Want Employees to Stick Around?

Start With How You Bring Them In

I was having coffee with a friend — we’ll call her George (name changed to protect the innocent) — who’s the Director of HR for a global retail brand.

We were doing the usual back-and-forth:

• Why is hiring so hard?

• Where are all the applicants?

• And why do some new employees vanish before week two like it’s a magic trick?

Then George sighed, looked into her cup, and said:“Our onboarding doesn’t make people feel welcome. It’s just checking boxes and covering our legal bases.”

And there it was.That quiet truth that so many HR folks feel but don’t always say out loud.

Her team had spent hours reworking the forms, reshuffling the orientation videos, updating the PowerPoint. Everything looked different. But the feeling was the same: cautious, cold, forgettable.

So I told George what I’ll tell you:

You don’t need a total overhaul. You just need a few intentional changes that say, “We’re glad you’re here.”

Something that makes the first few days feel like a beginning — not a warning.Here are three things I shared with George. They’re simple, legal-friendly, and — best of all — they make new people feel like they’ve joined something worth staying for.

1. Assign a Human — Not Just a Handbook

I asked George, “Who do new hires go to when they have questions that aren’t in the orientation binder?”

She paused. Then laughed.“Honestly? Probably Google.”

Exactly.

So I suggested a small shift with a big impact:Pair each new hire with a real person.Not their supervisor. Not HR. Just a friendly teammate who knows how things actually work and can say things like, “Lunch is at 12:30, and yes — leftovers are totally fine.”

It’s a low-lift, high-trust move. And comfort builds confidence. Confident people stay longer.

George lit up. She started sketching out a “matchmaking” system on her napkin, already imagining how to make it feel intentional without being weird or forced.

2. Make Day One Feel Like a Welcome, Not a Warning

George walked me through their Day One itinerary:

• Safety protocols

• Ethics training

• Payroll setup

• IT policies

• And... more policies

She looked at me and said, “I wouldn’t blame anyone for checking out before lunch.”

So I said, “Okay, you still need to cover all that. But what if you shift the tone?”

I told her what’s made me feel welcome:A handwritten note from my new manager.An orientation video that didn’t just show logos and policies — but people.One company highlighted customer feedback that said, “You can tell their employees care.” That message stuck with me more than any slide deck ever could.

And what if, during orientation, people got to meet others doing the same job, on the same shift, in the same building?

If Day One feels like HR is bracing for a lawsuit, you’ll lose people fast.But if it feels like a team that’s excited you’re here — people lean in.

3. Normalize Feedback — Early and Often

George told me they ask for feedback around the 90-day mark.

By then, I said, the people who were almost going to say something have already ghosted.

So I asked:“What if you made space for a 7-day and 30-day check-in? Not some big formal thing. Just coffee chats. Or walk-and-talks. Something that says, ‘How’s it really going?’”

Something that says,

“We don’t just care whether you finished your benefits forms.We care if you’re feeling lost. Or overwhelmed. Or like maybe this isn’t what you expected.”

It’s not hard. It’s just human.And that, weirdly enough, is what stands out in most onboarding processes.

Here’s the thing:You don’t build great teams by hiring perfect people.You build great teams by helping people feel like they belong from the beginning.

It’s not about blowing up your process. It’s about softening it.Replacing cold checklists with moments of connection.Shifting from “protecting the company” to welcoming the person.

Because if we want employees to stay — really stay — we need to make sure we’re giving them something worth staying for.