Over the last 10 years, millennials have moved up from influencers in the workforce to almost being a majority. And that trend will continue until Gen Zers age in.

So, what can you do as an employer to protect yourself from the “big resignation” or the “big reshuffle”? Especially among younger workers, as they jump to new jobs on what appears to be a whim.

Let’s start at the beginning: The first 90 days on any job is a critical period that starts well before the first day.

Now let’s fast-forward to the typical exit interview that we hear about. We learn that new employees who’ve decided to quit don’t feel connected to the job. The extra pay they got now doesn’t seem as relevant as it was before.

They hardly know their coworkers and met their boss only during the interview.

Working remote, that may all be true — or maybe it just feels that way.

In the “old” days, not so long ago, the first 90 days of a new job were officially probationary. Employers didn’t want to offer full benefits — or pretty much even acknowledge your presence — until they thought you’d earned your keep.

On your first day, you were assigned a desk or machine or station and told to start working.

These days, especially for hourly workers, it’s still clearly an employee’s job market. And they expect more.

How to make the newbie feel truly welcome

Now, let’s look at the new-hire process from the employer’s perspective, starting with how to make the new hire feel truly welcome before their first day. This is especially important to avoid being ghosted on the first day of work.

And, yes, ghosting is a thing. It happens when a new hire doesn’t feel connected to a new company and an unexpected, better-sounding offer comes along.

Somehow, having cold feet the night before starting a new job caused your prized hire to change his/her mind. And the embarrassment of quitting before they’ve even started kept them from calling to say they won’t be there.

How many face-to-face or Zoom contacts did the supervisor or HR have with a new hire before they actually started? Did they check at all?

Was the employee greeted on the first day by their new boss and someone from the HR team? Were they given a tour of the company and at least a quick intro to the big bosses?

Was their department ready and welcoming to them? Balloons and flowers at a machinist’s worksite would be odd, but something that acknowledges them is important.

I’m also a big believer in a new-employee welcome package being sent to their home before they start — with token swag like a T-shirt, coffee cup, water bottle, maybe a notebook.

Anything that says we’re excited to have you join our team.

How about making sure someone has lunch with them for their first few days? At least until they feel comfortable joining a group at lunch on their own.

We also know that having good friends at work is key to staying. Find a way to facilitate co-workers getting to know each other and develop friendships in and out of the office.

Conducting what we now call entrance interviews hopefully avoids the need for an exit interview a few months later. How’d your first day go? Your first week and first month? Any questions about anything?

Research shows if we put the time and initiative into the first 90 days of a new hire, we have a much better chance keeping them for two years or longer.

Think how much money that saves the company in lost production, training, and hiring costs to keep a new employee for years, rather than months.

These plans are most effective for the hospitality and manufacturing sectors and other hourly-paid white-collar employees, but a version is equally effective for senior management.

More than ever, it’s expensive to find, hire and keep new employees. We need to be aware that our initial phase in management and HR is not done until we celebrate 90 days of working together.

Blair is co-founder of Manpower Staffing and author of “Job Won.”

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