How to establish new hire loyalty, motivation and advocacy during the onboarding journey
The significant value and relevance of investing in your new hires was underscored in Part 2 of this series. When you intentionally and thoughtfully invest in your candidates, you can transform them into happy, engaged and ultimately productive employees. This is the perfect segue for the final blog which pays a close focus on how to INSPIRE your new hires. It’s not an exaggeration to say that inspiring new employees can be a difficult undertaking. It takes energy, charisma, creativity, innovation and so much more. But providing inspiration during the pandemic? Well, that’s been a bit of a gargantuan challenge. The pandemic has done an extraordinary job of annihilating any semblance of normalcy, standard protocol and ordinariness for nearly a year. For everyone, everywhere. But looking straight into the eye of such adversity, the HR community united. That act alone punctuates the power of inspiration (and dedication)! Our motivation was not squelched, and we found alternate ways to accomplish the same or similar goals.Part 3: INSPIRE
Be a pedestal for success. When you INSPIRE someone, you “fill them with the desire or ability to do or feel something.” It’s all about empowerment, autonomy, ownership, advocacy, passion and long-term commitment. But how do you inspire new employees to get fired up about your organization? Or immerse them in the culture while embracing the company’s vision/mission? And during a pandemic of all things! Our super-charged panel of HR aficionados – Jess Von Bank, Don MacPherson and our Senior Solutions Manager, Danielle Balow – shared their sage insights and career wisdom during our live session at the 2020 HR Tech Symposium. Definitely our most unique topic, you’re sure to gain ample insights to inspire your new hires. Plus, it’ll set you apart from the rest while others merely quit after “invest” or sadly, even after “impress.” Introduce “stickiness” Jess Von Bank made a great statement: “Onboarding is not an employment contract; it’s an employment relationship.” She couldn’t be more accurate. Relationships are deeper, stronger and more personal than contracts. To maintain and grow those relationships, you have to nurture them by introducing stickiness. Immerse new employees into your company’s culture, brand and basic guiding principles. Encourage them to join:- company task forces
- trade associations
- user groups
- volunteer events
- Deliver digital invites to corporate associations and networks, allowing new hires to opt in where interested.
- Facilitate regular discussions around career growth opportunities and advancement.
- Send employees down your formalized review process for ongoing development. Don’t shy away from internal mobility.
- Flip the script: assign an employee as a buddy or mentor for the team’s next new hire.
- Recognize milestones and achievements by sending employees awards, eGifts or simply a genuine, raw “thank you” video. Whatever floats their boat (not yours).
- When they’re more comfortable, ask employees for honest feedback in a secure, anonymous fashion: What’s currently working for them? As a manager, how can you help them be more successful? What are their barriers?
- Share links and resources for continued learning opportunities delivered in the format your new hire learns best.
- As employees receive promotions or transition to different teams within the organization, reboard them into their new roles to ensure continued success and employee engagement.
