Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/using-employee-onboarding-as-a-tool-to-reduce-employee-turnover/5025327/
Teacher turnover rates in early childhood education can be as high as 30 percent (Whitebook & Sakai, 2003). Each instance of turnover poses a financial burden for tuition-dependent programs, as they invest in recruiting, hiring, and training new personnel to fill vacated positions. These new hires are typically a financial drain on the program for at least the first six months of hire (Suggs, 2014; Harpelund, Nielsen & Højberg, 2019). No matter how many resources employers invest in new employees, it still takes a considerable amount of time for new employees to learn the intricacies of a new child care program and reach an expected level of productivity. To realize a greater return on investment, early childhood leaders must develop strategies that reduce staff turnover and improve employee retention.
One way to improve a program’s ROI is to develop and consistently implement an employee onboarding program. Onboarding is the prescribed method of effectively and efficiently helping new hires adjust to the social and performance aspects of their new jobs (Maksymiuk, 2017, p. 123). Onboarding should not be confused with orientation. Orientation is a stage in the onboarding process in which the employee completes administrative requirements, learns program rules, and studies ...