Career Management Coach Katherine Wiid comments:
Rollercoasters wouldn’t be any fun without all the ups and downs. But we wouldn’t ride a rollercoaster without being firmly strapped in, would we? What support can you offer your new employee, to help them ride out those twists and turns and stop them from hitting the eject button?
When a new hire comes into a role, they’re full of optimism, motivation, and drive to make a good impression. They will probably be acutely aware that first impressions count, and that their new colleagues will be watching their every move, and therefore are on a mission to impress! This burst of energy will usually be enough to get them through the first couple of months, but then just as it begins to wane, they’ll be at risk of taking a sharp descent…
Why? Perhaps your employee has come up against colleagues who aren’t on their wavelength, or they’re struggling to get to grips with systems and processes.
They’ve probably hit the three month wobble (sometimes called the 90 day dip!). They might be questioning their future, whether this is the right role for them. Questioning whether they want to stay. Your latest recruit could be hitting the eject button and getting off that rollercoaster ride!
So what can you to do support your new hire and ensure you are retaining new employees?
Formal probation reviews are all well and good - for you sitting in the driving seat.
However, are truthful "I am really struggling with .... " or "Working with xyz really drains me" responses likely to be forthcoming? In my experience as a Career Management Coach your new employee is likely to view them as career suicide and weakness!
It’s around this three month mark that I often step in. Momentum Coaching is what I call it – and it’s just that! Keeping that initial burst of energy going, and helping new employees to work through the inevitable challenges that a new organisation, new role, new team, new task will throw at them.
Sometimes employees need to be able to talk to someone from outside the bubble, a third party. And that’s where I can really help. My coaching sessions offer a sounding board (either face to face or by video call) to help employees to voice their concerns, and then most importantly, to work through them.
My coaching sessions help your employees to:
Get to know themselves. What are their working traits? Their motivations? The Lab Profile allows us to identify these, and helps us to be working at 100%.
Manage expectations. Of both themselves and of others. Stopping dissatisfaction and frustration from building.
Identify gaps. In knowledge, in support, in training… whatever they may be. And identify how those gaps can be minimised.
Build a sustainable action plan. Where do they need to get to, and how will they get there? Giving them the motivation to continue, without burning out or going into panic mode.
Find new perspectives. Talking through their worries and concerns, and helping them to see them in a new light so that they don’t take over.
Happy employees make for happy employers!
Some client reflections on the Momentum Coaching:
"In just a few sessions, Katherine helped take me from a place of complete confusion and despair in my work to a much better state of clarity. By coaching me through what wasn’t working and what I could do about it, to what I wanted and how I could get there, I now feel much more satisfied at work and confident that I can follow a much more rewarding career path. Katherine is warm, perceptive and smart; definitely a recommended partner to get you ahead in your work." Laura, Marketing, Cambridge“Sessions with Katherine gave me a unique chance to be seen from different angles revealing my underestimated strong and weak points. Using simple and understandable techniques Katherine equipped me with powerful professional development tools. I left the last session charged with confidence and a clear vision of the next steps ahead of me.” Cyril, Senior Scientist, Cambridge
Retention is just as important as recruiting. If you can be successful at retaining new employees, then you won’t be on the rollercoaster for any longer than you need to be.