Improve Retention With Onboarding Feedback

October 2018 Improve Retention With Onboarding Feedback

You’ve interviewed… you’ve contacted references… new hire paperwork is filled out and orientation checklists are checked. So why don’t things seem quite right with your new employee? The fact is, many companies’ onboarding procedures leave new hires feeling confused, ignored, and generally disenchanted with what they hoped would be a positive new beginning.

In a recent survey of employees who resigned jobs within six months of being hired, bambooHR found the top reasons for leaving so quickly were:

• They decided the work wasn’t something they wanted to do anymore (28%)
• They were given different work to do than was expected from the interview process (26%) and
• The boss was a jerk (23%)

Many employees said they wanted to have better training and clear guidelines about what their responsibilities would be. And 17% stated that “a friendly smile or help from a coworker would have made all the difference.”

Smart employers can catch issues like these early by examining the onboarding process and checking in with new staff to ensure they’re feeling confident and welcomed. Consider adding an Onboarding Survey to your hiring plan. Feedback from new employees regarding training effectiveness, supervisor and co-worker support, and alignment with the expectations created during interviews can help you make changes that will boost retention and improve the onboarding experience for future staff.

With the increasing role of websites such as Glassdoor in recruiting top talent, your onboarding survey could also uncover problems before negative reviews are spread to other job candidates. New employees are seeing your business with fresh eyes, and getting their feedback could be a game-changer for recruiting retention and overall employee satisfaction.

Sierra HR Partners can help you develop and administer custom onboarding surveys and employee satisfaction surveys. Contact us today if you’d like to learn more!