The Link Between New Hires And Employee Engagement

According to business leaders, employee engagement continues to be of utmost importance in the war on talent. If employees are disengaged, they are not as productive or happy as their engaged counterparts. An employee's lack of motivation can negatively affect your company's bottom line. Therefore, creating a highly engaged workforce is important if you want to keep them motivated and dedicated to your company's success.

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How can you create a highly engaged workforce? The link between employee engagement and your company's bottom line has its roots in the hiring and onboarding processes, starting with interviews and extending through the offer letter - this all sets the tone for employee engagement down the road. 

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In other words: engage employees from the start and keep them engaged by creating a culture of learning, development, purpose, and high performance.

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How can you engage employees right from the start? 

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1. Be consistent 

When you’re building a new team or hiring a new employee, it’s important to make sure that the culture and employee experience you share with job candidates is reflected in your people strategy and that there aren’t any surprises for new joiners once they start at your organization. 

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2. Be direct 

When you are interviewing, be sure to communicate clearly your expectations and the value that the new hire will bring to your company. You'll have an employee who is more invested in their role, sees their contributions as a way to grow their skill sets and advance in their career.

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3. Be helpful 

It’s in your best interest to keep candidates informed throughout a lengthy hiring process. This can be accomplished through frequent communication that guides candidates through each step of the process and keeps them feeling secure about their future with your company.

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4 tips for prioritizing employee engagement with new hires

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Employee engagement is a moving target. You’ll want to reassess your efforts on a continual basis to accommodate new workplace trends. Use these tips to get started.

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1. Create opportunities for engagement in everything you do

It's one-on-one with employees. It’s in your monthly team meetings. It’s in the quarterly company meetings you hold to discuss the company’s goals, and how employees contribute to them. It’s in your after-work social gatherings. Listen to what your employees are saying and make sure you’re implementing the change they are asking for. 

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2. Be open to feedback

Feedback can be one of the most valuable resources you have when it comes to improving your processes, products and services, and company culture. It's important that you listen closely so that you can learn from their experiences as soon as possible. This will help you make improvements in real-time, rather than waiting for something bad to happen before taking action.

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3. Promote work-life balance

Work-life balance is an important consideration for all employees. Some may need to work a little later than others to get the job done, but it's important for everyone to be able to leave their work at the office when they go home. How do you help promote this in your organization?

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• Make sure that expectations are set clearly from the beginning of your new hire’s employment. This could be done through an orientation or training program, or even just by having a conversation with them about what’s expected of them during business hours and outside of them.

• Communicate with your team regularly regarding ongoing projects and priorities so that they know what they can expect—and how much flexibility they have if something comes up unexpectedly.

• Encourage managers throughout all levels of management to model healthy behaviors themselves.

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4. Launch an employee referral program

Employers can increase employee engagement, and thus retention rates, by embracing referrals. Because employees usually refer like-minded people from similar backgrounds, referred employees tend to be a better cultural fit for companies. And when referred employees join the company as new hires, they have built-in connections that ease their transition into the company.

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The bottom line

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New hires are an incredible opportunity to start fresh and build rapport with your employees from day one, but be sure that you extend that same courtesy to all of your employees.

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The idea of treating someone as if they were a new hire is not just about making them feel welcome and getting them up to speed. It’s also about engaging with them in a way that allows for better understanding of what’s expected of them, what their goals are, and how they can contribute more effectively in the workplace. It also helps de-stigmatize the process of onboarding so you can focus on building trust between everyone on staff—and ultimately creating a more welcoming culture within your organization.

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Employee engagement is a powerful force, and it can be the key to unlocking your company’s potential. It’s important to make sure that you are engaging with all your employees in a way that works for them, and encouraging them to do so as well.

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Learn more about how engaged your employees are and what you need to improve your employee engagement rates by using our software - book a demo of our platform today.

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