When a New Hire Is Slow to Catch On

Posted on 04/07 by Erin Helms

Hiring is complex, and with all the time and resources you invest in a new employee, it is disheartening to find out they are underperforming. However, instead of regretting your hire or restarting the hiring process, look at ways you can help the new hire get on track.

Possible Reasons for the Slow Start

You had high hopes for the new hire. What went wrong? Here are a few reasons your new hires may be off to a rocky start: You hired for skills and not attitude. New hires do not fail because they lack skills. New employees fail because they lack coachability, emotional intelligence, motivation, and temperament. Failure to onboard properly. During the critical first 30 days, your onboarding process will make or break the employee’s success with your organization. Your culture is terrible. Even if your onboarding is exceptional, it will not matter if the new hire works with horrible people. Too many scowls might be the problem.

Be Patient

We have all been a new hire at some point in our careers. Try to keep this in mind when you have a struggling new hire. Think about how hard you worked to make a good impression as a new hire. They are doing the same thing, so cut them some slack. Yes, giving the new employee might sound counterintuitive for productivity. However, with time to become comfortable in a new position, your new hire will adapt to their surroundings, gain confidence and learn from teammates. Do not sit back and watch, however. Block out time for your new person to shadow a more experienced worker, suggest online training or arrange weekly one-on-one meetings with the new person to help them succeed.

Use a Cheat Sheet

Writing things down can help the new hire and you. Write down repetitive processes on step-by-step cheat sheets. These sheets can serve as learning tools and instant reminders. When you write instructions, your new employees will not have to come running your way when they forget what to do next!

Rethink Your Expectations

There will be times when a worker does not get it. You might try everything possible, and still, the lightbulb never comes on. You will likely exhaust yourself with repetition as you ponder how you learned everything so fast, and the new hire is taking forever. Please understand that everyone’s learning curve is different. With any luck, you established a time frame when you hired the worker. If a time limit has come and gone and the employee is still struggling, it is time to reevaluate your expectations. A second look will tell you if the employee or your teaching methods are the problems. Once you discover the answer, you can address it accordingly.

Work With Top Staffing Agencies Near You

If you are searching for a staffing agency near me, look at LaborMAX. The staffing professionals at LaborMAX can help you reduce overtime expenses, increase productivity, and add flexibility to your workforce.

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