Recruit, Inspire & Retain

The following "best practice" examples from three 100 Best Companies to Work For winners highlight some of the ways these companies have gone about welcoming their employees and reinforcing their unique cultures in the process.

The MITRE Corporation
MITRE is a nonprofit IT consulting firm based in Virginia with close to 6,000 employees. Managers and leaders spend a lot of energy welcoming new employees and making sure they successfully get acclimated to their new work environment.

Welcome e-mails are sent out to introduce new employees to others in their department, and some senior vice presidents send personal notes to each new employee. New employees are also invited to a "get-acquainted" meeting soon after they start work. Pictures of new employees are posted on department bulletin boards, and each week the names of new employees are posted on electronic information displays in common areas in each building.

Operations and support staff have a goal that by the end of the first day’s orientation, each employee has a computer with functioning software and a desk drawer filled with the basic tools for getting down to work. It’s also standard practice for new employees to receive welcome e-mails and phone calls from the help desk, information center, security and others to make sure everything is working, to answer any questions and to let the employee know how to reach them as new questions come up.

As one employee said: "I was delighted by how much time, energy and organization is given to the New Employee Orientation. The entire week was completely reassuring that I made the correct choice for my next career move to The MITRE Corporation. Not only did I feel assimilated and equipped with the appropriate tools and contacts to start my new job, but I felt welcomed on a personal level."

Google
At Google, hiring and welcoming new employees has been a critical part of the company’s efforts during its past few years of extraordinary growth. Leaders and managers at Google seek to ensure that each new hire feels special from the moment they join the company. New hires, called "Nooglers," begin their time at Google with an all-day orientation.

Speakers come from different departments to talk to the Nooglers and a special tour of the campus is provided, as are folders with benefit information and coupons for a free massage and discounts for a car wash. At the end of the day, Nooglers are picked up by their mentors and receive a special escort to their work areas where they’re greeted with welcome balloons and a bag of chocolates.

A Google Buddy (technical person) stops by during the week to ensure each new employee is set up with their computer and to assist with any technical questions or concerns. Mentors play a big role in helping Nooglers adjust to their new work environment. They stay with their Noogler until they feel completely comfortable, and each mentor continues to be a direct resource for any future needs. To round out the first week, Nooglers are recognized at weekly TGIF events, with their names and work group shown on a large screen. They also get their first chance to feel part of Google, sitting in the front rows as Google founders Larry and Sergey talk shop. Here are a few employee comments that confirm the success of Google’s welcoming activities:

"I was really impressed with the openness and amount of information given to Nooglers during orientation and throughout the first week."

"I couldn’t believe all the speakers that take time to come and talk to Nooglers during the first day orientation."

"My group had a special orientation where I was introduced to my group. It really made me feel special."

"I was surprised at how many employees went out of their way to help me – and that they came to me to help and I didn’t need to go to them."

Bright Horizons Family Solutions
Bright Horizons is a provider of high quality child care at work sites. With over 14,000 employees, and in an industry with an often transient workforce, their ability to attract, hire and retain skilled employees is critical to their success. When new employees start at Bright Horizons, they’re welcomed into a community, with the first day treated as if it is a birthday. This approach is taken to convey people’s excitement about a new employee’s decision to join the Bright Horizons family. There is also a clear understanding of the business significance of the first day at work, so from the start Bright Horizons staff seek to instill trust, mutual respect and a strong work ethic, as well as inject a sense of fun into the welcoming experience.

When new hires start, everything is ready to go – at the corporate office, the new employee’s name is placed on his or her workspace, a key scan security card has been provided to insure access to the corporate building and all paperwork is done before the first day. The phone system – including voice mail, an e-mail account, working computer and desk – are all ready to insure that each new hire is able to do their work and doesn’t need to fuss around with logistics.

Each new employee also receives a welcome letter at their home, and when they arrive at work there are a series of orientation activities geared to their role within the company. New Teacher Orientation begins immediately upon hire and continues through the first three months of employment. Similarly, for their New Manager Orientation, managers receive an individualized program geared to prepare them for their role through a review of specific topics and skill-building activities.

Throughout the first weeks and months of employment, each new employee is ‘re-welcomed’ at numerous events. One staff member wrote, "I never went to a meeting where I wasn’t introduced and made to feel welcome." Staff meetings are one mechanism for keeping employees from across the many on-site locations connected to each other and to the larger organization. People gather as a team each month at the on-site offices and every quarter at the home office. At these meetings, new employees are recognized and have an opportunity to share information about themselves and their recent experiences at work.

Every great workplace has a few distinct qualities in its culture that are special and create a foundation for success. It’s hard to define these cultural factors in a few words, yet several common themes are identified from studying the 100 Best .

First , great workplaces are characterized by inclusive environments in which all employees are invited to participate in the cultural life of the organization. Second , leaders at great workplaces are accessible, sharing information with employees and answering their questions. Third , leaders at great workplaces create an environment in which the fair distribution of rewards, recognition and opportunities is rigorously pursued. And all great workplaces are characterized by a sense of being on a journey. The bottom line is that there’s never an end to the process of becoming a great place to work – it’s something people work at every day.

Leave Your Job Behind When You're on Vacation

"I recently had a facilitation challenge that I thought you might be interested in hearing about. Last week I was facilitating a one-day workshop in downtown Chicago for a new client. Since I live in the southwest suburbs I got to sleep in my own bed the night before and drove into the city in the morning. Without another car on the road, it takes me about 45-50 minutes to get into the city. Since it was rush hour, I left 2½ hours before the 8:00am start time. Under normal rush hour circumstances, that would have been plenty of time. For reasons known only to the commuting gods, last Wednesday was anything but normal. Since the traffic reports put the freeway at a virtual standstill, I stayed on the surface streets for as long as possible.

It was apparent fairly quickly, though, that I was going to have trouble getting there on time. By 7:00am I had been on the road for 1½ hours and was still only about of the way there. I called the client to give him an update. Being a Chicago native, he was very understanding and said they'd just wait for me (like they had any choice but to wait).

At 7:45, I was certainly closer but still not moving very quickly. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm like a rabid dog about beginning and ending a group training session on time. So, I decided it was going to start at 8:00am even if I wasn't there . I called the client and asked him to set up a speakerphone in the training room. Since there was almost a full minute of dead silence, I'm fairly certain that he thought he'd hired a crazy person. But he hooked up the phone and called me back at the stroke of 8:00.

We started the training at 8:00am sharp from my car...me on my Bluetooth and them on speakerphone. Since I didn't want to do too much talking while trying to navigate rush hour traffic, I adapted the beginning a little so that I could get to the beginning small group activity faster.

After the opening I got them going on their small group activity, with the client acting as my eyes to let me know when they were finished. Once they were done, we started the processing. I did lose them as I went into the underground parking, but the client continued with the processing anyway. I called back in as soon as I got above ground and he filled me in on what I had missed. Within minutes of parking the car I was at their building. I walked into the room at 8:30 (to a rousing round of applause, which I can tell you felt great) and continued the training as if I'd been there all along.

The learners were a group of executives who were used to running their own companies so I could have had some credibility issues. The good news is that they weren’t in the least bit upset about the somewhat unorthodox start to the day and the training was a huge success.

I told the client contact that if I ever had the chance to work with them again, I'd leave my house at midnight and sleep in the parking lot until morning. Not only would I be there on time, but I'm sure I'm make a lot of new friends in the parking lot."

A Simple Formula for Reducing Unwanted Turnover

DiPietro and Condly conducted their research at high- and low-turnover work sites. They discovered four factors that explain more than 96% of employee turnover. Workers at the low-turnover sites displayed significantly higher:

	Self-efficacy. They were confident of their ability to perform what was asked of them.
	Agency. They were convinced that management and the work environment strongly supported their efforts to meet success criteria.
	Positive work perspective. They felt good about their work and working conditions.
	High work interest. They valued their work and were genuinely interested in what they did.

As a result, employees at low-turnover work sites appeared to persist longer at work tasks, exhibiting more mental and physical effort in pursuit of their duties than their peers at high-turnover locations.

Of the four factors, the one exerting the strongest impact was agency — even when workers reported lower levels of the other three, supportive supervisors and managers appeared to reduce the likelihood of job abandonment.

Practical Application
Based on these findings, how can organizations reduce undesirable turnover? Above all, do everything possible to convince employees that management and the entire organization supports — not opposes — their work efforts. Communicate this clearly both directly (through words and deeds) and indirectly (through the environment, policies and daily practices).

Build value for work. Show employees that their contributions not only help the organization and customers but, more importantly, build their own valuable skills and knowledge. Employees who highly value their work seldom leave.

Avoid comments and practices that decrease feelings of self-efficacy. Continually reinforce employees' ability to perform. Feelings of inability to meet requirements often lead to demoralization and flight from the source of discomfort: the job.

Monitor employee performance to spot declining persistence and effort. These are warnings of a waning motivation for the job and a sign of potential turnover.