Do you wanna be a contender? An organization is only as strong as its team. Concentrating on building your company into something that is greater than the sum of its parts is how Fortune 500 companies are made. How you are onboarding and training could make the difference between crushing it like a boss - or failure.

According to Fortune, most executives form an opinion on whether or not a new employee is "working out" in the first two weeks, but that could just be first impression bias. Are you judging your new hires on personality, or performance? And are you matching your expectations of commitment from them with an equal commitment to them?

If you feel your hiring process is solid, perhaps the reason your new employee isn't shining is because you've put them in the wrong place in your organization, or failed to give them the tools and knowledge they need to excel. 

So how can you increase employee retention and crush it like the big dogs do? To perform like a Fortune 500 company, you have to tap into their methods. As it turns out, the real reason employees often leave is because their employer hasn't invested in them. At the Fortune 500 level, employee learning and development tops the list of “secrets” to their success.

Invest in onboarding to invest in employees

Startlingly, although the cost of replacing an employee can run into thousands of dollars, the average amount spent on onboarding a new hire is only around $67. The entire process of onboarding may be limited to a week or even just a few days. To be truly successful, onboarding should be at least a 90 day process, with both sides operating under the assumption that the position will be long term.

One thing many Fortune 500 companies have in common is that they onboard for an entire year, increasing their likelihood of employee retention and productivity.  An early leader in this form of onboarding was IBM. When the Fortune 500 company committed to year-long onboarding, both the productivity and loyalty of their employees skyrocketed.

Choosing the right onboarding system is crucial to employee onboarding, training, and retention. By streamlining and automating your initial onboarding process, you can instantly show new hires you are invested in their success. Don’t forget to open the door for communication about their long term prospects at your organization. If you act like you feel they belong, they will want to belong. Believe in your new hire, and they can believe in themselves. 

Want commitment? Show commitment

Zappos pioneered "The Offer", which was continued by Amazon when one Fortune 500 company bought out the other. They instituted an intensive five week onboarding and training program with a cash offer at the end. 

Any new hire who felt that they weren't a good fit for the organization was offered several thousand dollars to quit. Even with the massive numbers of employees that Amazon has on staff, only two or three people per year take the offer.

Okay, maybe you don’t have to offer new hires thousands to leave. What you can do is put your money where your mouth is in other ways. Invest in your employees to make them a better fit for their job, and provide opportunities for advancement. Most of all, be a leader, not a manager. Leading by example shows faith that your employees will follow.

Mentorship programs create the best employees

71% of Fortune 500 companies have a corporate mentorship program, and 75% of executives at those companies credit at least part of their success to mentorship. If you institute a mentorship program, you'll be in good company, following in the footsteps of Time Warner, Caterpillar, Intel, Google and General Electric.

Is your company scaling at speed? Providing mentorship both at peer level and corporate level can help you guide and transform your company into the best version of itself. You can’t do it alone, so make it a priority to identify strong leaders on your team who will be able to aid you in mentoring new hires and encouraging them through their first few months of onboarding and beyond. 

Employee development is the driving force behind successful companies

Look at any Fortune 500 company and see how they nurture employees through their continual commitment to employee development. Ericsson fosters work/life balance and wellness to drive employee loyalty. Airbus focuses on innovation, and encourages employees to learn different skill sets to increase retention. Bosch literally creates opportunities for employees to switch jobs without leaving the company.

• Your onboarding process and the way you go about training new employees should be personalized for best results. By walking away from “one-size-fits-all” programs and investing in a system that can be tailored precisely for each new employee, you create a way to develop each member of your team into a powerhouse for your organization. 

Are you ready to stop crashing and start crushing when it comes to training new hires? Trainual can help you develop an onboarding process that is designed to get new employees up to speed quickly, and support them through their first year and beyond.