Business keeps evolving and will continue to do so in any free market. Companies that choose to move with the market and flex to the needs of consumers will grow and evolve. Those that don’t will cease to exist. Change is inevitable and simply part of life even in the corporate world. There are two large changes that have occurred over the last century of business. One is the growth and expansion of technology. The other is the ability to retain employees in jobs. This change in attrition happens to be a direct cause of the evolution of technology. Computers simple replaced certain human tasks and the evolution of the workforce shifted. Companies use to have no problem retaining employees. Employees would spend their lifetime working day in and day out in the same job. Companies were able to provide a pension upon retirement after a long 25 or 30 years of clocking in and out.
Evolution has presented itself with the current workforce staying in their jobs an average of fewer than two years. Today, one of the largest and most costly issues companies face is attrition. It’s expensive to lose employees. Sometimes costing companies up to 2 times the employee’s annual salary to recruit, hire and train a replacement. That’s a hard hit to a company’s bottom line.
Part of the evolution of business requires companies to be flexible and change to the needs of the consumer and the direction of the market. While this is essential for companies to stay afloat it also creates a problem. Companies cut back, lay employees off and re-align themselves to keep moving forward. Not everyone adapts to change well and employees often view and accept these changes as “the company doesn’t care about me”. So, in turn, the question becomes “Why should I care about the company”?
So, how do we get employees to stay longer in their jobs and alter the current path of corporate evolution? Certainly, this is not a simple task. There are many variables that play into the short attrition rate of employees. Companies, once again must evolve and alter their approach to job seekers. Change the current view of the employee from “what can you do for us?” to “how can we help you perform your best and bring you to a high level of productivity faster?” Changing our mindset is only half the battle. We can use the very tools that evolution has brought us. Technology.
Companies have been using applicant tracking systems for years making the job search process completely different from just 10 years ago. Gone are the days of paper applications and help wanted job postings in the newspaper. Today, we can also say goodbye paper-based new hire packets and say hello to SuccessFactors Onboarding system. Hiring has just evolved to the next level.
SuccessFactors has discovered the missing link to hiring and retaining new employees. Onboarding offers a comprehensive approach focusing on the needs of the new hires and hiring managers. SuccessFactors takes onboarding beyond orientation and compliance and elevates it to be a strategic part of the talent management, as described in this article by SAP.
The key to Onboarding is how SuccessFactors has mapped out relationship mechanisms for the new hire. Provided them with a method and process for connecting to people pre-day 1 and for the first 90 days of work. These mechanisms can be different based on each company’s culture. However, consider the following:
- Assign a buddy/mentor the new hire can reach out to pre-day 1 and throughout the first 90 days
- Acknowledge valuable team members as strong resources
- Ensures key introductions within the first few days
- Change the focus to what the new hire can bring to the organization rather than “how great we are”
- Provision all technology day 1 or even before
- Allow early access to internal social networks
- Provide a clear understanding of 30/60/90 day goals
The mechanisms for relationship building, networking, and early engagement are critical to the success of a new hire. But they can be difficult and perhaps impossible without maintaining communication and responsibility to internal team members, groups, and departments. An onboarding system can preserve the structure for you while delivering the necessary steps in the proper sequence ensuring that nothing falls through the cracks. The new hire’s start will be seamless and much less stressful for the Hiring Manager, Human Resources, IT, and Payroll, and the new hire themselves. Less stress means higher productivity for all parties involved in the new hire process. And here is where we have placed the missing link in corporate evolution.