Successfully Onboarding Your Staff So They Stay

Video Transcription

Video Summary

In this lively webinar, Lana Fontenot, Vice Chancellor for Institutional Advancement and External Relations at South Louisiana Community College, shares her expertise on successfully onboarding staff to ensure not only retention but also their thriving in the role. The session, attended by over 100 participants, was hosted by Meg Natter, Director of Community Colleges and Foundations at CASE.<br /><br />The focus was on the onboarding process, starting with the often overlooked pre-boarding phase, which occurs between accepting the job and the first day at work. Lana emphasizes the importance of making new hires feel welcomed and prepared, reducing anxiety, and preventing them from reconsidering their job decision. This involves sending detailed welcome emails and structured first-week schedules a week prior to their start date without assigning any pre-work tasks.<br /><br />Lana advocates for a structured onboarding that spans beyond the HR orientation, aiming to integrate new employees operationally and culturally into the organization. This includes a detailed agenda for the first week, complete with introductions, strategic goal discussions, and an overview of the organizational culture.<br /><br />Key tools like the "30-60-90 day plan" help set clear expectations and milestones, allowing both the employee and manager to assess progress periodically. Regular one-on-one meetings and an emphasis on employee engagement, combined with an annual review of job descriptions and performance evaluations, help sustain employee satisfaction and productivity.<br /><br />Lana also underscores the importance of professional development, providing employees with plans detailing their short- and long-term goals and training needs, ensuring their growth aligns with the organization's objectives. This approach results in high employee satisfaction and retention, as evidenced by positive feedback and metrics such as the Employee Net Promoter Score.

Keywords

onboarding

employee retention

pre-boarding

organizational culture

30-60-90 day plan

professional development

employee engagement

performance evaluations

South Louisiana Community College

Employee Net Promoter Score