Retaining Employees Through Integration Process

Insightful statistics to consider 👇

• 69% of employees tend to stay with their employers for 3 years when they have a good integration experience.
• 22% of turnover occurs within 45 days of hiring.
• A 50% increase in the productivity rate of new hires when an employer structures the integration process.
• 88% of companies are deemed incompetent in integration processes by employees.

The workforce shortage is prevalent across industries. Finding and hiring talent is not always straightforward. After putting in the effort to recruit them, companies often underestimate the importance of welcoming new employees into their teams. Approximately 40% of turnover in companies is estimated to be caused by employees leaving within the first year of hiring. Therefore, we thought of sharing with you 5 key ingredients to ensure an integration process that will have a wow effect on your new employees.

1- Integration Begins Before the First Day

Between signing the offer letter and the first day on the new job, the employee receives no news from their future employer. However, they receive more attractive offers from competitors, along with a counter-offer from their current employer. Why would they choose to work with you? Changing jobs is exciting, stressful, and uncomfortable simultaneously. There’s the resignation, facing the current manager, and possibly dealing with counter-offers from the current employer and offers from other potential employers. Doubt and uncertainty prevail, especially when the employee has no connection with the new employer. We suggest taking a moment to connect with your new employee, validate their state of mind after submitting their resignation, and inform them of the details of their first day. It’s a stressful time for them, and it’s worth investing some time in creating a relationship of closeness and care, making a wow impression!

2- When the Integrator Role Doesn’t Belong to HR

HR: guardians of good integration practices. The manager: creator and executor of the process. Typically, HR outlines the process and trains managers on good integration practices for new hires. It is then the manager’s responsibility to create and deliver this process to their new hires! Why? They are probably the best person to define the training needs of their employees! Their role is to determine the necessary training, select trainers within their team (and assign them training), and serve as a guide for the new person. A successful integration must focus on developing a sense of belonging. As leaders, managers are in a privileged position to build close relationships with newcomers, facilitate their integration into teams, and guide them through the organization’s maze.

3- Social Integration: Building Strong Bonds with Employees

The more isolated an employee feels, the more likely they are to leave their job. The new employee is anxious to meet their immediate supervisor and colleagues, wanting to make a good impression and establish close relationships with the new team. It’s crucial for the new hire to build their internal social network quickly to break the uncomfortable feeling of being the new person in the department. They should interact daily with colleagues and have contacts with different departments (to know who to approach in each key department for problems and questions). Why not involve various team members in the training of the new hire? This way, you can delegate part of the training to your team while promoting the development of your recruit’s social network. Also, do not underestimate the importance of the relationship between the new resource and their immediate leader; it will be the foundation of a trusting, transparent, and lasting relationship.

4- The Duo to Create a Sense of Belonging and Boost Productivity

The stronger the relationship between the mentor and the employee, the more access the new resource will have to information or knowledge that allows them to be more productive quickly. While managers play an essential role in shaping the first weeks and months for new employees, a broader team effort can ensure that the experience is both positive and productive. Unlike colleagues who will participate in sharing knowledge with the new employee, the mentor will play a different role: helping the new employee build a network, socialize, understand how the company operates, and grasp its social life. The mentor helps the employee define a context. Without this, a new recruit will likely struggle to fully understand their role or how to contribute to their team’s success. This key individual provides informal context to our newcomer, helping them determine who the stakeholders are, how to navigate the organization, identify cultural norms and unwritten rules.

5- Speeding up Integration: Creating Awareness of Company and Team Culture

New recruits need internal interpreters to help them decode tangible and intangible elements of organizational culture. As the employee wants to quickly feel like a key figure in your company, they’ll want to understand their role (where they can add value) as well as your history, mission, values, and norms. All these elements are part of your culture. It might be interesting for several department heads to give their version of the facts to see different facets of the story. The quicker the new employee takes ownership of these aspects, the more they will be able to project themselves as a character in your story, and the more integrated they will feel. Did you know that your written and unwritten rules are fundamental elements of your corporate culture? You probably have more than you think. Perhaps perceptions for recognition, initiatives, meetings, or internal conflict management. Or even fundamental assumptions that your teams have about their roles, departments, and organization. You probably have language and acronyms unique to your organization. How do your new recruits learn them?

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In conclusion, given the current job market context, there is significant value in implementing a structured integration process. You will benefit from helping the new employee feel comfortable in their new position, increasing their commitment to the organization, helping them contribute to your mission, and solidifying their decision to choose you as their employer. Allow yourself to adapt the process to the colors of your organization, but above all, be creative! This is your chance to make a good impression on your new hires and ensure retention!