Employee turnover can be a costly and disruptive problem for businesses of all sizes. According to research, 30% of new employees leave their jobs within the first 90 days of getting hired. This has been shown to cost on average 33% of their salary to replace them, taking into account recruiting and training. This doesn’t account for lost productivity, and it can creep much higher at leadership level.
So, once you have invested in this person and got them into the business, it really is costly if they don’t stay very long. To avoid this, it’s worth revisiting some of the of the basics and ensuring your house is in order. Here’s some considerations to help minimise 90 day employees in your organisation…
A transparent Employee Value Proposition (EVP)
Your EVP is a crucial element of how you attract and retain talent into your business. And in a competitive backdrop, an enticing EVP is becoming almost as critical as job role and salary when attracting new employees, so it’s no wonder organisations want to use this to their advantage. The risk comes when organisations oversell their EVP; exaggerating the good and not communicating the challenges. It should be a true reflection of your organisation’s environment to ensure you attract the right people who will fit in. Read more about how to get this right here.
Clear expectations and job descriptions
One of the most common reasons employees leave their jobs within the first few months is due to a lack of clarity regarding their roles and responsibilities. Perhaps the role hasn’t been well thought out or perhaps an old job description was recycled. In the case of the latter, this often happens when an organisation is directly replacing a role. Chances are, if a business has grown or evolved at all, the description should be updated to reflect any changes of the role.
It doesn’t matter if the new hire feels they have been given more or less responsibility than they signed up for, this usually leaves them feeling disheartened and unsettled. Setting clear expectations from the outset can help them feel more confident in their role and reduce the likelihood of misunderstandings or disappointment down the line.
Comprehensive training and onboarding
Comprehensive training and onboarding are essential for new employees to understand the company’s culture, values, and operations. Employers should invest in creating an effective onboarding program that includes orientation, training on company policies and procedures, and job-specific training. Don’t overlook introducing them to stakeholders and broader team members who the new hire may find more personal and social connections to help them settle in. This can help new employees feel supported, informed, and confident in their new role.
Regular check-ins and feedback
Regular check-ins and feedback should always be part of any retention strategy, but never is it more critical to get this right than during an employee’s first few months in a business. This gives employers the opportunity to understand how to employee is getting on and where additional support may be needed. It’s important that there is a psychologically safe environment in which employees feel comfortable in providing open and honest feedback, that won’t be used against them in future. As well as providing opportunity for the organisation to address any issues, it can also help new hires feel connected to the company and their colleagues, improving their overall job satisfaction.
Don’t hire just to fill a role
The job market is constantly fluctuating. In the past few years alone, we’ve seen flip flops between being a candidate-led and an employer-led market. In such conditions and when the pressure is on to fill a role, many organisations jump to hiring whoever the best person was within their initial search, often ignoring red flags in a bid to fill the role as quickly as possible. Really be sure that whoever is offered the role is the right person for the role – not just the best person you’ve seen. No one wants to play the waiting game but getting the wrong person in is far riskier. New people are entering the job market all the time, so never settle on a hire. And, if your can’t find right person but the position needs filling urgently, consider getting an experienced interim manager in who can plug the gap and steady the ship in the meantime.