6 Reasons Why New Hires Leave

Not every person you hire will be a good fit for your organisation. Although not every hire will work out, there are some things you can do to make sure you’re attracting the right people to the right roles and to help your new recruits stay with you longer.

In this article, we outline 6 reasons why new hires leave, along with tips on what you can do to improve your employee retention…

The Role Isn’t What They Expected

It can be tempting to lie about or exaggerate certain aspects of a role to fill an unattractive or hard-to-fill position, but this is a short-term fix and won’t help you find the right person for the job. Research by Robert Walters found that 67% of professionals interviewed felt mislead during their induction about the following things:

• Responsibilities/focus didn’t match job description (61%)
• Overall environment didn’t match job description (53%)
• Opportunities for career development and training didn’t match job description (51%)
• Work life balance didn’t match job description (45%)

Misleading candidates, whether intentionally or not, can create feelings of distrust and the perception that not much thought went into the hiring process. Before you put out a job advert, make sure you’re clear on what the role will entail, and how it will fit in with the rest of the team/department. Even if it’s a new role with responsibilities that aren’t yet set in stone, the focus of the role as well as the working environment and culture should be things you can clearly relay to candidates.

Also remember that when it comes to filling unattractive roles, not all candidates will be put off by the same things. Tasks that one candidate might find tedious might be the favourite tasks of another, so investing a little extra time to find the right person instead of misleading candidates will be beneficial in the long run.

The Company Culture Isn’t for Them

Research by Robert Walters also found that 73% of professionals have left a job because they disliked the company culture. Finding someone who is a good fit for your organisation is just as important as finding someone with the right qualifications, skills, and experience.

During the interview process, be clear on what your company culture is, and give candidates the chance to see it themselves. Discuss your culture during the interview and give candidates the chance to speak to current employees who have experienced it themselves.

Also ensure that you have a solid employer brand that represents your company culture well, using platforms such as social media to really highlight what it’s like to work at your organisation. This will give candidates a much clearer image of what a career with you looks like outside of your long list of responsibilities.

Give new hires a voice and a chance to make changes to help them fit in with your organisation. For example, if your team has lots of regular socials that don’t always appeal to everyone’s interests, why not invite everyone to submit their own ideas or even encourage them to run an activity themselves? Although this won’t change your culture as a whole, it’s a small thing you can do to make sure that your new hires fit in.

They Don’t Get on Well with the Team

In Breathe’s Culture Economy Report 2021, 27% of SME employees polled said they have left a job as a result of toxic cultures. Whilst you can’t force everyone on your team to get on well with one another, there are things you can do to prevent a toxic working environment and help your new hires settle in with the rest of their team.

When your new hire starts, consider giving them a mentor who you think they would get on well with so that they always have someone they can go to for help. Give them the opportunity to speak to everyone on the team individually, even if they won’t be working with them every day, and make sure that remote employees are still engaging with the rest of the team.

Read our recent article on how to keep remote employees connected.

They Don’t Like the Commute

Many new hires will underestimate the commute they’ll have to take to work every day and might find that it has a much bigger impact on their lives than they originally thought. During the interview process, encourage candidates to test out the commute for themselves before they start, and if it’s a long one, why not give them some flexibility about where they work if you can?

You don’t want to lose the right person because they don’t like the commute, especially if it’s not vital that they’re in the office all day, every day. Flexibility and remote working are becoming more important to employees than ever before, so if you can make adjustments, it’s definitely worth considering.

They Don’t Like the Working Style

Remember that even if two people are doing the same job on paper, they might not share the same working style. When training your new hires, give them suggestions on how they could approach their work based on what has worked well for you and the team, but do give them space to find a way that works well for them.

They Aren’t Given an Induction/Training Programme

Another reason new hires leave is down to being thrown into the job without receiving an induction or onboarding programme. Expecting new hires to be able to pick up the job straight away with little to no help will likely lead to them feeling overwhelmed and ultimately unmotivated.

Before your new hire starts, take the time to put together a well thought out onboarding programme, allowing them to ease into their new role. Consider giving them a schedule for their first few weeks to help them prepare for their training and track their progress, and make sure to settle them into the team as well as their new role, as both are equally as important.

Turn Your Employees into Advocates…

Even if you could find replacements for employees who leave quite easily, having a high staff turnover isn’t going to help you create a productive work environment.

Taking some extra time during the hiring process to attract the right people and giving your new hires a voice to implement change will help you retain talent in the long run, and will lead to greater job satisfaction amongst your employees.

Employees who enjoy working for you will in turn become advocates for your organisation, and this will help you attract the best talent and make your organisation stand out as an employer of choice.

Visit PharmiWeb’s Recruiter Blog for more tips, research, news and guides on recruiting within the Life Sciences industry.