At First Sight

Will new hires love your company or leave it?
Print Email Share Get the Mag Weekly Updates [-] Text Size [+]

The new employee shows up on Day One. Do you show him to a desk, put him to work and simply walk away? Do that, and you just may be sabotaging his chances for succeeding at the job. Fail to give him an orientation of both the company and his job as soon as he arrives, and you can count on him quitting not too long after he's started, say the experts.

Want some good news? Those same experts insist that just a few hours of training, or even small gestures that demonstrate goodwill, can turn a new employee into an enthusiastic long-termer instead of another point chalked up on your attrition tallies.

Joyce L. Gioia, president of management consulting firm, Herman Group in Greensboro, North Carolina, and co-author of Lean and Meaningful: A New Culture for Corporate America (Oakhill Press), says she can affirm the point. When a client in the help-desk industry came to her with a whopping 300 percent turnover rate, Gioia helped institute a simple new-hire orientation program that eventually slashed that number to 18 percent. Says Gioia, "Orientation takes just a little investment of time, but it pays huge dividends."


Content Continues Below


Robert McGarvey writes on business, psychology and management topics for several national publications. To reach him online with your questions or comments, e-mail rjmcgarvey@aol.com

  Page   1   |   2   |   3  
Print Email Share Get the Mag Weekly Updates
Marketplace

Learn how to distribute a press release
Try online printing from The UPS Store®
Today on Entrepreneur
Current Issue
From a Lean Year, a Rich Vintage
As the top of the wine market crashes, new entrepreneurs like James Stewart are bringing high-end grapes to the masses.
Magazine Resources
Entrepreneur Connect
Are you seeing signs of recovery?
With reports out this week saying that small businesses are showing signs of rebounding from the recession, are things picking back up for you? Are you seeing signs of life?
Resource Centers
Small Business Resource Center
How-to guides, forms, calculators and other invaluable tools to help you better understand your business and take it to the next level.


101 People Problems Solved
Find solutions for your most challenging personnel situations.



Web Smarts
Get tips and tactics for growing your business online.


Sponsored Offers


Sign Up for the Latest in:
e-Business & Technology
Franchise News
Business Book Sampler
Starting a Business
Sales & Marketing
Growing a Business

E-mail*
Zip Code*