Smart Start

First 30 Days Critical in Training New Employees

GREATER DALLAS – Ignore it and you may find yourself caught in an endless purgatory of advertising, interviewing and evaluating. If you do it right, you’ll be one step closer to keeping a quality employee and saving time, energy, and money. If you do it wrong, you’ll buy yourself an obscenely expensive revolving door.

The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that it costs a company one-third of a new hire’s annual salary to replace that employee. “Companies that don’t want to invest in training their employees will invest in replacing them. The probably of turnover is cut nearly in half when employees receive relevant, employer-sponsored training and are given the opportunity to implement the learning on the job,” said Joseph Jordan, president of Jordan Development Inc., a human resources consulting firm.

Since many HR surveys say that finding and keeping good employees is the No. 1 business issue today, it’s essential to start employees off right in the first 30 days to increase the chances they’ll succeed.

Failing to receive adequate training during those early weeks is one of the biggest reasons that new hires bail out early.

“Remember that starting a new job ranks as one of life’s most stressful events – right up there with weddings, funerals, divorce and death,”  said Mary Cheddie, president-elect of the Dallas Human Resource Management Association and vice president of human resources for FirstWorthing, a real estate investment and development company. “It’s important that the company help make the transition as smooth as possible with a good orientation program so that new hires feel comfortable in their new work environment. There should be no surprises. Make sure that you convey expectations and orient them to company philosophies, policies, and procedures.”

…“If someone is uncomfortable because they don’t know the rules and regulations, their productivity will be lowered because they’ll be worrying about that instead of the business problems they are trying to solve, “ said Chester Jenkins, chief operating officer.