Integrate New Hires Quickly

There is always some level of disruption when a new employee joins a company. A new arrival can often mean a realignment of internal roles, responsibilities, and relationships. It can be a challenging time, which is why the process must be closely watched and well managed.

My approach is to lavish a lot of attention on newcomers and provide as much support as possible in the early days. I want to ensure they are comfortable; adjusting to their new work environment and learning the ropes, so they can become a productive part of the team as quickly as possible. This may occasionally disrupt the regular office routine, but I believe it is much more important to quickly onboard new hires, even if it temporarily ruffles a few feathers.

In my opinion, the integration and training of new employees should take precedence over a normal day’s work. At TEOCO, we don’t want a new employee to spend their first few days with little or nothing to do, or waste time waiting for their computer to be set up. We want them on the job from day one – when they’re most likely to be motivated and energetic!

A few weeks ago, we hired two new employees at our Fairfax office, Tina Roach and Kayla Magee. I have personally spent multiple sessions working with each of them, teaching them about our business and our culture. In addition to bringing them up to speed, it’s a tremendous bonding opportunity, and when done right at the infancy of a new relationship, the impact can last a lifetime.

Technology companies tend to have employee turnover rates of about 15-20% annually.  If it takes two to three months for a new hire to ramp up and become a productive part of the team… that’s a lot of wasted time and money. I would say that companies should put as high a priority into onboarding new employees as they put into onboarding new customers. In addition to making financial sense, it also shows respect to the new hire.

Indeed, this is also why I am strongly in favor of rehiring former employees. The person coming back already knows TEOCO and has many relationships in place. They’ve now seen a bit more of the world. They understand what we have to offer and what we don’t and are likely returning with a strong desire to make the association work.  There is also a positive impact on the morale of the existing employees – they know that the returning employee didn’t find the grass to be greener on the other side!

With special thanks to Srinivas Bhogle for his support and contribution to this project.