Study cities common ways to keep new hires

A study by global consulting firm Novations Group found that 62% of employers rely on a structured selection process to make good hires and keep them. More than half provide new employees with on-boarding support, often lasting as long as several months.

A variety of approaches, the study found, are used to prevent ìhiring failures,î new employees that quit within their first 12 months. For one-third of employers as many as a quarter of new hires depart within the first year, according to the firm. Another 11% can suffer first-year loses of nearly 50%.

ìOur study gave us mixed findings,î said Novations Executive Consultant Tim Vigue. ìOn one hand, most companies seem to recognize the importance of objective hiring and selection as well as supporting new hires. But it also appears that a large minority of employers are pretty much winging it.î

Novations had asked more than 2,000 HR executives what their companies do in order to minimize first-year departures:

What does your organization do to minimize ìhiring failures?î (select all that apply)

- We follow a structured selection process. 62%
- We provide new employees with comprehensive 53% on-boarding.
- We provide interviewers with tools (e.g., behavioral 49% interview guides) to help evaluate candidate skills.
- We train interviewers on interviewing techniques. 48%
- We give candidates ìrealisticî job previews. 48%
- We establish objective hiring criteria for all open 46% positions.
- We train hiring managers in on-boarding techniques. 29%

ìWhile there is no standard definition of ëstructured selection process,íî Vigue said, ìgenerally it would consist of objective hiring criteria and a set of tools for the interview team. But the study suggests as many as half of major employers donít make such tools available. Also, less than one-third do on-boarding training of managers, which is surprising.î One interviewing tool that is expected to get greater emphasis is realistic job previews, predicted Vigue.

With respect to on-boarding, the study found, 15% of organizations simply let hiring managers deal with the issue, while 16% ìstick to the basics, mostly paperwork and answering questions.î

The Novations Group Internet survey of 2,046 senior HR and development executives was conducted by Equation Research.

Novations Group is a leading provider of consulting and training services on four continents. Novations is recognized for its expertise in diversity & inclusion, employee engagement, talent management, employee selection, leadership development, organization communications, sales training and customer service. For more information, visit www.novations.com.