Inevitably at your interview, you will be asked if you have any questions. If you’ve done your homework, that is, you’ve done some background research on the hiring company, you should have a series of questions ready. I would also recommend adding the following 3 topics to your list to help you make an informed decision later if you are offered the job.
1. Short and long term onboarding activities for new employees. In 2007, the Wynhurst Group published the following statistics on new employees:
- On their first day, 4% of new hires will leave the job.
- In the first 3 weeks, the new employees will decide if they feel at home or not.
- In the first 45 days, 22% of staff turnover will take place.
- In the first 18 months, almost half (46%) of new hires will retire.
The good news is that “new hires who went through a structured onboarding program were 58% more likely to stay with the organization after three years.” The more time and effort that goes into welcoming and preparing new employees, the greater the chance that new employees will feel welcomed, prepared, and supported. As a consequence of a successful onboarding, new employees will put in much more effort, that is, they will perform better, when they understand and believe in the importance of their positions to the organization.
2. Dropout rates. Every organization should know how many employees it has and how many employees it has left in a given period. A simple calculation for the attrition rate could be the total number of employees who left the organization per month (either voluntarily or forced) divided by (the total number of employees at the beginning of the month plus the number of new hires minus the total number of resignations) multiplied by 100.
In their article, Harris et al (2002) investigated the quantitative effects of employee turnover on firm productivity and identified that the optimal turnover rate, the rate that maximizes productivity, controlling for other factors, is around 30 % for small and medium-sized companies. Businesses Businesses with higher attrition rates risk undermining their productivity and overburdening remaining employees, which can lead to cost reduction initiatives and work-related stress, respectively.
What they also found was that the average churn rate among the companies included in the study was 18%. A company with a low attrition rate could signal management’s reluctance to fire low-performing employees. This can have a negative effect on the morale of those employees who bear the workload of the underperformers within the group. Alternatively, the company may have an entitlement mindset in which employees expect raises, promotions, perks and perks, regardless of the company’s performance standards or finances. Employees who feel entitled will perform at the minimum requirement because management treats good performance, poor performance, or no performance the same.
3. Culture and corporate values. Don’t underestimate the importance of the organization’s culture in your decision. John Sheridan (1992), the LR Jordan Professor of Health Services Administration at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, reported that new employees spent longer in a culture that emphasized the values of interpersonal relationships than in a culture that emphasized values. job task values. Benjamin Schneider (1987), professor emeritus at the University of Maryland, argued that the fit between personal and organizational values is very important to employees, suggesting that those who do not fit into an organization will soon leave.
A final recommendation is to talk to a recruiter in your field of work. The company looking to hire you is likely to be known by other recruiters who are willing to share their experiences, both positive and negative, with you.
List of quotes
Harris MN, Tang KK, Tseng YP. Optimum rate of employee turnover: theory and evidence. Research Collections (UMER). Economics and Trade: Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research. Consulted on April 23, 2011.
Schneider B. People make the place. Personal Psychology, 1987;40:437-453.
Sheridan JE. Organizational culture and employee retention. The Academy of Management Journal, 1992;35(5):1036-1056.
“SHRM Presentation” by The Wynhurst Group, April 2007.