential employee experiences the hiring process is critical to setting expectations and forming their perception of your company. A poorly managed hiring process can lead to mismatched expectations, causing new hire dissatisfaction and early turnover.
Make your entire hiring process transparent, from the job description to the interview process, so there are no surprises for new hires.
Plus, consider your candidate experience.
Plan onboarding programs
An onboarding program is a new hire's guide to their first few weeks or months in your organization.
It's a systematic, structured way to equip them with the resources, knowledge, and connections they need to thrive.
Successful onboarding programs include job training, opportunities to learn about the company culture and network with colleagues, and an introduction to the organization's structure and processes.
If your new hires go through a well-designed onboarding program, they'll feel confident, informed, and connected to your organization. They'll feel less anxious and more productive.
Plus, an effective onboarding program creates a sense of belonging and loyalty that significantly reduces the chances of early turnover.
Coordinate with hiring managers
As an HR professional, you play an important role in reducing new hire turnover. But there's another player that can't be overlooked: hiring managers.
Hiring managers are the new hire's main point of contact and support during their first days. They're instrumental in establishing a positive working relationship.
Working closely with hiring managers ensures that everyone is on the same page about setting clear expectations for roles, providing supportive supervision, and keeping an open line of communication.
A good hiring manager helps create a welcoming, inclusive, and engaging work environment that fuels job satisfaction and inspires new hires to stay.
Consider how you can train your hiring managers on effective onboarding techniques, provide them with feedback on their management style, and keep an open dialogue about new hire retention.
Preventing new hire turnover is a journey
As an HR professional, you're at the helm of this journey. Your decisions and actions impact the experiences of new hires.
By focusing on transparent hiring processes, supportive onboarding programs, and meaningful interactions, you can reduce new hire turnover and create a more stable, engaged, and productive workforce.
If you're interested in learning how Sparkbay can help you build a more engaged workforce, you can click here for a demo.
If you're interested in learning how Sparkbay can help you build a more engaged workforce, you can click here for a demo.
