You’ve followed all the steps to find technicians who you think will be a good fit for your organization, you’ve offered them jobs and they have accepted.
But finding technicians is just half the battle; you also want to train to retain them. Retention starts with the onboarding process. Eivina Muniute-Cobb, principal consultant at organizational consulting firm, The Pontis Group, offered attendees at a recent NationaLease meeting some tips on the right way to onboard.
- Assign space, supplies and equipment to the new hire, paying extra attention to the detail.
- On the first day, the supervisor should meet with the new hire for at least two hours.
- Utilize welcome notes from upper management to let new hires know that management is glad they have joined the company.
- Use on-line and social media tools to announce the new hire.
- Provide the new employee with a formal training program.
- Set clear expectations and goals.
- Use a buddy system or assign a mentor to the new technician.
Once you have hired someone, don't just forget about them. Develop them and invest in their strengths, Muniute-Cobb suggests. Team them up with others to leverage their weaknesses. Also take time to identify additional opportunities to put their strengths to work.
People are more likely to stay in their job if they feel they are a valuable part of the organization so make sure you explain to your technicians how their work matters and the role they play in helping the organization achieve its goals and be successful.
Provide employees with feedback on how they are doing. Make sure your comments are positive and constructive. It's also a good idea to solicit suggestions from your technicians on how to improve processes, customer service, teamwork, etc.
When rewarding employees, remember that money is effective only to a certain degree. “Monetary incentives have been overrated as a motivating factor,” Muniute-Cobb says. “Employees leave higher paying and no recognition jobs for lower paying jobs with a higher recognition factor.” However, she points out that monetary incentives are more effective with middle-aged employees and for those who are doing mechanical work so you may not want to eliminate them but rather supplement them with other forms of recognition.
