How to prevent your new hire from ghosting you
Ghosting doesn't just happen in relationships it is a common problem for companies hiring new starters too. What a soul-destroying experience it is. You spend days interviewing candidates, finally choose the perfect one. Stop all your advertisements, let all other candidates down gently, plan their first day. Then the new hire doesn't even show up! So why does this happen and what can you do to stop this dreaded experience. We tell you all of this below.
Why aren't your new starters showing up?
There are a number of reasons as to why your new hire might not show up, but here are some of the most common reasons which we have found.
#1 The space between your hire date to your start date is very big
This is a problem because the bigger the gap the less engaged people are going to feel. They will start to forget why they accepted your offer and what they loved about your company.
#2 They feel nervous about the unknown
Most of the time companies hire someone then they don't talk to them until their start date. This can leave people feeling clueless and unsure about what to expect when they start.
#3 They have changed their mind because a better job offer has come up
When you lose all contact with your new hire in the period before their start date. It can be easy for them to be swayed by a fresh new job offer.
#4 They didn't enjoy your recruiting process very much/ they didn't like the people that they met
The interview process is the first instance that a person will have to get to know your company and your people. If they don't like anything it can warp their whole view of your business. A new hire may have accepted the offer and then convinced themselves that they won't enjoy the role because they didn't like certain people or experiences.
What can you do to solve these common issues?
The key to solving all of the issues mentioned above is to make your employee feel welcomed, engaged and excited from the moment they say yes. Not from their first day at work. Discover our top tips to making sure this happens.
#1 Send them timely notifications
This one is easier if you have a pre-boarding app which allows you to send notifications directly to your new hire's phone. If you don't have one, emails will suffice. You should be keeping in touch with your employees at least once a week before their start date. If the start date is only a few weeks then you should increase your communications to twice a week.
These notifications should include messages like:
"Only 2 weeks to go until we welcome you to the team."
"Check out the rest of the team and who you will be working with Sarah."
"Are you prepared for your first day Sarah? Here's a checklist of what you'll need to bring."
"Here's a quick quiz to get you up to speed with our latest product offerings."
The aim of these notifications is to direct your new hires to look at communications that will make them feel more involved and confident about their first day.
#2 Make them familiar with their team
As mentioned above, if people aren't fond of the first employees they meet, it can make them think poorly of everyone in your team. Combat this by sending them to videos and articles which you have with current members of your team. For example a welcome video from their manager
a ‘five minutes with’ interview with one of their teammates
#3 Give them all the help and resources they need to feel confident
New hires can quickly start to feel overwhelmed and anxious about all of the information they don't know. When these thoughts fester it can make them more likely to not show up. Tackle this by sending them guides, how-to articles and quizzes for everything they'll need to know.
Great examples are; a guide on how to give great customer service, best practice for the stock room, how to unload the deliveries or a guide on what returns to accept. Even if they don't need all of the information right away, it will help make your new hires feel more confident. They'll feel like they know what they are doing before they even start. Our preboarding app makes it easy to keep your new starters informed. It has a digital knowledgebase plus gamification and microlearning features so your new starters can quickly access information in a fun and engaging format.
#4 Give them things to look forward to
It can be easy for your new hires to get bogged down with thoughts of tough workloads, tight deadlines and demanding customers. Let them know about exciting events you have coming up in the business. These could include your Christmas party, summer party, charity events, lunch clubs, guest speakers, or discounts they can expect. Anything that will get them excited about events they have to come.
Want to unlock the performance of your frontline teams?
Ocasta Engage unlocks the performance of your frontline teams through comms, microlearning and knowledge. Customers include Next, Virgin Media O2, Burgertory and Tesco Mobile, who have achieved desirable results, including;
98% engagement rates
3.75x more recognition amongst their teams
94% of all comms being read.
