A young man I met recently constantly referred to his company as “They….” I asked him somewhere along the conversation when he had joined this place and he said he had come there seven months back. He also made references to his older employer and used the term “we”.
It so happened that in the same week I met an HR manager who confidently shared with me her training calendar and the activities she planned to do with me. When I referred to a past communication with the company I learnt that she had been around for just about a month. The contrast between the two experiences couldn’t have been greater.
Since then I have tried to list out in my mind: Who are the people who immediately get into the skin of their roles? And who are ones that take longer? I cannot seem to- as of yet- establish any certain pattern or apply any particular attributes to these lists.
I am thinking along the following lines: How long does it take for a person to identify with an employer? Are there any HR processes to assess this transition? Is there any ideal duration or average time span allotted to this? Is it important to shorten this adaptation time? And whose responsibility is it? And finally I would like to study the connection between this adaptation time and attrition rate. Does a shorter adaptation time allude to a lower attrition rate?
My study of this aspect of employment is in its nascent stages and your contributions, thoughts, ideas would help to build upon this still-fragile foundation.
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ReplyDeleteI) Good one Nirupama !
II) very interesting point niru.
I beleive there is nothing more mutually effective than a self-inspired person/employee.
When one identifies with the unit their whole perspective and channels of thinking are different. more visionary.
many companies have boring orientation programmes. i think what may be more effective would be -
- an orientation programme which is "ongoing" - activities which a new employee must do to incline her/himself with the companies identity.
- the young man whom you discussed clearly alienated himself from the companies identity. this also has to do with bad management (HR). One effective / practical way of perhaps diluting this attitude could be granting shares in the company depending on performance / loyalty
yes i do think shorter adaptation time constitutes a lower attrition rate
Rati Kumar
some more responses
ReplyDeleteHi Niru,
This is quite interesting and thought provoking. I will attempt to answer your questions to the best of my knowledge
Who are the people who immediately get into the skin oftheir roles?
- It depends on the type of people selected for that particular role , experienced Sales guys seem to be quick to jump in to the role and adapt, but can t say that about a Administration guy or any first timer / fresher for the job.
And who are ones that take longer? - This is a very subjective question - this again depends on the ability of the individual.
I am thinking along thefollowing lines: How long does it take for a person to identify with anemployer?
In case of a fresher it would take at least 6 months before the individual to start identify with the employer. People with over 5 yrs exp are some what fast. While with 10 yrs and above start identifying with in 10 days. Again this also is dependent on the organizations. Large org with strong brand name, well set HR process -( training, induction , hand holding etc ) have a quick method of getting the new comer started of quickly. Unfortunately many organziation ( large as well as small ) have HR only as a recuritment agency, they do not have a proper process to support employees to start. Employees are left to find their way. HR process are present only with some select MNCs which have good practices. Many Indian organization also adopted it.
Hi Nirupama,
ReplyDeleteViewed your blog post. Its an interesting thought.
My two cents worth: As per my experience it takes about 10-15 days of time to imbibe the corporate culture and make a decision on whether he/she likes it or not. The decision to like/not like the company during those initial days will remain forever no matter what happens later or how many days he/she spends in the company. I have had people join us nervous and unsure and have left die-hard fans (accept for those we fired, of course). You may not be able to quantify this well since its a culture thing. Its very very subjective and also depends a bit on luck.
Ron Billimoria
Good one. some interesting points for research and HR intervention. I beleive that the nature of autonomy and importance given in the new org facilitates faster absorption. I advocate looking after the personal problems of the new recruit as a method of speeding absorption.
ReplyDeleterati, timeline is very interesting Is it a thought from the hat or a research finding .
Fine piece from NIru and equally good response from rati