Although hiring has slowed down for many organizations, now is the ideal time to look internally and ensure your company is ready to make that first impression again (you don’t get a second chance!). Nearly 25% of new hires leave a job within the first year because their expectations about an organization aren’t met.

Providing only an employee handbook and stacks of paperwork is no longer sufficient. You must invest the energy, time and commitment to ensure each new hire feels welcomed, valued and prepared for what lies ahead. Time to get onboard!  

• Plan. Programs often fail due to lack of planning and commitment. Think about what your onboarding program needs to accomplish, the kind of impression you want to make, what information new hires need to become productive quickly and what will help them feel welcome. Be sure to solicit feedback from recent hires and collaborate across teams for valuable opinions and insight.  
• Organize. Internal communication and organization are fundamental to ensuring things run smoothly on day one.
  • Get your team ready — Fill them in about his or her start date, seat location and role; block off time in Outlook for them to sync up; schedule a welcome lunch
  • Get your environment ready — Stock their work area with necessities and something special, such as a t-shirt; send a welcome email to the entire staff
  • Get your new hire ready — Send out an agenda outlining key meetings and the subjects to review; provide a tour of your facility, complete with introductions; assign a mentor
• Improve. Continue to touch base with new hires. This will help you improve your program and anticipate future new hire questions. Communicate with those participating in the program to ensure they have what they need to fulfill their commitment. Don’t be afraid to start small and expand as you obtain feedback. And be creative. Implement things that help support your culture. Consider rotating between multiple participants during rapid hiring phases to avoid burnout.  

Effective onboarding programs can help new hires reach productivity quickly, setting reasonable expectations on both sides and, ultimately, decreasing your turnover rate. It’s an investment in employee retention, morale and productivity!  Are you onboard? 

Employees who feel engaged by their employers have strong emotional bonds to their jobs, care about the future of the company and, in turn, are willing to invest discretionary effort into their work. As a whole, an engaged workforce supports increased company performance and profitability.   

With the Dow Jones dropping, national unemployment rates rising and many companies downsizing, employers across the board have been faced with tough business decisions. Here are a few ways management can drive and support employee engagement during times of uncertainty:

• Partnerships. A culture of collaboration promotes innovation and understanding during a shaky economy. Managers need to continue to focus on approachability, meaningful dialogue, people connections, style adaptation and commitment. If partnerships are missing from your workplace, now is a great time to start building them.
  
• Communication. Keep employees informed and updated, even if the news isn’t always good. Employees need a constant stream of information, reinforced in different ways by different parties. Use weekly staff meetings to provide updates, team meetings to break the information into project-specific initiatives, and bi-weekly 1-on-1 discussions to help answer individual concerns and gain feedback. Lack of communication will deteriorate employee trust.
• Benefits. During difficult economic times, employees need to feel like their personal security needs are being met. Continuing to have quality, affordable benefits in difficult economic times is necessary. Scaling back employee benefits, while sometimes necessary, almost always negatively impacts employee engagement.
• Opportunity. Envisioning opportunity in the midst of a crisis can be difficult, but its critical employees understand opportunities exist. Managers should focus on providing employees with insight as to how their current position supports both present and future growth potential on both sides. Outlining how an employee can impact company success during a recession will help him or her stay positive.
  

An engaged workforce doesn’t completely shield a company from an economic recession. It can, however, help protect your organization from the effects of the economic downturn.