ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Hiring
new employees doesn’t stop on the first day. Retailers often miss engaging
their new employees. But not if they remember “people before paper,” Merit
Gest, president of Merit-based Professional Development, said during
yesterday’s NACS Show Speaker Chat: Welcome Aboard!
Gest emphasized that “the
sooner new hires fit in, the more they are willing and able to give their
A-plus effort.” She discussed how a lack of training for managers in how to
onboard employees contributes to employee turnover. “You need manager buy-in
that onboarding is important,” she said.
One attendee asked how to
increase employee engagement. Gest suggested taking out the information about
company culture in the employee handbook and creating a separate manual on
company culture. “This sends a message that your culture is so important, it
deserves its own manual,” she said.
Gest also pointed out that
onboarding needs to start by getting management buy-in. “Have a training
session that uses your own data along with industry data that shows the cost of
employee turnover,” she said. “Then ask your managers questions on how that
turnover impacts their day-to-day jobs. If you start there, then talk about the
importance of onboarding, you will get managers on the same page about its
importance.”
On March 7, tune into NACS Show Speaker Chat: Trendspotting: A Customer’s Perspective for a chance to
ask speakers your questions on new employees. NACS Show Speaker Chats will run
weekly on Tuesdays at 2:00 pm EST through March 21.