Sure Signs You’re Letting New Employees Down

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Searching for new hires can feel like climbing a business mountain – it’s arduous work and, if you want to do it right, it often takes a fair amount of time. As a result, you’ll probably be keen to hold onto the hires you finally choose to bring on board. Unfortunately, studies reveal that 33% of employees leave within the first 90 days after taking a job. 

As well as sending you right back to employment square one, this is an issue that could cost you significantly if it keeps on happening. Over time, it could even be a problem that starts to impact morale amongst the team members you have. 

That’s something you want to avoid at all costs, and the best way to do that is to simply ask yourself why new hires don’t seem to stick around. Most often, there will be pretty obvious reasons for new talent to jump ship, and we’re going to consider a few of them here. 

# 1 – Breaking Your Promises

You’re a business owner, not a politician – you simply can’t afford to go back on your shiny employment promises the moment you bring a new team member on board. This is a big turn-off for employees who are not yet loyal to you and is sure to send those people you took ages employing right back out of your company doors. 

To avoid this, it’s crucial to remember that promises about benefits packages, inclusivity drives, and promotion opportunities should never become smoke and mirrors. If you’re making these claims during your employment drive, you need to start living up to them immediately to avoid disappointment. 

Admittedly, there may be times when an employee will need to complete a probation period before gaining benefits like health insurance. That’s not a problem so long as you’re upfront about this requirement from the beginning, and implement benefits immediately after that time has passed. As for things like inclusivity claims, these should be prevalent across your workplace via things like disabled access, an accepting workforce, and discrimination complaints procedures that are outlined from day one. 

# 2 – Clear Contractual Issues

Signing a contract is a workplace rite of passage, but employers often make mistakes here, too. This is especially true if you try to sneak in unexpected contractual clauses, like unlimited overtime or job crossovers that you’ve not spoken about with that individual. Equally, you may face issues if a contract doesn’t clearly outline discussed benefits or time off. 

These setbacks could stop a new hire from even signing that contract in the first place, meaning that they could walk straight out and never come back with no legal recourse. And, that would very much leave you in the mud! 

This issue most often arises when you use blanket contracts that come straight out of HR and onto a new employee’s desk, but that’s something you should avoid at all costs. Instead, each contract should be fully personalized to incorporate everything you’ve discussed with a new employee, as well as the expectations of their specific role. While it might sound time-consuming, this effort at personalization couldn’t be easier with the help of tools like this AI document generator, which ensures you can easily customize employee-specific contract templates within a few quick clicks. Then, you can rest far more easily that new hires will be entirely happy with everything included, and thus more willing to stick around. 

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# 3 – Failing to Get on Top With Training

Whether you make training promises a big part of your employment drive or not, some degree of training should be a standard offering for new employees. This is true even if the individual in question is well experienced, as every workplace will have different processes and software to adjust to. If you simply throw new employees into the fire, you’re inevitably going to end up getting burned with a high turnover. 

To avoid that, always pair new employees with existing team members for their first hours on the job, as this will both ensure adequate training upfront and also make that first day a lot easier. Creating immediate connections like this can also help new hires feel immediately like they’re part of the team. 

Moving forward, semi-annual training seminars can make a big difference in the advancement opportunities that most high-performing talent will prioritize. Whether that’s forklift training and ongoing refreshers for new warehouse staff, or client-centric training for new members of your customer service team, these efforts can always help new hires to stick. 

# 4 – Forgetting to Follow Up

You’re a busy business manager, and it’s all too easy to get new hires set up and then forget about them. After all, you’re busy managing deals and producing products – you may simply get caught up in that and assume employees will come to you if they need you. 

In truth, though, while an open-door management policy is great for ensuring non-intrusive accessibility, it’s rarely enough for new team members who may look for more proactive management support. Not only does following up with things like regular reviews and check-ins help new hires feel supported, but it also serves the purpose of ensuring that you’re both on the same page in terms of expected progress/performance. Not to mention that this is a great opportunity for new hires to address potential disappointments, like a lack of expected benefits, long before they consider walking out the door. 

Generally speaking, weekly one-on-ones are best when you first bring a new hire on board, certainly for the first month. Monthly reviews are then recommended for the first three months, as this ensures the opportunity to iron out any teething problems that arise throughout standard probationary periods. 

Takeaway

If you’re fed up with losing new hires, then it’s time to make a change. Save yourself time, money, and the reputational damage of a high new hire turnover by addressing each of these issues. Your time management, team, and budget will surely thank you for it.