CHENNAI: In the race to hire and retain good talent, companies are waking up to a niche area that can be a make-or-break tool for staff retention and satisfaction: The quality of welcome that a company provides to new recruits on their first day at work.
A pleasing reception area and some smiling faces will be helpful, but companies are realising that there is more to the right welcome than that. And the challenging economic environment, which makes it important for companies to retain talent and prevent extra costs caused by attrition, has increased the need to provide the right welcome to new staff.
"Progressive companies are realising the importance of making Day One a memorable one for fresh recruits, at whatever level. The manner in which a new employee goes through the initial formalities of joining a company and the first day at work is turning to be of strategic importance," said R Kannan, CEO of AssessPeople.
"It can be little things like being shown where the canteen is or how to get food coupons, but these make a big impact on a newcomer about the overall culture of a company. These little things say how a company actually connects with its people, and progressive companies will not mind sinking time and effort into these aspects," said Kannan.
Handling new recruits is never easy these days, say HR professionals, and one of the reasons is that the younger recruits sometimes feel difficult to easily mesh with what Kannan calls the "three other generations" in the company. "These days there are four generations of staff in a company - those who are below 25, those between 26 and 35, those in the 36-45 range and those above that. Opinion differs between all these categories on issues from whether or not to have a dress code to work-life balance. Therefore, any major slip on handling new recruits on Day One can be a big turn-off for the freshers concerned," said Kannan.
Shobana Rajaseker, HR head Aparajitha Corporate Services, said companies are taking special care to ensure that new employees are given a comprehensive introduction and "clarity on all routine processes" as soon as they join. She said the importance of good induction has only increased, considering the aspect of deploying staff at the client's end in some sectors, and that "induction practices are getting stronger in a broad range of sectors".
A pleasing reception area and some smiling faces will be helpful, but companies are realising that there is more to the right welcome than that. And the challenging economic environment, which makes it important for companies to retain talent and prevent extra costs caused by attrition, has increased the need to provide the right welcome to new staff.
"Progressive companies are realising the importance of making Day One a memorable one for fresh recruits, at whatever level. The manner in which a new employee goes through the initial formalities of joining a company and the first day at work is turning to be of strategic importance," said R Kannan, CEO of AssessPeople.
"It can be little things like being shown where the canteen is or how to get food coupons, but these make a big impact on a newcomer about the overall culture of a company. These little things say how a company actually connects with its people, and progressive companies will not mind sinking time and effort into these aspects," said Kannan.
Handling new recruits is never easy these days, say HR professionals, and one of the reasons is that the younger recruits sometimes feel difficult to easily mesh with what Kannan calls the "three other generations" in the company. "These days there are four generations of staff in a company - those who are below 25, those between 26 and 35, those in the 36-45 range and those above that. Opinion differs between all these categories on issues from whether or not to have a dress code to work-life balance. Therefore, any major slip on handling new recruits on Day One can be a big turn-off for the freshers concerned," said Kannan.
Shobana Rajaseker, HR head Aparajitha Corporate Services, said companies are taking special care to ensure that new employees are given a comprehensive introduction and "clarity on all routine processes" as soon as they join. She said the importance of good induction has only increased, considering the aspect of deploying staff at the client's end in some sectors, and that "induction practices are getting stronger in a broad range of sectors".
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