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Welcome to Freshman Year of Talent Management University. In this series we are explaining how to properly train, manage and successfully move your talent within your organization. Stay tuned as this is part one of our 3 part series.
The phrase may be considered cliché but the sentiment is not: your people are your greatest assets. No matter how tired we are of hearing the same reminder, it is one from which we can’t move away. Depending on the employee’s level, experience and tenure, the cost of turnover is high. To throw a ballpark number at you, some experts calculate the cost of replacing an entry-level employee to be between 30-50% of their annual salary; mid-level jumps to 150%.
It’s that loss of resources and productivity that leaves us passionate to give organizations the tools they need to curb employee loss and heighten productivity starting from the moment individuals join the team to the time they begin leading their own team of employees. Talent Management is a big job, but with our curriculum, we know you can accomplish it.
We designed Talent Management University because it touches on all the key experiences that practitioners and employees have—ones that feel like we have to repeat and relearn over and over again. From that nervous freshman year to the confidence of a graduating senior, if you view talent management as an arc, the parallels are easy to draw.
Freshman Orientation or… the New Hire Experience
1. Onboarding
Within the first six months of a new job, 86% of employees decide whether they’d like to stay or search for a different job. Aberdeen Group finds an additional 69% of new employees are likely to maintain a job for at least three years if the HR, managers and IT crews perform welcoming employee onboarding.
.@aberdeengroup finds 69% of new employees are likely to maintain a job for at least 3 years if HR, managers and IT crews do this:
It is for this reason that onboarding is one of the most robust things we offer. Instead of being an afterthought, onboarding should be where HR pros spend a good deal of time and effort. The lasting impact on retention and engagement have been proven time and again. 22% of turnover rates happen within 45 days. This tells us that new hires need guidance. Company culture can be scary to navigate the first few months.
Onboarding To-Dos:
- If you haven’t already, invest in a paperless onboarding system (no one likes filling out tons of forms on Day 1).
- Set up computers, phone lines, business cards, emails and workspaces before your new hire arrives.
- Give your new employee an agenda for their first day (preferably week).
- Assign your new hire a buddy or a guide to show them the important stuff (like the coffee maker!)
Working with a robust onboarding process can reduce turnover by 31%, so it’s worth doing.
How much do you hate filling out paperwork? How long are you going to convince yourself employees love it?
2. Training
A successful onboarding experience is nothing without the right segue into new hire training. You would be hard pressed to find a manager, or even employer, who was totally confident in their employee training and development program or efforts. It is an often overlooked part of employee investment, and it’s more important to workers than employers probably realize.
“Dissatisfaction with some employee-development efforts appears to fuel many early exits. We asked young managers what their employers do to help them grow in their jobs and what they’d like their employers to do, and found some large gaps. Workers reported that companies generally satisfy their needs for on-the-job development and that they value these opportunities, which include high-visibility positions and significant increases in responsibility. But they’re not getting much in the way of formal development, such as training, mentoring and coaching – things they also value highly.” - Monika Hamori, Jie Cao and Burak Koyuncu, Harvard Business
Simply put, your new hires want to work. While dumping projects and demands on them from day one isn’t the key to retention, comprehensive training and clear and consistent goals are imperative to keep great talent in your organization. This bring us to setting goals for your new hires (and really, all your employees!)
3. Goal Setting
If you’re familiar with ClearCompany, you might be sick of hearing about goals! We’re very focused on goals… and not to put too fine a point on it, your employees should be as well. Goal alignment is critical for organizational success. The problem is half of employees don’t even understand the organizational goals the company is working to solve.
Successfully setting goals with employees includes:
- Getting leadership buy-in
- A granular measure on the goal (meaning you have an actual KPI to attach to it)
- Specific WHYs to attach to the goal
- Alignment between strategic goals and tactical measures to achieve said goals
- Consistent communication of goals throughout the organization
Engage your new hires in their role and working toward something they understand. The uncertainty of not knowing where the job is going can drive new hires to other companies with more transparent and structured practices.
5 tactics to implement when communicating company goals with employees:
4. Comp & Benefits
According to Glassdoor, 79% of employees would prefer new or additional benefits to a pay increase. Not only do employees want more generous and secure benefits, but there is a clear link between better benefits and a company's ability to attract and retain employees. While we could have an entire webinar about benefits, here are some highlights to consider when creating a benefits program:
- Consider your workforce. Benefits like unlimited PTO are making waves at the moment, but if you work with manufacturing line workers, it’s a definite misfire for many reasons. Don’t hop on to a benefit train because it’s trendy.
- Ask your employees. Offering benefits your employees don’t want or need can be frustrating for employer and employee alike, so do yourself a favor and ask them what they want!
- Learn what your competitors are offering. It happens often that companies begin by offering a competitive benefits and compensation plan and then...stay there, while the world evolves and grows around them. Stay on top of your plans to ensure your leadership knows who’s offering what.
79% of employees would prefer new or additional benefits to a pay increase. Read more:
5. Employee records - Talent operating system
We’re at a crucial time in the personnel/HR arms race. What used to be dusty old employee records hiding in a file cabinet and impossible to search have morphed into multiplying data points about every employee, streaming in through every channel imaginable. It’s easy to become overwhelmed.
However, your talent management mechanisms should no longer be siloed from your employee’s daily work experience. Your team should be tracking personnel analytics for more than reports and for the extent of the talent lifecycle. Those metrics should directly integrate into talent management techniques and methods. When metrics and management tools are merged, your team is able to further extend the impact of goals, lower the chance for errors and more easily observe the productivity techniques that resonate with your employees. We use something we call a Talent Operating System for this. Smaller than an HRIS, way better than Excel, it’s where all your employee data goes for whenever you need to access it.
Congratulations you have made it past your first year at Talent Management University. Be sure to check out part two and part three! Looking for help when it comes to managing your talent? Look no further, sign up for a free demo of our award-winning talent management software today!
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