Last week I called my local credit union about my bank account. The phone was answered by Phil, whom I had known as a long-term employee of the credit union. Over the years, I would go into the branch on a regular basis and Phil would be serving her customers in a caring manner, greeting people by name and asking about their family members. Phil told me that as a result of COVID-19, she had cut her hours and was working part time. She was on the road to retirement but this was a difficult transition for her after 47 years at the credit union. Forty-seven years in the same organization!!!
According to Statista, an HR support company, the average length of time someone stays at the same job in finance is 105.8 months. Phil has been there 564 months. This means that most credit unions would have replaced Phil 5 times due to normal staff turnover.
If you haven’t been in the position of hiring and training new staff you might think that there is nothing to it. However, employee orientation is a long-term process that might include a training progression of up to a year. When we bring on a new employee there are a series of steps, we should follow in the first few days including:
Orientation to business: Employees need to know what is the history of the business, the mission or purpose of the organization, what is the job description of this employee and who do they report to? What are their roles and responsibilities? They must be given a tour of the buildings and an explanation of other branches or locations involved and they must be introduced to other employees and shown their desk, bathrooms, and emergency exits. This all takes time.
Introduction to the company policies and procedures: This should include information concerning dress code, work schedule, opening and closing instructions, lunch times, expense claim procedures, personal salary and benefits, and procedures to follow regarding sick days and holidays. Expect to take at least an hour just to go over your employment documentation to ensure that their employment status is understood by your bookkeeping and payroll staff.
Other: Don't forget the legal requirements, safety and emergency procedures, as well as technical information about the tools they will need to do their job. Employees need to know about product or service standards, operation manuals and policies around their specific area of work.
All these steps should be followed on the first day of onboarding. Expect that you are going to have to allocate additional staff and time to training your new worker over the next several months. Not only will your new employee be working at a limited capacity, you must allocate a trainer or mentor to shadow and support that person. You must allow additional time and lots of patience for staff reviews, probationary periods, mentorship and oversight. I used to figure that it would take me six months to a year to get any retail employee up to speed. A bank or credit union could take much longer.
The estimated costs of train a new employee is 21 per cent of the annual cost of an employee. Based on this information, Phil has saved her credit union a full year’s salary by staying with her credit union five times longer than the average employee. She deserves a real gold watch when she retires! Hiring and onboarding new employees is a costly matter. Yet if you can train and treat your employees well so that you have less turnover, your organization will reap considerable rewards.
- Dave Fuller, MBA, is the author of the book Profit Yourself Healthy and an award-winning business coach. Turning over at night? Email dave@profityourselfhealthy.com
