“Customers will never love a company until employees love it first.” – Simon Sinek

Stands to reason doesn’t it? Yet, despite the simplicity of the concept, few organizations have come around to embracing this basic truth. More disturbingly, in light of an economy that has never quite rebounded in many places, employers that are in the position to hire new team members can do so without doing all that much to make them feel valued from the start.

Or, so they think.

On the surface, economic conditions that have forced an ever-increasing number of displaced veteran workers to openly compete with each other, as well as recent graduates, for lower wages might seem like a good problem to have, the reality is far from it.

In 2015, Compdata Surveys released a BenchmarkPro survey of 28,000 organizations that pinned the national employee turnover rate at 16.4 percent – a statistic that should give many companies pause when you consider that number roughly translates to one out of five new hires practically having one foot out the door from the moment they enter the building.

“If you don’t like it, don’t let the door hit you in the …”

I’m sure you know the rest.

However, what you may not know is that this sense of mutual distrust doesn’t have to be standard operating procedure. Rather, a new paradigm has begun to emerge. Many leading industry professionals, particularly those from within the inbound marketing world, now predict that those businesses who become the best educators will be the most successful.

How? Well, in simple terms, it’s about adopting a hiring methodology that encourages greater employee engagement from day one. Here are the 5 essentials

1. Culture without the clash.   The presence of a contentious environment is rarely conducive to growth in any organization. Those who routinely shout at the choir instead of preaching to it may succeed in quashing dissent but only at the peril of crushing individual incentives.
2. Skills don’t necessarily come standard.   Team members who possess great character and a strong work ethic tend to pick-up on the basics faster, often surpassing the contributions of their more tenured but passive counterparts over time.
3. Belief in the bigger picture.   Employees who see beyond themselves are more likely to support the efforts of others, acting as mentors on the job. This is empowerment that leads to greater collaboration and more effective customer service across the board.
4. Experience without equal.   There is no substitute for having been there and done that. In the process of evaluating job candidates, past performance is the best indication of future success, so give props to individuals whose work history shows a willingness to “do whatever it takes” to succeed. Chances are you’ll ask them to do the same thing for your organization in return.
5. Ideas are more than meet the eye.   Employees who are engaged look at their organizations through a different set of eyes. Where others see problems, they see opportunities. Even better, they are more willing to put their energy behind new ideas and take actions that exceed expectations.

Just as little is ever gained by trying to convert a hostile audience without starting from the rationality of the opposing point-of-view, narrow-mindedly insisting that it’s “our way or the highway” is hardly a winning strategy for long-term onboarding success.

Understanding the difference is no longer an option.

It’s essential.