The first 90 days of onboarding a new employee are essential to setting the tone for long-term success within your company. During this period of time, the employee isn't the only one being assessed; they are also assessing your company culture, expectations, and how they'll fit within your organization.
A good onboarding process and general goal-setting expectations are good, but more is often overlooked. And it's important to talk about it. Here, itec group explores some of the most essential retention tips to ensure your employees feel valued, supported, and motivated – all which aim to improve employee retention.
Why Employees Leave After 90 Days
Imagine this: you just hired a promising new employee. They begin the work; they seem to be slowly integrating – everyone seems happy. Then, you’re three months into everything, and… boom. They quit.
What happened? You gave them the job description and they aced the interview. What could have possibly gone wrong?
Before we get into the tips, let’s explore some of the reasons employees quit after 90 days.
1) Inadequate training: Sometimes, even if you hire an “experienced” employee, that doesn’t mean they’re in tune with your company’s unique system. While it’s good to value a self-starter who can hit the ground running, not providing adequate support and training can make an employee feel frustrated and unsupported.
2) Unrealized job expectations: Unrealized job expectations are a leading cause of post-hire exits, with 48% of employees leaving roles for this reason. Gen Z is more likely to move on, with 78% willing to quit if a job doesn’t hold up its promises.
3) Poor onboarding: According to Bamboo HR, 89% of employees feel a well-executed onboarding process contributes to their engagement level at work. A poor or complicated onboarding process, on the contrary, can have the opposite impact.
4) Misaligned expectations: Misaligned expectations tend to occur due to a lack of communication between an employee and the organization related to their role. This is when unclear job responsibilities and unmet promises come up during the recruitment process. According to ThriveMap, misaligned expectations are the reason 48% of employees quit.
5) Poor management: Listen, management is difficult, and if you’re onboarding a lot of employees, you can sometimes forget to check in. However, effective communication is a must throughout the employee journey, and managers play an essential role in making sure their employees understand everything about the job. When managers fail to communicate and provide support, recognition of accomplishments, and guidance, it creates a sour experience for the employee.
6) Poor work-life balance: Having high expectations is good, but your employees aren’t likely to stay around if their work-life balance is poor. Poor work-life balance can lead to burnout, and burnout can lead to exiting a job stage left.
7) Limited areas for growth: Employees work for companies where they can grow and will leave the ones that provide little opportunity. The fewer opportunities in the company, the more likely employees are to move on.
Moving On: The Tips and Tricks
Now that we’ve addressed some of the primary reasons employees leave a job after the “90-day rule”, let’s explore some of the tips and tricks to make your onboarding process seamless.
Congratulate Early Wins
Small successes can have a snowball effect once they get rolling – but they won't get rolling if you don't give them a little 'push.' Whether they complete their first project or hit a key milestone, congratulating your new hires for a job well done gives them opportunities to feel motivated early on.
These wins build confidence and give them a good reason to continue working hard. It's a powerful way to encourage a good work ethic without "cracking the whip." Instead, an approach that shows support and gratitude shows your employees that working hard pays off.
Make Management Accessible
Being a manager is hard work – but their team needs them. Having supportive management can completely make or break whether or not an employee decides to stay with a company or not. Make sure that managers aren't just available, but that they're approachable and ready to mentor employees while they gain their footing. Knowing that your leadership has a genuine interest in your career success can completely transform an employee's attitude.
Address Their Concerns Early On
Any job is going to have challenges: adapting to a new environment, a new system, new role expectations, and so on. Imagine if your employees effectively communicate their challenges and you find a way to solve them before they become a job-ending matter.
Employees who feel like they have to jump through hoops just to do a simple task are going to get frustrated, making them more likely to turn out. However, when a company alleviates possible roadblocks, it sends the message that their concerns matter.
Make Growth Opportunities Clear
Do you know what motivates employees? Growth. How do employees know they have growth opportunities? When they're effectively communicated. Try sharing stories of employees who started in similar roles and moved up the corporate ladder as an example of success stories. Offer training programs and development initiatives. If new hires see a future with you, they're much more likely to commit themselves to you.
Create Work-Life Balance
Remember what we mentioned earlier? It can't be overstated that employees need work-life balance. During that first 90-day rule, employees are going to fight hard to prove themselves – perhaps to the point of being overwhelmed. While it's good to encourage a good work ethic, you need to find a balance.
Encourage them to take necessary breaks, use their PTO appropriately, and disconnect from work at the end of the day. Promoting work-life balance indicates that the company cares about their well-being enough that they take action. This also prevents burnout... and has the interesting effect of making employees willing to step up more.
Show Them the Big Picture
Employees feel motivated when they can see the fruits of their labour, especially when it plays into the company's bigger picture. Show employees the different departments and how their work comes to create a bigger picture within the company. It'll give them a greater sense of purpose outside of their current role.
Give and Take Feedback
Yes, giving your employees constructive feedback is essential, but you also must be able to take feedback about their experiences thus far and where they can see improvement. Make an environment where they feel they can provide feedback and receive it in a way that is constructive to both parties, making for a better work experience. There's always room for improvement.
Create a Supportive Workspace
Even experienced employees can find it overwhelming to enter a new position, and everyone needs to feel like their environment is supportive. Give new hires a mentor during the early days who can take them through the ins and outs of day-to-day work life, so they understand what to expect. This can quell that early work anxiety and show your employees that you care about their success. Plus, this has the added benefit of allowing employees to settle in more easily and get a head start on their new job experience.
Provide Feedback and Recognition
All achievements are important, even the smaller ones. While you don't have to throw confetti for every completed project, a simple: "Good work, thanks for your effort!" early on can go a long way in supporting the happiness of your employees. Happy employees = productive, LONG-TERM employees. You can even provide incentives for your employees to reach certain milestones. This could be as much as a yearly bonus to something as simple as a coffee gift card - just to show employees that their work is appreciated.
Celebrate That 90-Day Milestone!
Rather than making that 90-day marker something to be afraid of in terms of employee turnover, make it a milestone. Have a small celebration in the office for the near hires to make the quarterly milestone. Or, you can even have a personal discussion of gratitude and review with your employees to truly leave them with a lasting impression. If you're thankful to have them after three months, you're likely to have them after 9-12.
Some Additional Considerations
While this blog may have seemed very employee-focused, they aren’t the only focus. While, yes, creating an environment that encourages employee retention is important, there are essential tips to consider during the hiring process:
1) Fully vet your potential hires: look to see if your hire has a history of leaving jobs quickly. If there’s a significant gap in their work history, check in to see if they have a valid reason for the gap. Oftentimes, people have had children, may have experienced illness, or could have had a spouse providing for both parties.
2) Check references: While experience is very important, so are the references that come with them. Make sure that former managers and employers have a positive attitude towards their past employees and that they have a good history of being consistent.
3) Provide a trial run: You can create a simple project test to vet your employee’s willingness and skillset for the job. This could be a mini project to test their ability, shadowing a colleague, etc.
itec group Can Help
itec group offers both contract and permanent placement options that are completely tailored to your business. If you're having difficulty with employee turnover, you can work with us to make sure you're getting the right people for your business who are going to be happy to remain committed and long-term.
Contact us today for more information.
