7 Reasons Your New Hires Aren’t Thriving

What do you do when the new employee you were so positive about just isn’t making it?

There are seven likely reasons why. Don’t be surprised at how each reason, below, points to a solution, a strategy to help unlock a new hire’s true potential, increased productivity and growing effectiveness on your team.

1. Every new hire wants to feel welcomed and valued from day one.

That clear sense of feeling appreciated is part of a well-thought-out onboarding plan. As the saying goes, "You only have one chance to make a good first impression." Joni and Friends puts this wisdom to work for each new employee, beginning on that first morning, when the new hire is warmly greeted at the front door by his or her supervisor. A personal welcome, one-to-one visit, and coffee with the president translate to an immediate sense of belonging and team fit.

Every workday is an opportunity for any manager to make a new hire feel affirmed and appreciated. As Cate Givens, VP for Human Resource Services Joni and Friends, notes, “Strategic, effective onboarding means every new hire can catch the very heart and essence of our culture from the first day forward. These fresh faces will one day be the ones meeting with new employees, doing their part to help make the organization a great workplace for years to come.” How well is your organization doing this?

On the first day, it’s important to nail the details!

2. New hires need time to settle in, especially with the people around them.

According to BambooHR, up to 20% of employee turnover occurs within the first 45 days of employment. You can turn this reality check into an opportunity by reminding your new-hires that their onboarding process involves not only their first day and first week but the first six months.

While paperwork plays an integral role in onboarding, new-hire orientation is more about socialization and acculturation, which takes place over several weeks or months after hire.

3. New hires can re-set and thrive when they understand the organization’s:

• direction, goals and priorities,
• culture of shared assumptions, beliefs, values and traditions that define a group,
• performance expectations, since new hires are eager to know what’s expected of them,
• team approach where greater shared knowledge and common understanding mean more time spent on accomplishing the task at hand and less time resolving conflicts,
• effective communication that lessens misunderstanding (Dartmouth Manager’s Toolkit).

4. What new hires want the most. . . .

Consider:

• Some 14,000 global professionals about the types of onboarding techniques they preferred and the #1 choice was 1-on-1 time with their direct manager (LinkedIn).
• Nearly 60% of employees say having a mentor during their first few weeks on the job was very important to them (Society of Human Resources Management).
• Employees feel their managers have the greatest influence on whether or not a new-hire orientation is effective or not. Managers are responsible for providing adequate on-the-job training and proper employee socialization activities that could last weeks or even months into a new job (BambooHR).

5. Sometimes, a stuck point just needs a little WD-40!

It doesn’t hurt to re-examine the skill-match of the job to the new employee's gifts and talents, competencies, experience, and spiritual gifts. Give your talent needed latitude that can free the person to contribute his or her ideas, thoughts and style. The more they feel trusted and valued, the more they’re likely to excel and stay in their job. The most effective question you can ever ask a new hire is this: “What’s one thing that’s been life-giving for you at work?” Your willingness to care and to listen can free up anyone to realize and admit to something they’re really good at.

6. Ask yourself, “Have we made one of these five most common onboarding mistakes?”

The answer will help you see where you’re onboarding strategy is working and where it’s not. Chad Carter, Senior Director of Human Resources for The Gideons International, pinpoints the pain point beyond that of seeing underperforming new hires: “The costs for not investing in an effective onboarding program are far greater than simply losing and replacing new employees.”    

7. Four things every new hire wants to say:

Calling:

“I believe this is God’s assignment for me.”

 Confirmation:

“I made the right decision.”

 Connection:

“I know how I fit here.”

Contribution and Engagement:

“I love my job.”

If you’re not hearing these things, it might be wise to revisit your onboarding strategy. A great way to re-engage struggling new hires is to use an individual development plan.