Are you ready for your 2024 new starters?
New year, new job!!
How many new starters or colleagues being promoted do you have in January 2024?
Based on when this is published, you’re fast approaching Christmas. That means realistically you have about 2 weeks left until people become preoccupied with stuffing flavours, whether it’s OK to have chocolate for breakfast and taking a break. So, now is the time to sense check that the Leaders you support are ready for their 2024 new starters.
On average, your organisation only has 44 days to make an impression that lasts. According to research by BambooHR, 70% of new hires said they decide if a new job is the right fit for them within the first month, and 29% know within the first week. That’s not a lot of time to avoid new starters regretting their decision to join you.
By taking positive and active steps to create a brilliant onboarding experience you reduce your chances of being impacted by these stats.
Now that I’ve frightened you about only having two weeks to get on top of this, here are my 3 top tips to get this on track for a positive start. You can also have a look at a previous blog that looks at getting the first week just right.
Check in with the Leaders of new starters.
Have they remembered they have a new starter in a few weeks' time? Remind them of the value of getting their experience right and the potential impacts of not taking care of this new starter early on.
They should be heavily invested in them being successful, you might just need to help guide them on how to do that really well.
Communication is key.
When did the hiring Leader last speak to the new person? A few weeks ahead of them starting is a great time to connect (if they are not actively doing this already).
You want to avoid them not arriving on day one but instead feeling valued and excited about starting. They’ll probably be wrapping up their previous role ahead of the break, so this positive interaction will support their decision to leave at a time when suddenly their old role starts to look attractive again!
This communication and contact is a great time to check that they have everything they need to start (as you have a few weeks to fix things if needed) and to make arrangements for day 1.
Encourage the hiring Leader to maintain communication and engagement throughout the first few weeks. This gives them an opportunity to not only identify any risks but is key to developing the relationship. A positive relationship will again reduce the feeling of regret and will help the new starter feel more relaxed and integrated, quickly.
Plan what needs sorting.
If you are worried that there isn’t enough in place to create a positive first impression in week one, don’t be disheartened. Get your Leaders to do as much as they can, encouraging them to actively engage and connect with their new starter in the first week to plan what needs to be arranged next.
If you can see now that there are major pieces missing that will negatively impact the onboarding experience of the new starter, work on a plan to resolve these quickly or identify a temporary solution until the matter can be fully addressed.
If you intend to change your onboarding experience because you know it isn’t where it needs to be, then be honest with your new starters. Tell them you are working on it and get them actively involved in shaping it. This will help them feel part of a solution and be more willing to look past problems – they are less likely to internalise them, more likely to contribute to the change, and are less likely to be a statistic – as long as you are genuine in your desire to change things.
You still have time to have a positive impact on your new starters arriving in 2024 (and don’t forget about those moving internally either!), so take action and make sure that their new year, new job - really is the start that they wanted.