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How high does your new employee onboarding rate?

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In today’s highly competitive business landscape, hiring top talent is no longer enough to ensure long-term success. Companies must also focus on effectively integrating new employees into their teams and cultivating a sense of belonging from day one through their new employee onboarding process.

According to research and studies, there is considerable work to be done in this area. The failure rate for new hires within the first 18 months ranges between 25% and 46%.  Studies also tell us that Gen Z (born from 1995 to 2009) and soon to represent almost one-third of the Australian workforce have “itchy feet”, with over one-third (39%) planning to leave their job within one year.

It’s a given that training and development have always been important for employee engagement, and 63% of Gen Z agree! Based on these figures, it’s easy to see why the crucial process of new employee onboarding can make or break the success of an organisation’s retention goals. And if done poorly increases recruitment costs dramatically.

Companies must go beyond paperwork and logistics 

New employee onboarding goes beyond the paperwork and logistics of getting a team member up to speed. It is about:

  • creating a positive first impression,
  • setting clear expectations,
  • providing necessary resources, and
  • fostering a supportive environment for growth.

A well-executed onboarding program can help new employees feel welcomed, empowered, and motivated, leading to higher retention rates and productivity.

One critical aspect of employee onboarding is the selection process. Companies invest significant time and resources in finding the right candidate. However, the importance of providing feedback on assessments conducted during the selection process is often overlooked. Sharing the results of these assessments with the new employee can be immensely valuable as part of their onboarding and employee journey with an organisation.

Providing assessment results to new employees allows them to understand their strengths and areas for development. This feedback not only helps individuals gain self-awareness but also aids in aligning their goals with the organisation’s objectives. By sharing the assessment results, companies demonstrate a commitment to the growth and development of their employees right from the start.

Moreover, incorporating the results of psychometric assessments into the onboarding process can provide detailed insights to both the new team member and their manager. High quality psychometric assessments go beyond measuring skills and qualifications. They delve into personality traits, work styles, motivations, cognitive ability and behavioural tendencies. By understanding these aspects, managers can tailor their approach to supporting the individual employee’s development.

Information for strong new employee onboarding

A psychometric assessment should provide comprehensive information on the individual’s development areas. This information includes areas where they may need additional support or training to excel in their role. Armed with this knowledge, managers can create a well-defined development plan for the new team member, addressing their specific needs and setting them up for success.

Therefore, it is crucial to evaluate the effectiveness of your current psychometric assessment tool. Does it provide valuable information and insights to both the new team member and the manager? Does it offer actionable recommendations for development?

Assessing these aspects ensures that your onboarding process starts strong and sets the foundation for long-term success.

Reach out for a free psychometric assessment trial or to discuss a tailored approach for new employees in your organisation.

Manager vs Leader – a balancing act for effective organisational performance

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In the dynamic and ever-evolving landscape of contemporary business, the imperative for balancing manager vs leader roles to enhance their effectiveness has grown considerably.

Gartner research has identified this as the foremost strategic priority for HR in 2023.

The strategic approach for Managers vs Leaders

There is a growing belief that in addition to being more effective, managers and leaders also need to model and epitomise a more humane approach, characterised by:

  • heightened empathy,
  • effective communication, and
  • a dedicated focus on fostering robust relationships with their employees.

The significance of this belief stems from the fact that embracing these aspects greatly facilitates cultivating a positive and productive workplace culture.  When there’s a balance between acting in a manager vs a leader role and connecting with their employees personally, it fosters a sense of mutual respect and trust. This, in turn, can lead to:

  • better morale
  • increased employee engagement
  • higher levels of job satisfaction

Most agree that when employees feel like their manager or leader genuinely cares about them and their success, they are more likely to be inspired to exert increased effort and achieve peak performance. Building strong relationships with employees through balancing managerial and leadership roles can also provide more targeted and personalised support to help employees overcome challenges and achieve their goals.

The problem, according to Gartner, is that even though:

“HR leaders try to build commitment, courage and confidence in leaders to help them answer the call, ‘human’ leaders remain few and far between. Critical obstacles to success include their own (very human) emotions of doubt, fear and uncertainty”.

What is needed?

Many successful managers are technically outstanding, but sadly, they lack behind when it comes to “softer” skills. They need all the help they can get. For example, help can include practical tools that facilitate the appropriate discussion and development initiatives.

With the recruitment market forecast to remain tight, the role of managers in retaining top talent becomes indispensable. It’s accepted that employees are more likely to stay with a company where they feel valued, respected, and supported. So, by prioritising empathy, communication, and relationship-building, managers can balance their roles,  create a more attractive workplace for top performers and foster a stronger sense of loyalty.

To explore our tailored and user-friendly tools designed for each team member, contact us.

What’s the actual cost of replacing top performers at work?

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As a CFO or finance professional, to help determine what’s the actual cost of replacing top performers at work, what if I asked you to rank your team members from top to lower performers?

Your estimate will likely come up with numbers (give or take) that are approximately:

  • 25% of your team are high performers,
  • 50% are average performers, and
  • 25% are below par.

What distinguishes top performers at work?

According to a McKinsey study, high performers are 400% more productive than average performers. And the productivity difference might reach 800% in sophisticated professions such as management or software development. These outstanding performers have distinct cognitive, behavioural, and personality traits.

Identifying these traits and hiring outstanding individuals is likely to result in considerable financial rewards for your company.

These employees not only boost productivity and income production, but they can also improve:

  • staff turnover,
  • management workload, and
  • investor and consumer confidence.

A terrible hire could result in hidden costs, such as

  • lost corporate credibility,
  • greater stress, and
  • worse employee morale.

What’s the bottom line or actual cost of replacing your top performers at work?

The bottom line is that hiring the wrong person can have long-term implications for your organisation. So, getting it right the first time is essential. And it’s scary these costs are not captured in the P&L and that actual costs can show as staggeringly high.

Making another smart investment for your organisation

As a senior finance professional, you recognise the critical nature of making wise investments that yield a good return. However, in my experience, one area in which many firms frequently struggle is how they hire their people. That is, having a consistent replicable process across the organisation that results in the right outcome- a top performer.

Hiring the incorrect individual might cost you far more than you think, with estimates ranging from 30% to 250% of the employee’s compensation.

To solve these recruitment problems and significantly increase the hiring of top performers at work, our award-winning GR8PI assessments can help. The platform provides an easy approach to measuring and qualifying the attributes of high performers. Advanced analytics are employed for a thorough insight into a person’s cognitive ability, behavioural patterns, and professional interests and motivations.

As a result, making it simple to discover outstanding performers and avoid undesirable recruits and costs.

Investing in a recruitment strategy that easily and reliably identifies high performers is critical to the success of any firm. Senior executives we work with improved their ability to identify top performers by 300%.

Renatus Capital Partners, a private equity firm, says it best:

“We use GPI assessments for our own company and all our portfolio companies. Not only do they have tools they can customise for practically every HR situation but the diagnosis around same, advice on which tools to use and the outcomes are priceless.”

Mark Flood , Director – https://renatus.ie/

So, why not contact us today to learn more about how we can assist your company in identifying and hiring top performers?

People strategy for now and the future – how to close gaps

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Planning for a best People Strategy is essential. Your business strategy amounts to no more than words on a page if you don’t have “the right people in the rights seats on the bus”.

All elements of your employee life cycle must be linked: 

  • from attraction through to talent management, 
  • leadership development, and 
  • ongoing performance management. 

There is a great reward too in doing this. Studies tell us that organisations that prioritise their employee experience are four times more profitable than those who do not.

People Strategy v HR Strategy – what’s the difference?

HR Strategy tends to focus more on the planning side of people such as structures for hiring, onboarding, developing, and retaining. 

People Strategy is more about helping employees to grow, by creating an environment that nurtures and enables high performance. People Strategy usually focuses on: 

  • values, 
  • fostering diversity, 
  • inclusion and employee wellbeing, and 
  • predicting and reacting to workforce needs. 

In essence, creating a culture where employees share equal billing with shareholders and business goals.

According to the world-renowned Boston Consulting Group, the three pillars for developing a people strategy are leadership and culture, talent and skills, and HR. 

 

“In these challenging times, organisations must elevate the most important asset they have: their people. By focusing on the fundamentals of people strategy—leadership, culture, talent, reskilling, and HR—companies can emerge stronger, more agile, more innovative, and better able to respond to an ever-changing environment.”

 

I’d like to explore two of these pillars.

Leadership Culture and Strategy

There are many levers at a leader’s disposal to drive their organisations success and effectiveness.  Strategy and Culture are the most important. 

Strategy provides clarity of the company’s goals and helps to align people around them. Culture tends to express goals through organisational values and beliefs. Culture also guides tactics, activity, and implementation.

One thing is sure and that is culture and leadership are linked. Poor leadership and resultant toxic culture usually determine the fate of a business. Studies tell us up to 30% of employees say they left because of poor leadership. These findings highlight the need for every organisation to address this factor.

Culture in more detail

Culture is a more puzzling lever to activate. The reason for this is mainly because Culture can be ambiguous and embedded in unspoken behaviours, people’s mindsets, and social expectations.

Many leaders don’t always appreciate the power of culture. 

 

A recent Gartner Survey revealed that 75% of leadership believe that they run a culture of flexibility. Unfortunately, only 57% of employees agreed. 

 

This lack of appreciation can cause many leaders to either let culture go unmanaged or delegate it to HR, where it can slip to a secondary focus for the business. 

Successful leaders embrace the ambiguity of culture. In my experience many leaders I have met avail of the valuable culture diagnostic tools to understand where their orgnaisations culture is right now. These tools help them to answer questions such as: 

  • Is it more of a creative culture or a reactive culture? 
  • How do the culture snapshot of the board and senior leadership vary from the operational managers’ perspectives? 
  • How “real” is the conversation in the business?

Gaining clarity around culture can be as confronting as it is enlightening – but well worth the investment of time and focus. We partner with many specialists in this area, so reach out if you’d like to explore further.

Talent and skills

Sixty-four per cent of the world’s most admired companies say they have a good understanding of workforce needs two or more years into the future compared to 54% of their peers. 

 

That same recent Gartner Survey I referred to earlier also revealed the same 75% of leadership also felt that they did a good job incorporating employee voice in decision making. Unfortunately, in this case only 47% of employees agreed. 

 

The forced extreme disruption, which was the last two years, has meant that most businesses naturally thought more about survival than future talent and skills needs. Now is the time to think about your future talent and skills requirements. Some steps to take include:

  • Ensure Employee Pulse Surveys acknowledge and act on the feedback provided
  • Use customised psychometric assessments to identify traits and skills gaps
  • Incorporate customised 360° surveys as part of your development programs
  • Facilitate regular check-ins between individuals’ teams and managers

Lastly, lockdown work from home is different from long-term working remotely. Most organisation psychologists accept that loneliness, communication, and isolation can trigger depression. 

So, if there is a disconnect in your business between HR policies, the leadership strategies propelling them, and employee sentiment on the ground, greater emphasis must be placed on the needs this new work approach demands. 

For example, consider what capabilities and skills (soft and hard) are essential to be future-ready? Do all employees possess the discipline, conscientiousness, and results orientation to deliver in a hybrid environment? What might this mean for remote work and the flexibility we can offer? 

Through our business offering, we have many people analytics resources and tools to assist with both these pillars. Reach out if you’d like to discuss how we can help with the future of your people.