8 Keys to Retaining the Perfect Employee

Given all the time you invest in recruiting and hiring the perfect employee, it may feel like the hard part is over once the perfect employee has showed up for his first day on the job. But nothing could be further from the truth. Your perfect employee's first few days on the job are the days that you should be willing to invest your time and effort anew. After all, to keep the perfect employee, you need to make sure he feels that your business is the perfect environment for him and that he adds value to your company. Here are eight keys to keeping the perfect employee once you've hired him.

1. Balance the Work. One of the most difficult aspects of adding an employee to your team is the fact that work needs to be redistributed. Those training the new employee won't be able to keep up with their workloads, and that can cause hard feelings and resentment. Make sure you've distributed the work evenly among your employees, and do the lion's share of the training of the new employee yourself. Your perfect new hire will be glad to get the chance to know you, and your existing employees will feel like you're looking out for their best interests as well.

2. Welcome By Committee. This committee will be compromised of everyone on the new employee's team. Ask the perfect new employee's team to meet with him, to prepare appropriate training materials, and to generally make him feel welcome. This will cut into their productive time, but efforts on the front end will only pay off later.

3. Use the Buddy System. Introduce the perfect new employee to his buddy almost as soon as he walks in the door. This buddy will be responsible for getting the perfect new employee to meetings on time and for answering all of the questions he may have about company protocol and culture.

4. Welcome Them At the Door. Make sure someone is standing at the door, literally, to welcome the perfect new employee on his first day. This shows him that you're excited to see him and gets the relationship off on the right foot from the very beginning. If you really want to go out of your way, you could meet him at a coffee shop before work starts to visit with him and escort him to the building.

5. Set Up the Work Area. Make sure that the perfect new employee's work area is perfectly prepared for him as soon as he walks in the door. Don't scramble around to clean it up while he's waiting to sit down in his new area. Make sure the computers are networked, email accounts are set up, writing equipment is available, and a desk chair is clean and ready to go.

6. Provide a Training Schedule. It should be one of the first things your perfect new employee receives when he arrives. It will help orient him and help him feel like he has productive things to do with his time for the first few days.

7. Give Him Food. Always take the perfect new employee to lunch within the first few days or work. If the first day isn't optimal for everyone, then go within a few days. Try to get the whole team to go if possible. If not, make sure his buddy can go with him. One of the most anxiety-inducing situations in a new job is not knowing the company culture surrounding meals. Help reduce that anxiety by going out to lunch.

8. Announce Arrival. Issue an internal press release that includes a picture. Highlight the perfect new employee's experience and gifts. Also announce it to your vendors and business partners. The perfect new employee will feel much more comfortable interacting with partners and vendors if he knows that they already know who he is.

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