Human Resources Blog - Spark Hire
How to Make a New Employee Job Ready

How to Make a New Employee Job Ready

You finally hired the best candidate for the job opening that you have been trying so hard to fill. Phew!

Nowadays, it’s difficult to get the right skill and experience match. Even then, to attract the right talent and get them to accept a job offer requires more than just a salary match.

So great job, you! But hey, don’t rest on your laurels yet because if you do, you are sowing the first seeds of trouble.

Why, what is the problem?

Well, there is always a time gap between the acceptance of a job offer and the new employee’s first day at the office.

More often than not, this is due to the necessity of a notice period the employee must serve in their current organization.

The big risk during this gap is that the candidate may consider other job offers that come their way. Surely, you are not the only person they are talking to!

So, what can I do?

Fret not; you can use this time gap in your favour.

If planned and executed well, you will be able to not only dissipate the big risk of the candidate taking another lucrative offer but also smooth the onboarding process for the future employee.

Nice, but how exactly?

Before we hand over the secret sauce recipe, put your brilliant thinking cap on and ask yourself what makes someone apprehensive before starting a new job.

This thought exercise is quite easy because we all have gone through such moments of doubts ourselves in our professional careers.

  1. I understand the job description on the job ad but day to day what will I be doing?
  2. Who will I be working with and what are their personalities?
  3. Am I taking the right career decision?
  4. Will I be better off than where I am now?

With these questions, many doubts get sewn, and more doubts flower to cloud the new hire’s mind.

Can you allow such doubts to appear and prosper in this candidate after all the hard work you have done to recruit them?

Surely not!

OK, what can be done?

Employee engagement is not just a fad. It is the most important ingredient to keep an employee motivated to perform and be happy.

It’s quite human really.

  1. Make a person feel comfortable – “You belong here.”,
  2. Assign clear responsibilities – “This is how important you are to us.”
  3. Clarify the expectations – “This is how you will make a difference.”
  4. Communicate sincerely to ensure its NOT all talk and no walk – “Yes, you matter to us, a lot.”

This is equally true in the pre-joining phase that will make the employee onboarding so much easier and eliminate the risk of the new hire considering other offers

The secret sauce recipe includes:

  1. Organize a call with a business leader on the future business plans for the unit they is joining
  2. Fix an after hours in-person meet up with the future reporting manager to build a personal rapport before a new employee’s start date
  3. Ask some of your company super-performers call and talk about how they are so excited to work in your company and how it can be so for the new hire as well
  4. Share an introductory primer on the work goals, competencies, behavioural attributes, and values with priorities that will help set expectations and importance of the job early on
  5. As things get ready, start sharing – “Hey, this is where you will be sitting, Nice view isn’t it?”,  Or, “Have a look at this brand new MacBook – yeah , its eagerly waiting for you!”

The Times They Are a-Changin’

In a super connected world, finding quality candidates is like finding a pot of gold.

Just like any human relationship, the more you nurture and invest early on, the better your chances are of getting the employee engaged and job ready by making them feel included, empowered to own their responsibilities, and understand the impact of their job has on the success of the company.

So, get going then! 🙂

About The Author

Souvik MajumdarSouvik Majumdar is Chief Customer Success of GroSum, a cloud-based performance management software that helps build a goal-oriented and continuous feedback-based work culture. He is passionate about employee engagement and has spent the last decade working with organisations to improve their performance management processes and implement online systems.

LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook

Guest Post

Spark Hire is honored to host featured guest experts on our HR & Recruiting Blog. We're committed to bringing you the best tips and trends to streamline your hiring and recruiting processes. Thank you for your contributions and readership.