New Hires Taking Immediate Leaves: Is This a Common Issue and Why Does It Happen?

Dear Senior/HR professionals,

In our organization, we are facing a problem very frequently nowadays. Whenever someone joins an organization, he/she takes leaves for a day or two. The reasons always seem to be very genuine, such as fever, a minor accident, a sick family member, etc.

Being in HR, it is really bothering me as to why it's happening. When these individuals are on such leaves, they don't even pick up the phone. This behavior again projects a poor image in front of management and operations people. What do you all think about this? What could be the reasons behind this, and is it happening elsewhere?

Please share your views on the same.

Thanks!

Dear Neesu Sharma,

From your post, it appears that:

a) The newly appointed staff are unable to get along with the culture of your company.

b) While recruiting, check their seriousness. Probably the candidates must be keeping one or two other offers in their sleeves. When they find that they are not so amenable to the culture of your company, they just quit.

To find solutions, please analyze the statistics of the exited candidates in a short period. Find out whether any pattern emerges. Secondly, what about the managers? Are they insensitive to the newly recruited staff? You need to counsel them too.

Find out the cost of recruitment and the cost of employee exits in a short period. Circulate these figures to all the managers. This may change their attitude as they will come to know the cost of their insensitive attitude (provided this is the reason).

Do you give induction training to the newly joined employees? If yes, then inform the candidates who join that their career plan will be made, and they will be trained or groomed to hold higher positions effectively.

Ok...

Dinesh V Divekar

"Limit of your words is the limit of your world"

In the circumstances mentioned by you, I think you may have the need to review the work culture, working environments, motivational factors, work standards, workload with each employee, and salary structure available in your company, as compared to the other similar organizations. You may also like to go through some employee retention tips at the following link:

[Ten Employee Retention Tips](http://www.allbusiness.com/human-resources/workforce-management/11137-1.html)

PS Dhingra
Vigilance & Transformation Management Consultant
Dhingra Group of Management & Educational Consultants
New Delhi

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Dear Senior/HR professionals,

In our organization, we are facing a problem very frequently nowadays. Whenever someone joins the organization, he/she takes leaves for a day or two. The reasons always seem to be very genuine, such as fever, a minor accident, a sick family member, etc.

Being in HR, it is really bothering me why this is happening. When these individuals are on such leaves, they don't even pick up the phone. This behavior reflects poorly on them in front of management and operations people.

What do you all think about this? What could be the reasons behind it? Is this a common issue elsewhere as well? Please share your views on the matter.

Thanks!

Treat such instances on a case-by-case basis. Leave Without Pay or marking the concerned employees "Absent" are two tools you may like to use.

There may be a variety of reasons why people do this. You will have to dig deep to find out the real reasons.

Vasant Nair

Dear Madam,

Mr. Dinesh has rightly pointed out that the issue is the cultural change. I would like to add one important point, that whenever a person joins a new company, he or she always knows that the new place would be different than the previous one. What he or she requires is someone whom they can rely on in the initial phase of their transition; a person who can help out in small things like what is expected of them, who's who in the company, documentation work, etc.

My suggestion would be to focus on the Socialization Process with more keenness and assign a mentor or guide to the new joinee. Also, an introduction to all in the Department and key people in the location would act as a key booster in their morale. This won't take much time and no extra cost.

Regards,
Rajiv Vohra
Consultant
9637008019

Hi,

First of all, I thank all the above contributors. However, I need more information before I can understand why the situation exists. Do the people who go off sick return to employment? If so, after what duration of absence? How do they perform after returning to work? What percentage of new starters are involved? For example, I know a doctor who started her work at a new place and became ill, being off sick the next day after she started. Sorry, I am used to asking questions rather than giving explanations based on half knowledge. Have a nice day.

Simhan
A retired academic in the UK

Dear Mr. Rajiv Vohra,

I did not suggest the mentoring activity because to institute a mentoring program, it requires a lot of organizational maturity. The way this post is written does not give the semblance of organizational maturity; hence, I did not recommend that solution.

One more solution I can suggest is the stabilization of systems and processes. If the systems and processes are not in place, there is no clarity of the job. In such a case, the effectiveness of the socialization solution that you have recommended remains to be seen.

Thanks,

Dinesh V Divekar

Dear Madam,

Mr. Dinesh has rightly pointed out that the issue is the cultural change. I would like to add an important point that whenever a person joins a new company, he or she always knows that the new place would be different from the previous one. What he or she requires is someone they can rely on in the initial phase of their transition – a person who can help out with small things like what is expected of them, who's who in the company, documentation work, etc.

My suggestion would be to focus on the socialization process with more keenness and assign a mentor or guide to the new joiner. Also, an introduction to everyone in the department and key people in the location would act as a key morale booster.

This won't take much time and has no extra cost.

Regards,

Rajiv Vohra
Consultant
9637008019

Thanks to all for such helpful comments. I am trying to find out the facts behind the incident as it just happened. I will post you the results as well. Thanks again.

Nishu

Sharma,

While I am happy that you are concerned about the trend as an HR person, your comments that it puts you in a poor image in front of Management/Operations reflect that your organization is operating at a segmented level.

You need to understand and help all managers in the organization understand that all activities, whether it is recruitment or the performance of people, are a joint responsibility of everyone in the organization, not just one person, department, or function.

You need to work on a multi-pronged strategy. Educate and involve management/business managers in talent acquisition efforts so that they understand the nuances of the process and connect with reality. This also provides an opportunity for prospective employees to experience the culture of your organization firsthand through the people they will work with when they join.

While it is critical to hire people with the right skills, it is more important to hire people with the best cultural fit. Skills can be learned in a short time, but cultural fit is difficult, which is why some individuals leave after a few days. These individuals do not find a cultural match with their expectations and, therefore, leave. Taking leave is just an excuse.

As suggested by others earlier, you need to delve deeper. Continuously seek feedback from the people you interview (whether selected or rejected) about their experiences with your organization to understand their expectations.

Remember, one may forget everything, but they always remember their first interaction with you, especially their first day in the organization. It is a Moment of Truth for them, and you have to ensure they have a positive one. This positive reinforcement will help them connect with you better. This is not just an HR issue. Every person they come in contact with must ensure this. By doing so, you create a culture of reception in your organization, which helps people bond well and makes newcomers feel comfortable in their new environment.

Detailed study and data are important to identify patterns so that you have the right information and pattern to take appropriate action.

Sushil Tayal