Preboarding is that period of time between someone accepting their job offer and their first day. As recruiters it’s also known as the “period stuff can go wrong”. So many recruiters ensure they keep in touch with the Candidate throughout that period to mitigate that doomsday feeling.

However, what happens if you haven’t used a staffing/recruitment agency? Do you have any processes within your business to ensure you keep the candidate engaged or do you simply hope they’ll turn up on Day 1 as per the information on the Offer Letter? (According to research 1 in 5 hires don’t turn up on Day 1)

Preboarding is a perfect opportunity to start your retention strategy. I mean who wants to a) keep losing staff or b) have to go through another recruitment process because you got caught napping?

In a recent survey, 81% of new hires want to receive information about their new position in the pre-boarding stage. Successful preboarding and onboarding can improve retention of staff by 82% so it’s important not to neglect it.

Sometimes you’ll scroll LinkedIn and see some pics of employees receiving a Welcome Pack filled with branded clothing, stationery, and even some choccie treats. However, gestures don’t need to be as grand or expensive as this. The most important thing is to keep lines of communication in place to ensure that individual feels engaged and excited. A nice idea is to send information on the dress code, what to do for lunch on day one, maybe even where to park. A call from their line manager to say how excited they are to have the person join and provide an outline on what they can expect to be doing on their first day/week.