Page 156 - Successful Onboarding

5

PERSONAL PROGRESS

AND PROSPECT: EARLY

CAREER SUPPORT

An investment in education always pays the highest returns.
—Ben Franklin

Cynthia Mills is a role model for other hiring managers. A floor sales
manager for an upscale jewelry retailer in New York City, she has done
the unthinkable, transforming the high-stress and rapid-turnover sales
assistant position into one that retains more than 90% of new hires for
two or more years. Several of Cynthia’s sales assistants have even gone on
to corporate-level management positions. What is her secret? Although
it is not a part of a formalized HR process, Cynthia has developed a well-
refined early career support program for her new sales assistants.
According to her employees, the early career support provided by
Cynthia is unheard of for hourly wage retail sales roles. “On my first day,”
one recently hired sales assistant told us, “she sat me down and asked me
loads of questions: What attracted me to the job? What do I hope to learn?
What are my biggest goals? What kind of support do I need? What are my
greatest strengths? It was almost like she was re-interviewing me, but unlike
any interview I ever had for a retail position, and this was after I got the
job. I’ve worked retail for 14 years and have never encountered such inter-
est in my career development.”

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