An employee’s first day can set the tone for their whole experience with a company. Even before the first day in some cases, says Kimberly Guy, director of human resources at Southland Transportation Group.
She should know. Southland was recently named one of International’s top dealers for 2024. The award goes to the top 8% of International dealerships with the highest level of performance in terms of operating and financial standards, market representation and customer satisfaction. And you don’t get to the top without a good team.
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“That’s who we are, taking care of our employees,” Guy says. “We want to invest in our team because our team really impacts our bottom line in everything we do.”
Starting off on the right foot
Guy says Southland’s process really begins before onboarding, all the way back to identifying candidates whose values match the company’s values. When recruiting, Guy says companies should find a person on their team to help sell the company to candidates and provide good communication to them throughout the hiring process, including onboarding.
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“So many times employers think we interview them [the candidates], and so many times it’s the opposite,” Guy says. “I’m an advocate for you. I don’t want to put you through all this without knowing what you want, what your salary expectations are.”
She makes sure candidates meet the owners and have real conversations about what working for Southland means.
“It’s important for the applicant to feel valued and have the opportunity to interview us as well,” she says. The process could include personality assessments and multiple interviews to make sure it’s a good fit on both ends of the employment deal.
Onboarding
Statistics back up what Guy already knows. According to The Wyn Hurst Group, employees who go through a structured onboarding program are 58% more likely to remain with the organization after three years. Organizations with strong onboarding processes see 82% higher new retention rates and 70% higher productivity.
But smaller companies, such as many heavy-duty businesses, may be at a disadvantage. They tend to have smaller staffs with fewer resources to devote to onboarding a new employee. A little less than half (48%) of employees in smaller companies report satisfaction with their onboarding experience, the Academy to Innovate HR reports, while 64% of employees at larger companies are happy with the way they were brought on board.
If smaller businesses can’t afford a dedicated human resources staff, Guy suggests they look to hire someone with exposure to multiple facets of managing a company’s people.
“In order to have the processes in place, you have to have the right caliber and skillset of the people bringing on those people,” she says.
Putting it into practice
The Larson Group (TLG) has 26 locations in eight states and 1,486 employees. It onboards about 410 people every year and recently earned TRP’s Dealer of the Year for 2024.
“It is important to us at The Larson Group all employees receive a comprehensive and consistent onboarding experience to set them up for successful careers at TLG,” says Nathan Conn, vice president of human resources. “A proper onboarding experience increases the chances of retaining new hires. We believe it is important to get the buy-in from all employees to who and what TLG is.”
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During TLG’s onboarding, Conn says HR representatives walk new employees through creating an account in the company’s HR system, completing an onboarding checklist to review company policies and available benefits.
Guy says that’s important because not every new hire knows how a company’s benefits can help them.
“A lot of the people don’t know the difference between FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act), short-term disability and long-term disability, and what that can mean in the future,” she says. “I give them examples that relate to them. We’re very specific. We want to make sure, up front, our team knows what we offer.”
Keep innovating
Conn says it’s also important to constantly review and work to improve onboarding processes. TLG looks at turnover rates within the first 90 days to a year to gauge how well they’re doing.
“We believe the onboarding process plays a vital role in retaining new hires and setting them up for success,” Conn says. “Employee and hiring manager feedback regarding the onboarding process also plays an important role in gauging the success.”
At Southland, Guy says new employees have a three-day, 60-day and 90-day check-in, then a mid-year check-in or as needed before the official annual review.
“We have a culture to where we encourage the employee to ask and feel comfortable in their departments as to what they need and don’t need,” Guy says. “It’s really crucial for the first 90 days. That’s where you can capture that engagement.”
