I recently ran across a Harvard Business Review (HBR) article that made me chuckle. It was entitled "How to make sure a new hire feels included from day one." Our experience in the GOVT space could be better described as Off-Boarding new employees because the common practice is certainly nothing less than off-putting.
The HBR article talks about the importance of "meeting" the new employee on the first day so they "feel" welcome and goes on to describe a complex series of things that must be in place for a good onboarding experience.
Sadly, in the GOVT staffing space employees are all-too-often viewed as commodities and their onboarding experience is at best, self-service. Things considered standard best practice in the industry are simply not happening in our industry.
"Poor onboarding can lead to unnecessary and costly turnover, the cost of which can be as much as two times the annual salary of the employee." (HBR)
Consider these common "onboarding" experiences of civilian government employees:
Forget that "in-take" at most government facilities is an espionage-like, mission-impossible – proper onboarding by us, as employers, is a matter of simple common courtesy. After all, none of these new employees were in need of a job when we recruited them. We got them into this!
Excuses can and often are made based on the unfriendly, bureaucratic nature of government employment. But much of the fault is ours for not making basic onboarding arrangements and not showing basic appreciation for the people who make our business possible. Most of things mentioned by HBR are laughable in our context, but there are strategies we can employ that will make a difference.
"From the survey, we learned that the little things matter most to new hires — like having a working computer and immediate access to the building, email, and the intranet on day one." (HBR - June 2018)
Here are some Key Elements of a good onboarding strategy in the GOVT contracting context:
This should be delivered by snail mail a full two weeks before the employee's start date and should redundantly include all the related employment brochures, handbooks and documents related to working for your company. It should also include a warm welcome letter from the company CEO and direct contact information for the HR representative.
This should be confirmed and reconfirmed including the name, title, and cell phone number of the party responsible for meeting and directing the new employee at the GOVT facility. In addition, the employee should have the cell phone number and an available contact (at any hour of the morning) for someone from your company in case there is a first-day problem.
HR should take responsibility for making sure this transition is smooth and that all enrollments are completed and questions answered. Often it is weeks before employees are even enrolled in basic benefits.
Make sure someone checks in without fail with the employee on the first day to make sure everything is OK and to troubleshoot any problems.
To welcome them the first week (by mail). Promotional gift companies have ideas in spades (www.promodirect.com).
After this it is good to check in by phone at regular intervals (3 weeks, 30 days, 60 days, 90 days).
And remember there is a workforce shortage in America (read about it here) so, "If you are not recruiting your own employees, you are the only one who isn't."
Rob Kurz is a Certified Employee Retention Specialist (CERS). Feel free to contact him for consulting on comprehensive retention strategies for your employees – 505-379-3306
