Telemarketing Software Featured Article

Every generation gets hit with stereotypes, and one that dogs the Millennial generation is that they don’t stay at their jobs long. This can be a problem, because many employees don’t really become cost-effective until at least a year on the job.

The Millennials aren’t the only ones changing jobs frequently, however; I remember one recent interview where I talked about wanting to be with the company for years to come, and the hiring manager frankly gave me a puzzled glance as if I had slipped into tongues by mistake. Increasingly, employees of all ages are changing jobs frequently, and businesses know it.

In that case this adds up to the need for faster onboarding, since there no longer is the luxury of waiting until year two or three before an employee comes into their prime.

Ultimately, slow onboarding comes down to a few key issues. Thankfully, these can be addressed.

Lack of planning. Good onboarding requires a strong plan. Far too often, employees are shown their desk, given the employment paperwork, and thrown in the thick of things. While on-the-job training can be good, a little better planning goes a long way to a smooth ramp-up for new hires.

Too much training. Conversely, a second cause of slow employee onboarding comes from training that takes too long. Theoretical situations and test work can be good, but too much and getting employees up to speed becomes an overly lengthy process.

Unrealistic expectation. Another problem is hiring employees and expecting a lot out of them right out of the gate. It takes time for employees to learn the procedures and what is expected of them, and the onboarding process can get stalled when the bar is set too high from the onset. It leads to employees who must pretend like they are ready when really a few more coaching or Q&A sessions would be useful.

Inadequate transitions. Finally, a fourth reason for failure to get the most out of employees is not preparing a transition where they are introduced to clients or shown how things are done. New employees are far too often thrown in the deep end like a rookie quarterback with no time to learn the offensive scheme.

The solution to all of these ultimately is planning and mentoring. And while this prescription is not earth-shattering, surprisingly few companies take it seriously. Which is their loss, because employees are going to change jobs whether or not their contributions to a company are maximized or not.