Years ago I read a statistic that said the first 30 days on a job determine if that person will still work for that company in 3 years. That always stuck with me. Turnover is expensive and disruptive and time-consuming. I thought that if I could make the first 30 days on the job so great then all that turnover could be avoided. And, I was right. I put this on-boarding practice into place when jobs were plentiful and companies were paying big bucks to attract good candidates and I experienced no turnover. Everyone that joined our team said they never felt more wanted, trained and prepared to succeed as they did when they came to work for us.
By the way, I created this plan template once which definitely took some time and revision. Once it was completed, it simply needed to be revised for each new hire which took significantly less time. It was a company-wide best practice at two companies and was in my category of "pro-active sales management" or blocking & tackling that made my life as a sales manager so much more smooth....
30-Day On -Boarding Plan:
Involve the entire team:
- When a new hire starts, send a note to the team and any other appropriate people asking them to welcome the new hire within their first week on the job. I asked that they call, introduce themselves, provide contact information in a follow-up e-mail and offer their help.
- As possible, take new hire out to lunch with members of the team on Day #1.
- Also, assign an On-Boarding Partner to the new hire. Ask someone on the team to own this person's on-boarding success for 30 days. For example, they should have regularly scheduled check-ins, help the new hire navigate internally, provide direction throughout training.
- Sales Manager should regularly check-in with new hire, also. This should be part of their schedule so new hire has confidence his success is being monitored.
Create a 30-day schedule:
- Determine which experiences the new hire should have throughout the first 30 days on the job. This could include: learning appropriate systems, getting computer/phone set up, ordering business cards, understanding products & services, meeting clients, company sales training, hitting activity goals, etc. This list should show up in 2 places. First, each item should be addressed in the 30 day schedule. Secondly, there should be a checklist to keep track of as new hire completes schedule. At any time, they should be able to see what they have learned and what they still need to learn. At the end of the training, they will have confidence that they have been exposed to everything that will help them succeed. When you are learning something new, "you don't know what you don't know". The list will help them understand "what they don't know" so they will always have a map of the journey.
- Each day should be scheduled in advance and the entire schedule sent to everyone on the team who plays a role. The team should review the new hire's schedule, recognize their part and take responsibility for helping new hire in that area.
- Each activity on the schedule should include a learning objective. If you ask a new hire to spend 2 hours with the marketing team, make sure they understand specifically what they should be accomplishing. For example, the learning objective could be "to understand all the brochures, etc available on the products and where to find those tools".
- The schedule should include regular check-ins with On-Boarding Partner to ensure progress, remove roadblocks and help navigate inevitable schedule changes.
- Each activity that involves another person should include contact information. For example, you may ask the new hire to attend sales calls with a member of your team one day. That team member's contact information should be included and even a meeting place and time determined in advance so everyone is clear about their part. Again, make sure there is an objective clearly stated. It might be "to understand what questions salespeople should ask on sales calls". If they are clear on the objective, they will pay attention to that area and consult with the sales rep during their day together.
- By the end of the 30 days, the new hire should have been exposed to everything and everyone they will need to succeed. They will have a record of who to contact and where to find everything that they may need as they move forward. Not to mention, they will have many internal relationships that can help them succeed.