What’s Trending: New Hires’ Second Thoughts and Regrets
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Sometimes the company-worker relationship is not built to last. This can be catastrophic to an organization that has sunk in resources and time to get a new hire started on the job. Now, the decision to leave a new job has to be a deeply personal choice, but is there anything companies can do to stop new hires from having regrets or second thoughts?
Read the following mini-article to find out.
Forbes
Could a bad onboarding strategy lead to new hires having second thoughts? According to an article penned by Jack Kelly for Forbes, it is a strong possibility. According to a survey conducted by The Harris Poll, where they found out that half of new hires continued looking for new jobs even after an offer was extended.
“The duration and manner in which the business manages the onboarding process can make it a seamless, pleasant experience or cause the person to have second thoughts about joining the organization.”
A bad onboarding experience can be the kiss of death for new hires’ opinion of a company. If new employees find themselves left to their own devices, ignored, or otherwise feeling unsupported during the application or onboarding, it can lead to them jumping ship.
Kelly advises companies to start the onboarding before the first work day by showcasing the business’s values and cultures through a welcome package and an introduction to their team. Companies can curve people’s doubts by creating a good first impression and making sure that people follow through with a well-structured onboarding.
SHRM
In a column for SHRM, Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer of this organization, answered some questions regarding cold feet after accepting a job offer.
“We’ve seen many people spontaneously transition to new jobs in the wake of the pandemic. Understandably, many of them have suffered from buyer’s remorse.”
He names the employees who go back to their previous jobs as boomerang employees. According to LinkedIn, 4.5% of all new hires in companies are actually boomerang employees. And this makes sense if the people have left on good terms, keeping the company’s doors open in a tough labor market.
Wanting to go back to an organization isn’t too crazy, especially when there has been a good experience with the previous company. But there might be some trepidation from the previous employer if the worker doesn’t make it clear that they’re not looking to leave the company again.
BambooHR
New hires are expensive, with the cost of a new hire averaging around $4,129 and filling a position taking around 42 days, so it’s crucial to get hiring right. Still, according to a report by BambooHR, companies only have 44 days on average to convince a worker to stay on the long term. That means 42 to convince them to come on board, 44 to stay.
“70% of new hires decide whether a job is the right fit within the first month—including 29% who know within the first week.”
It’s not only that, 44% of new hires report second thoughts or regrets within the first week of joining a new organization. This also includes 23% who’ve cried during their first week. The BambooHR report comes down, signaling that first impressions at a job are crucial to getting employees’ fully feeling like they belong.
As they see it, onboarding is essential to get people to stay, but there is a delicate balance that companies have to walk through. Many new hires report that being left to their own devices can be frustrating, though this changes if interviewing younger generations, who would rather jump straight into the action.
The takeaway
According to most studies, onboarding is key to building a good relationship between companies and new hires. A good strategy during the onboarding can stop employees from having second thoughts and keep them engaged to the company. If this is not done, boomerang employees can go back to their previous job or jump into another opportunity leaving the new company out to dry.
