The onboarding process plays a major role in determining whether employees stay or go
Children are most impressionable when they are young. If you want to teach them something, bring them up in a certain direction, the convention wisdom is that the time to do it is when they're young. Once they've grown, they're much harder to guide; you've got to get them while they're young. It's really no different with employees.
I spend a great deal of my time working with leaders in the mortgage industry, and I'm often asked about how they can manage to keep employees. One thing that I've noticed is that most employees tend to fall into two categories: either they're extremely new—they've been with the company a few years at most; or, they're veterans—they've been with the company a decade at least. This trend tells me that there's something that must be happening in the onboarding process that plays a major role in determining whether employees decide to stay or go.
As I've thought about this trend and experimented with some different ideas, I've come to realize that—for the most part—it really all comes back to process. How the company's business process is structured appears to be the key determining factor in whether or not employees make past those first few years to become truly dedicated to the organization. And, when you think about it, this makes sense. If the business process is haphazard, without structure or direction, who would want to lay down their roots in such an organization? On the other hand, if a business process is clear and functional, it can create exactly the kind of environment employees need to thrive.
So, if you want your employees to be in it for the long haul, you might want to take a look at your business process.
Related stories:
Moving from manager to mentor
Leading though criticism: How to drive people away
I spend a great deal of my time working with leaders in the mortgage industry, and I'm often asked about how they can manage to keep employees. One thing that I've noticed is that most employees tend to fall into two categories: either they're extremely new—they've been with the company a few years at most; or, they're veterans—they've been with the company a decade at least. This trend tells me that there's something that must be happening in the onboarding process that plays a major role in determining whether employees decide to stay or go.
As I've thought about this trend and experimented with some different ideas, I've come to realize that—for the most part—it really all comes back to process. How the company's business process is structured appears to be the key determining factor in whether or not employees make past those first few years to become truly dedicated to the organization. And, when you think about it, this makes sense. If the business process is haphazard, without structure or direction, who would want to lay down their roots in such an organization? On the other hand, if a business process is clear and functional, it can create exactly the kind of environment employees need to thrive.
So, if you want your employees to be in it for the long haul, you might want to take a look at your business process.
Related stories:
Moving from manager to mentor
Leading though criticism: How to drive people away
