New Employees... Why Do So Many Fail

In every company each year they hire many new employees. Most companies have a new employee checklist and put them through a new employee induction of some sort. The sad truth is, many of these new employees just do not work out. Right from the outset I will say that generally the only ones to blame for that are the ones that hired them. If you as a manager are responsible for hiring new employees and they fail before or just on the 'honeymoon period' or the initial first three month probation period, then you screwed up. How?

First and foremost, you probably grabbed the first person that seemed a reasonable fit. I've done it many times. One case I can remember like it happened yesterday. My manager was putting pressure on me to get staff numbers up as quickly as possible or according to him, we would miss budget for the year. So, I put a hasty ad in the paper and all the usual methods in place. There was a guy in the telemarketing department that heard we were hiring sales people and he approached me and asked if he could get an interview for the position. We talked for over an hour about stuff and in the end I decided, what the heck, I'll hire him.. he seems OK. Bad decision! We had nothing but major issues with him as he turned out to be the office psychopath. He was very hard to get rid of as he threatened legal action if we ever sacked him.

Often times new employees have no or not enough of an induction as to how the company works, what the methods are and how they fit into the companies scheme of things. They have no direction. One guy that was recruited not by me this time, I found walking around the office looking lost. I asked him who he was and when he told me that the guy who hired him just told him to find a desk and get on with it, I was shocked. He was about to walk out when I found him as he was very disillusioned with the company...in his first hour! He turned out to be one of our top guns in the end.

The worst one in my mind is poor or no performance management for new employees. How are they going to know that what they're doing is correct and what's expected of them if they never hear it from you? A lot of managers just sack people like that instead of coaching them in the methods of the company.

Not far behind that last reason why it's usually a managers fault why so many new employees fail, is a change in boundaries. Meaning, you might have hired them for one position and then changed the role after they were hired. It's happened to me before. The humiliating thing about it is it's not usually changed to a better role, but for a lesser role. I think that is very rude and very humiliating for a new employee. Don't let it happen to anyone new that you have hired. It's unethical as well as in some places illegal.

Next time you have a position to fill, then start by making very clear what the role actually is and not make it up as you go. Then, be 100% clear on the type of person that would suit the role best and don't just hire someone because you like them. When you have found someone, make them feel welcome, put them through an employee induction and be clear what it is you expect from them, what their role is, how they can attain their goals, what the company policies are and so on. If they lose their way a little, coach them back. It's all part of your position as a manager.

It takes a lot of effort and time on your part when you have new employees under your wing. However, the rewards are immense if you succeed in keeping a good employee. If you coach and nurture one, it's far easier in the long run to do that than it is to keep hiring new employees all the time.