When the labor market is tight, onboarding matters even more
Posted by Paradigm Learning on June 11, 2018
The argument for more immersive, comprehensive new hire orientation has some strong backing. In fact, we've put together an entire infographic around the stats, pitfalls, and high stakes associated with onboarding. But before we get into that, let's explore this "tight labor market."
The Numbers
The current, record-setting unemployment rate of 3.8 percent favors employees and job-seekers, while it leaves employers clinging to their talent. The smaller talent pool puts organizations in the uncomfortable position of having to lower their standards and/or sweeten their offerings.
If you can't beat them, join them
Because of this “buyers’ market,” many organizations are looking to the trendsetters and leaders in organizational culture and talent acquisition. Exceptional company culture and high employee retention rates don’t happen by accident. The relationship between the abstract idea of culture and the concrete attrition numbers is symbiotic. Here’s what the crème de la crème are doing to win this talent war.
• Clearly defining company culture
Great culture doesn’t happen by accident. Not only should an organization’s goals, mission, vision, and values be clearly defined – they need to be effectively delivered. It’s never too late to spread the message, but there is no better time than an employee’s first day.
• Socializing new hires
As soon as a new hire breaks the threshold of their new workplace, they should be given every opportunity to establish meaningful social connections. These connections empower new hires to ask questions, encourage them to work collaboratively and most importantly, give them a sense of community.
60 percent of managers who fail to onboard successfully cite failure to establish effective working relationships as a primary reason. – SHRM
• Make it fun
Recently, I’ve seen arguments against using gamification to teach complex topics and/or otherwise dry material (think expense reports). But anyone who has experienced or even topically researched the benefits of gamification will tell you different.
Leveraging the competitive spirit and using tried and true frameworks are among the best ways to not only deliver dry content – but to make it stick.
It’s not going to get any easier
With some analysts forecasting the unemployment to drop as low as 3.3 percent in 2019, the value of talent and scarcity will continue to rise. And as the value of talent rises, so does the importance of onboarding.
About that infographic…
With so many areas to cover, it’s easy to imagine how an onboarding experience can go wrong. Below, we show you why bad onboarding is bad for business.
