By Rosa Lokaisingh

Why would an employer spend a considerable amount of money to hire the right candidate, and then leave him/her to sink or swim within the organization? This does not make good business sense and can have a serious impact in many areas, especially in loyalty, productivity and retention.

The talent market is a highly stressful place right now, and organizations need to invest considerable time in onboarding the new hire or student to welcome, nurture, educate, and orient them, to ensure the employer receives a high ROI. Students need onboarding as much as any new hire, while they are being engaged for co-op placements, internships and projects. This makes a huge difference as to whether a student wants to return to your company or not.

1. Breeding loyalty

Building trust and loyalty is work – it’s no different to a romantic relationship. The real work starts after the wedding. Getting to know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes, goals and expectations will determine which way the relationship goes, both in business and personally. Not taking the time to onboard a new employee can have a negative impact on your company. Successful companies incorporate socialization strategies to give formal support to new hires to help them develop connections, build networks, and understand the workplace culture. This helps the integration process and starts productivity much earlier. Assigning a buddy usually works and takes the strain off management, while building rapport with the team.

2. Productivity

It is common knowledge that when someone feels a sense of belonging, he/she feels more of a sense of responsibility and motivation to contribute. Also without knowledge, it is pretty challenging to produce good work. Creating an inclusive environment goes a long way for new colleagues. So the new hire needs to understand what “fitting in” means and what’s acceptable/not acceptable to become part of a team, or a productive employee. Employees feel a sense of accomplishment when they are confident enough to give their input and adapt much better in their new environment. This inevitably increases accountability and productivity. The ROI instantly increases as the productivity improves.

3. Retention

 Employees who don’t feel connected tend to be less loyal, less engaged, and are more likely to leave. However, when a company has processes in place to welcome and engage the new hire as soon as possible, the chance that he/she feels inclined to stay is much stronger. Here are a few suggestions to keep the new hire interested:

•  Get forms signed early
• Schedule meetings with team members
• Arrange a list of tasks in the first week
• Have a team lunch
• Invite him/her to company events/meetings
• Have regular check-in sessions with new employee

The ROI for being proactive and taking these few steps to ensure the new hire is engaged is huge as the cost of replacing someone in 6 months or less is too costly. More than ever, SME’s need to look more seriously at the onboarding process, as the risk of spending their budget on recruiting, as opposed to training, is too great. In the end, the time invested is well worth the revenue saved through a proper onboarding process.

Rosa Lokaisingh, is our Business Innovation Connector at  Advantage Mississauga. She can be reached at 905-273-6151 Ext. 390 or
rlokaisingh@mbot.com. Visit www.advantagemississauga.com

About the Author

Mississauga Board of Trade