In the News: 44 Days: That’s How Long Employers Have to Convince a New Employee to Stay

October 12, 2023 | Hamilton, ON
Contributed by Lauren Johnson, Human Resources Director

woman shaking hands

On average, companies have 44 days to influence a new hire’s long-term retention, with 70% of new employees deciding whether a job is the right fit within the first month, according to new data from BambooHR.

For companies, this means employee retention hinges on a narrow window of opportunity. By the time a new hire has been in their role for two months, it’ll be almost impossible to shake any negative first impressions, according to BambooHR.

. . .

Checking in with new hires

The onboarding process can make or break employees’ decision to stay long-term, according to BambooHR. However, the onboarding process should not be a one and done event that only takes place once.

Employees should have the opportunity to check in a month, three months, six months and even a year later, and they should know that these opportunities for regular feedback exist, said Catherine Connelly professor at the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University.

“I think when employees know that there will be many opportunities to check in with their supervisor or manager, then that makes them know that the company wants them to succeed, and that part helps them to be motivated to stay,” she said. “It also lets them know that the company cares about them. And if they’re enjoying the job, if they want to be there, just having that discussion, even if nothing changes, at least somebody cared to ask. I think that means a lot to employees.”

Read the full article in the Human Resources Director.

Catherine Connelly

Catherine Connelly

Professor, Human Resources & Management, and Research Chair of Organizational Behavior

Dr. Catherine Connelly holds a Canada Research Chair (Tier 2) in Organizational Behaviour, and is a Member Emeritus of the College of New Scholars of the Royal Society of Canada (RSC). She is a former associate editor for Human Relations and currently serves on several editorial boards including the Journal of Organizational Behavior, Human Resource Management Review, the Academy of Management Discoveries journal, and Human Resource Management.

Her research focuses on the attitudes, behaviours, and experiences of non-standard workers (e.g., temporary agency workers, contractors, temporary foreign workers), the effects of leadership styles on leader well-being, and knowledge hiding in organizations. Catherine also conducts applied research with several Canadian organizations in both the private and non-profit sector.

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