April 2008

Orientation Begins Before Day One

You've been recruiting and interviewing for months. You've finally identified a top candidate, and your number one choice has said, "I will." You've set the start date, and you prepare for the first day of employment. You get the orientation checklist together.  You prepare the office space. You tell your employees about their new coworker. You even put a little sign in the front lobby welcoming the new employee.

You wait, and you wait, and you wait.  You finally call the new employee.  "No, I don't think this is the move I need to make right now," the candidate states.  "I've decided not to take your offer."

"Not take my offer?" Suddenly you feel as though you're in a Twilight Zone episode. Somewhere, when you weren't looking, it seems as though the tables turned and candidates suddenly decided to be cavalier about jobs and making money. You're not alone in this experience. Many hiring managers have also discovered that they've hired no-shows. Many seemingly interested candidates often get cold feet and decide to either stay where they are or take another offer, and they don't even have the courtesy to let you know. 

This is particularly true if you recruit college students, often months in advance of the start date. In fact, the longer the time between making the offer and the start date, the more you should consider developing strategies to begin building loyalty and commitment with the new hire well ahead of time:

Invite the new hire to tour your facility.  If the candidate hasn't yet been on a company tour, invite the candidate, post-offer, to see the entire operation. During the tour, introduce the candidate to future co-workers, and show the candidate his or her work area. Stress the quality products and services your organization offers, and point out any features that makes your organization a great place to work. Convene a lunch so the candidate can get to know the team in a fun, group setting.

Invite the candidate and family members to the facility.  Family members may also want to see the facility and may enjoy the facility tour. Since family members can support the individual in their move, get them on your team to emphasize your company as a great place to work. Again, this is especially valuable with new graduates. Their parents could be an especially valuable ally in getting their children launched.

When recruiting an out-of-town new hire, invite the candidate and family members for a tour of the community.  You're not only selling the company, you're selling a whole new life for the new hire.  Help your new employees build up excitement about their new world. Include a house-hunting or apartment shopping tour, a tour of schools, as well as the more fun attractions, such as sporting venues, shopping areas, art centers, theatres, restaurants, health clubs, and other areas of interest.

Team up the soon-to-be-employee with a coworker.  Many organizations have a buddy or mentoring program for new employees.  This provides the new hire another contact, other than human resources and the hiring manager, for answers and insights into the new job.

Send a gift.  Boost company loyalty by sending a gift basket, flowers, or logo wear to get the new hire excited about working for your organization.  Granny's Goodies in Alexandria, Virginia provides gift boxes - often for college students who have accepted the job offer - which include coffee mugs with the company's name, coffee, cookies, and other goodies (knowing that this is often exam time when the students might enjoy some special pampering). Another organization sends flowers to the individual who has just accepted the offer - at their old place of employment. This also sends a message to employees that your company might be worthy of their consideration as well!

Send company literature. You should also send company literature to the candidate so the new employee will be able to hit the ground running. Send benefits information so that the individual and family members can familiarize themselves with this information and pose questions before the individual's first day of employment. Also, be sure to send product/service information to build a sense of pride in the new employee.

Arrange to give the new hires a company email address in advance of the first day. This way they can start the time-consuming process of announcing their transition to everyone in their email address book. Not only is it better for you that they take on this project on their own time, they're selling themselves on the new job with each excited email they send to yet another friend bragging about their new career move.

Start your orientation process before Day One, and by the time they report for work, they'll already feel like a valued, established member of the team.

The Truth About Hiring The Best

Unemployment rates are at record lows, making it even more challenging to find the best employees. Hiring managers want new, creative ways to recruit and select top employees. Savvy managers also know they're not just hiring for one open position-they're creating the future for their department and their organization.

The Truth About Hiring The Best, written by Employment Strategist Cathy Fyock, is the first easy-to-digest, practical book that dispels the myths about how to identify, recruit, and then select the best people. Cathy draws upon her experience as a recruiter, hiring manager, and employment consultant in providing "break-through aha's" to help you find the best people for your organization.

Anyone who needs to make a hiring decision can benefit from this book-from department managers, to business owners, to HR professionals. Whether you need to hire one person every five years or 500 people now, this book will help you meet your goals.

Available now through Amazon.com

Talent matters. No one denies this fact. But there is often a gap between wanting and getting talent.  Cathy Fyock's 53 "truths" provide concrete, practical, and well tested ideas to close the talent gap. The ideas are reasonable, grounded in research, and actionable.  This is an excellent book for those who pay attention to hiring.  The 53 truths offer a roadmap for doing this important task more effectively.

Dave Ulrich

Professor of Business, University of Michigan

Partner, The RBL Group

t      April 7, "So You Want To Be A Consultant," Employment Guide Career Fair Workshop, Louisville, KY

t      April 22, "The Truth About Hiring The Best," The Fischer Group, Crestview Hills, KY

t      May 6 - 7, "America's Workforce is Coming of Age: Retaining and engaging an aging workforce," Association of Legal Administrators Annual Conference, Seattle, WA

t      June 2, "The Truth About Hiring The Best," Huddle House Owner-Operators' Conference, Sandestin, FL

t      June 24, "The Truth About Hiring The Best," Society for Human Resource Management Annual Conference, Chicago, IL

About Cathy Fyock

Are you looking for a high-content speaker for your next conference or meeting?  Call or email Cathy to find out how she can work with you to meet your specific goals and objectives.

Cathy Fyock, CSP, SPHR, is an employment strategist-helping organizations develop strategies to recruit and retain top talent in an aging and changing marketplace.  For nearly 20 years she has combined her knowledge of work-force issues and her talents as a speaker to provide innovative and inspirational learning events. She has helped organizations attract top talent, reduce turnover, and improve productivity in a volatile labor market.

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