This article first appeared on Food Industry Executive. Read the original post here.
You finally got through the two-month hiring process for your new team member, just for them to quit three weeks into the job. You’re left frustrated and at a loss of what happened. Unfortunately, this is the all-too common scenario for hiring managers.
30% of employees quit during the first 90 days of a new job - meaning those first three months of integrating your new hire are crucial to get right, starting from the very first interview. The three largest drivers for turnover are a flawed interview process, unclear expectations, and lack of a solid onboarding process.
A flawed hiring process can set your company up to deter strong candidates, forcing you to settle for a smaller, less talented pool of individuals. Not only are you starting the hiring process with a pool that doesn’t allow you to be selective, but an unpleasant candidate experience during hiring is a key ingredient in the recipe for turnover - a very costly challenge.
As you know, the costs of high turnover can be detrimental to your company’s bottom line. Not only the expenses of recruitment, training, and resources - but also large amounts of lost time and productivity.
Let’s dissect some of the most common mistakes that lead to premature turnover and the simple, low-cost solutions you can implement to combat these challenges.
Where Employers Are Going Wrong
1. Using Generic Job Descriptions
When a strong candidate clicks on your job posting and sees a bare-bones, generic list of duties that was likely copied and pasted from another company, consider them a missed applicant.
Employers are making the common mistake of using cookie-cutter job descriptions that do not paint a full picture of the position – a proven way to miss quality candidates at the first hello, limiting your talent pool right out the gate.
Candidates should be able to read a job description and understand where their time will be spent, what a typical day entails, the environment they will be working in, and their role’s impact on the company/department. Candidates want to know what working in this role (and for your company) will both look and feel like.
The job description for a sales position, for example, should go beyond the basics to clearly state whether the sales individual will inherit a book of business or start from scratch, how much time will be spent prospecting vs. maintaining current accounts, whether there will be any customer service involved, the assigned territory, and who they will work cross-functionally with at the company.
It’s common to believe the more content, the better; but this is far from the case. Cut the “fluff” and think quality over quantity when crafting your job description. Include concise and accurate details about the position, limiting generalities. Focus on including more scope of the role and the percentages of where their time will be spent. Put yourself in the shoes of the job seeker - what information would you want to know before applying for this position?
2. The Wrong Person Interviewing
As a candidate, nothing is more frustrating than leaving the first interview with unanswered questions. All too common, we see organizations leave the first interview to an individual that doesn’t have the intimate details of the role, with the hiring manager not involved until later in the process. The right candidates will not be satisfied with this type of interview experience and will likely walk away from the opportunity, further restricting your candidate pool in the early stages of hiring.
During the first discussion, the interviewer still has to “sell” the role. The candidate is still in discovery mode, trying to properly gauge if the company and job are a fit for them. Whether it’s the hiring manager or another person interviewing, at a minimum, the interviewer should know the following about the role:
- The day-to-day tasks and responsibilities
- Department structure (who this hire reports to, collaborates with, and any direct reports)
- Required technical skills, education, or training
- Onboarding and training process
- Working environment
- Advancement opportunities
- Information regarding compensation, bonus/commission, and benefits
3. Setting Inaccurate Job Expectations
The number one reason employees left a company the first 90 days was that the day-to-day role was not what they had expected, according to JobVite's Job Seeker Nation Report.
While the interviewer should be working to “sell” the role, it’s critical to remain fully transparent and provide the details of the role in a realistic and factual way. Be sure to share both the positive and negative aspects of the role, not overselling or sugarcoating.
The same goes for describing your company’s culture. Provide the candidate with realistic information on what they can expect if they join your company. For example, is your workplace laid-back and flexible, or should they expect a high-energy, performance-driven environment?
Set the candidate up to meet with a few peers within the organization, giving them the opportunity to meet potential future teammates and gain an overall better sense of your company’s culture.
If a hired candidate gets started and realizes the job (or company) is not what they expected, you’ll unfortunately find yourself looking for a replacement sooner than later.
4. Slow Process and Feedback
In the current digital age, candidates expect feedback after interviewing more quickly than ever before. According to AgHires' recent Job Seeker Survey, 50% of job seekers expect to receive interview feedback within 3-5 days, and 33% expect to hear back within 1-2 days.
It’s common for candidates to withdraw their application when the hiring process is moving too slow and they don’t feel prioritized as a candidate in consideration. If slow movement doesn’t cause them to withdraw, other job offers likely will. Strong talent gets grabbed off the market quickly, so moving and responding to candidates in a timely manner is key.
Give candidates a timeline on when they can expect to hear back from you throughout each stage of the process. The more touchpoints you have with your candidates, the better.
Be sure to have a structured, pre-planned hiring process in place, and don't begin the process until you’re fully ready to be all-in and devote the time. While vetting and hiring the right person takes time, it’s crucial to move through the process thoroughly, yet with a sense of urgency.
5. Messy Onboarding
Proper onboarding is the first step in ensuring you retain your new hire. To limit turnover, smooth and effective integration is just as important as a positive hiring experience.
Start integrating your new hire with the company as soon as possible, even before their first official day. Before their start date, order and set up any equipment, schedule meetings or lunches to meet team members, and take the extra step to ensure they feel welcome.
After the start date, schedule regular check-ins during the first few months to discuss their progress and allow for questions. Also utilize the buddy system, pairing your new hire with a more seasoned team member to support, guide, and keep communication open as they navigate the transition. Don’t let your new hire feel like they are stranded on an island with no support.
A structured onboarding process with adequate training is another key to reducing that first 90-day turnover risk. An employee who feels they were not properly trained or equipped is starting their new role with a bad taste in their mouth.
If your new hire experienced hiccups in the interview process, don’t allow poor onboarding to be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. Your new hire will ultimately decide they made the wrong choice in accepting the job, leaving you to start the hiring process over from scratch.
Turnover and Your Bottom Line
A flawed interview process, unclear expectations, and lacking onboarding destines your company to face the costs and challenges of turnover time and time again. Vacant positions also require your current employees’ workload to increase, potentially causing a vicious cycle of additional turnover and lost productivity.
Implementing these tips to prioritize a well-executed hiring process, pleasant candidate experience, and effective onboarding will help mitigate turnover costs and retain employees, setting your company up for long-term success and profitability.
