By now I should be jaded, but, still, I am amazed by the “first day on the job from hell stories” I hear from those who attend my presentations.
In spite of all the research, educational articles, and training programs devoted to the importance of employee on-boarding, it seems most of corporate America didn’t get the memo.
Just last week, a hiring manager named Archie shared these details of his first day experience with a former employer:
- Upon arrival, no one was there to meet and greet or even knew that he was starting.
- The person at front desk did not know who to call or inform he’d arrived.
- No agenda, materials, or training schedule
- Building security credentials missing; they were sent to wrong location.
- Everyone was too busy, no time for lunch. He ended up eating alone.
- Co-workers all said something along the lines of: “Good luck and welcome to a life of non-stop work.”
- The onsite manager didn’t know what to do with him or where to place him.
- No one checked back with him to see how his day went.
When Archie went home that night, he told his roommate: “I think I made a big mistake.”
He did give it another four days, but things didn’t improve, so he tendered his resignation. Today, he’s happily employed by a competitor.
These kinds of horror stories were much of the inspiration for my latest book, The 5 Firsts: A Simple System on On-Board and Retain Top Talent. If you have a “first day on the job from hell” story to share, please do!
This was originally published on Mel Kleiman’s Humetrics blog.