strategy

Adam Smith | July 12, 2019 | Leave a Comment

Recruiting Strategy: 5 Ways to Improve Your Onboarding Process that Work

This is a guest post from Kamy Anderson. He is an ed-tech enthusiast with a passion for writing on emerging technologies in the areas of corporate training and education, and is an expert in learning management system & eLearning authoring tools–currently associated with ProProfs Training Maker.

33% of new employees quit within the first 90 days, and there are as many reasons for that as there are employees. Regardless of the reason, however, it’s important for companies to do everything in their power to retain as many new hires as possible, as the process of finding new recruits is both time-consuming and expensive.

Improving your onboarding process and retaining new employees seems difficult, but it can actually be achieved in a few simple steps. So, let’s take a look at five of the best methods that’ll help companies improve their onboarding process, saving time and money along the way.

1. Streamline the Onboarding Process

It’s crucial for companies to have a formal onboarding process that they follow consistently. Without a formal outline in place, you’d be overlooking so many things. New employees might not have received the IT resources needed for the job, they might not have been properly informed about the expectations and goals, etc.

And there are many tools and software that can help streamline this process, making it even more efficient and easier to follow. Automating the onboarding checklist saves everyone time and energy. It’s easier to gather data about the employees, keep track of their progress, and keep them informed about the workflow.

2. Deploy eLearning Software

Online training software is the perfect solution for streamlining the onboarding process. It brings countless benefits both to the company and to new employees.

When it comes to companies, first of all, eLearning software helps them increase revenue. It gives them better insight into the development of the new employees, showing their strengths and weaknesses so that the managers can offer better support.

As far as new recruits are concerned, most eLearning software has dashboards that provide them with immediate feedback. Employees can quickly find out what they’re doing right and wrong, and feedback can be customized to point them in the right direction and suggest the best course of action.

Online training software offers room for self-paced learning, ensuring that all new employees are mastering all the necessary skills. Slower learners can go over the topics as many times as needed, while more advanced learners can skip ahead if needed.

3. Engage New Recruits ASAP

The number one mistake that most companies make with new employees is disregarding them and their input in the first few weeks. This can leave them feeling isolated and unwanted, and it’ll prevent them from building relationships with the rest of the team.

While it’s important not to overwhelm the new recruits on the first day, giving them the opportunity to express their opinions in meetings, or asking them to do some research and give you feedback can work wonders, leaving a great first impression on them. This will show them that they’re an important part of the company and that you respect and value the things they can bring to the table. An added bonus is that they’ll feel more motivated and become more productive. When new employees feel appreciated, they’re more likely to stay loyal to the company.

4. Build Relationships

Millennials account for over a third of the U.S. workforce, and the best way to keep them loyal and motivated is to build strong relationships with them right from the start. Just like new employees try their best to leave a good impression on the first day, so too should the managers.

After day one is over, make sure to regularly check up on the employees and find out if everything is going well. Get to know them, and give them a chance to get to know you too.

5. Help New Recruits Achieve their Goals

Unless the new hires are given the opportunity to grow and develop, you cannot expect to retain them. Offering career training and development would keep 86% of millennials from leaving their current position, and much job satisfaction is in the hands of managers.

During the onboarding process, it’s crucial to let the new hires know exactly what the company’s goals and objectives are, what the key performance indicators are, and what the promotion system is like. Constantly communicating with new employees, helping them figure out whether their goals match the company’s, and guiding them on the path to success is invaluable both to the company and to the employees.

Closing Remarks

Improving the onboarding process is essential to increase the retention rate of new employees, especially when it comes to a younger workforce. Having a streamlined onboarding process will ensure that nothing is overlooked and that new employees and managers are always up to date.

Investing in eLearning software will make it easier for both parties to keep track of the progress made while engaging the new employees immediately and building strong relationships with them right from the start will ensure they stay motivated and productive.

Lastly, helping them set and achieve their goals will keep them loyal, and can offer many wonderful benefits. A company can only be successful when its employees thrive, so giving them opportunities to move up the ladder is essential.

Glenn Brooke | March 12, 2016 | Leave a Comment

Win with Strategy AND Logistics

There’s an old saying about military ventures: “Amateurs talk about strategy. Professionals focus on logistics.”

Amateurs talk about strategy. Professionals focus on logistics. Share on X

Strategy is the darling that garners all the attention. Strategy is sexy, glamorous, and sells more consulting gigs than the nitty-gritty details of logistics. Superior strategy puts you in the position to win, but is insufficient alone.

Reade Milner | June 13, 2014 | 6 Comments

You Need a Social Media Strategy – Reade Milner

Is your social media not giving you the results that you hoped for? Well, maybe you need a better strategy. Wait a minute, you have a social media strategy, right?

Allow me to back up and explain the value of a strategy with a personal story.

I have been using the Stonglifts 5X5 workout regimen for about 8 weeks now. The plan is simple. Three times per week, I do 3 different exercises for 5 sets of 5 reps each. The idea is to increase the weight I use by very small increments each week. For example, this week I bench pressed 185lbs on my last set. At no point have I increased the maximum weight by more than 10 lbs from week-to-week. Sure, there were times when I wanted to quit because of slow gains and times when I wanted to make huge leaps because I was feeling good, but I committed to the plan and it paid off. This unimpressive, unremarkable program gave me some of the best gains I have made in my fitness life. In those 8 weeks, I have lost nearly 20lbs of fat and gained over 10lbs of muscle. I feel like Thor.

Sometimes I think the social media community, myself included, has put the cart before the horse in regards to the emphasis we place on tactics vs consistency. Admittedly, we can be a little trigger-happy when it comes to the newest tools and tactics out there. We forget that the key to our own success in the success of any individual or organization comes from executing a quality social media strategy.

Even a sub-par program, if carried out to completion, will result in greater effectiveness than a perfect strategy, done only half-way. Don’t be the guy who gives up on his workout routine when his six-pack fails to appear after two trips to the gym.

Here are 5 steps to crafting and executing a killer social media strategy.

Step 1: Determine your goals.
What are your or your business’ strategic objectives for the month, the quarter, and the year? How much is a new connection on social media worth to you? It will be up to you to determine how much it is worth to you to increase your social media presence and what you realistically expect to accomplish in a given period of time.
I like using SMART goals. Make sure they are…

Specific – Any lay person should be able to understand what you are trying to achieve.
Measurable – Tie specific metrics to the goal, such as new followers or blog subscribers, so it can be quantitatively measured.
Achievable – Be realistic. Give yourself a chance to feel the sweet success.
Relevant – These should be goals that help you progress towards your larger strategic objectives or higher purpose.
Time-bound – Give a time limit. Otherwise, you’ll feel no sense of urgency.

Step 2: Assess your tools and your team.
You will need to make an honest assessment of yourself and your team’s ability to perform certain tasks related to social media. Additionally, you will need to be honest with yourself about the time it will take to do those tasks. Depending on your other responsibilities, will you realistically have the time necessary to devote to doing the work? If not, you may want to consider bringing in some outside help, or perhaps a virtual assistant to take on some less important tasks in order to free up some time.

Step 3: Based on your goals, determine the amount of time you will need to devote to completing your objectives.
Based on the goals you have set and the time/resources you have available, estimate how much time it will take to reach your goals. Now that you have done that, add 20%. Give yourself room to take one step back and two steps forward. There is no shame in this.

Step 4: Set deadlines and make appointments with yourself to do the work, so you don’t “fall off the wagon”.
I recommend this tactic only because it has worked the best for me. As a recovering procrastinator, I have tried every productivity method in the book, and this has been my preferred method of sticking to deadlines, especially those that require regular input. If you make an appointment with yourself to get certain tasks done, you reduce the risk of missing deadlines due to meetings or ad hoc tasks taking you away from your responsibilities.

In my experience, having a content calendar set in advance is the best thing you can do for yourself in this regard. It will reduce the weight of having to come up with new material from scratch each week. This calendar should be full of content, which you have decided based on my rule #1 for social media.

Step 5: Stick with it. Resist the urge to jump ship at the first sight of rocks.
We have all seen the posters that say “keep calm and carry on”. Well, go buy yourself one. There will come a time when you think you should abandon ship. There will come a shiny new tool you think will revolutionize your marketing. There will come a time when you think that it isn’t worth your time. Well, you shouldn’t. It won’t. And it is. Commit to yourself, from the beginning, that you will see it through to the end.

Do you have the focus to stick with the strategy through all of the changing business and societal changes?

Step 6: (Upon completion) – Assess the strategy.
What worked? What didn’t work so well? Make adjustments based on your findings so you improve each time.
This is the time to look back and see if the focus and dedication was worth it. This is the time to review all the metrics to see which of your efforts were the most worthwhile, not beforehand.

Do you think a coordinated strategy would help you achieve your goals with social media? Let me know what experiences you have had. Include challenges and solutions.