What if finding and starting a new job was easy? Most of us can agree that the whole process from interviews to hiring to training is, well… kind of painful for everyone.
Starting a new job typically comes with a steep learning curve, and as a new hire settles in to their responsibilities, the figure-it-out phase can be stressful and confusing. On the flip side, it’s often difficult for current employees, too, who end up spending extra time training new folks and picking up any additional slack.
Rhino HR, or as we call it, our People & Culture team, has launched a new system that’s designed to make the hiring process easier for people who want to work here and for the people who already work here, it’s a win-win.
To define our new hiring process, we started by imagining a more unified experience; from CEO to new recruit, everyone working as a team towards our common goals. Caitlin Goss, our Director of People and Culture, says the need for change came from “a big growth phase that made us realize we needed more people applying for Rhino jobs and we needed the people we hire to be more successful and more committed to being here.”
We wanted a better solution for underlying problems, something designed to level up our recruiting, hiring, training, and retention models while also making better use of everyone’s time. Caitlin says, “Before we began, we really thought about how to create the best experience for our people. Our goal was to drive for retention and lower turnover numbers while creating more stability in our workforce.”
Our solution was to move away from the 1:1 hiring/training model and into a cohort or group model so we could scale our efforts and improve the entire experience. The process begins by offering group information sessions for anyone that’s interested in getting a production job at Rhino and after attending, everyone is invited to join for a week-long on-boarding cohort. It’s also worth noting that, in a move aligned with this effort, we recently increased our minimum wage to $15/hr.
Caitlin describes the on-boarding cohort as “a week long, in-person interview where attendees are being paid and supported while learning how to succeed at Rhino. People need to do three things throughout that week: they need to be on time, they need to show up respectfully, and they need to be ready to learn. If they’re able to make it through and be successful that week, they’re invited to graduate and join the production team.”
Despite being in the early launch phase (we’re two months in with two cohorts under our belt), we’re very pleased about the way things are shaping up, and it’s exciting to be on the forefront of a groundbreaking effort that makes the hiring process easier for everyone. Caitlin sums it up nicely when she says, “We’re excited to welcome a wide variety of different people from different backgrounds to join our team and we believe that anyone can be successful at Rhino if they’re willing to meet our three requirements.”
New employee Dawn Edwards talks about her experience in our very first Rhino cohort, “I’ve never experienced an orientation like this. We met the supervisors – people I know I can go to if there’s an issue with anything – that was really nice to know ahead of time. Just knowing people before you start and being with that same group for an entire week was really nice and reassuring.”
Though we’re still in the early stages of the process, we’re confident we’re on the right track and excited to watch it unfold. Not only are new hires feeling more at home when they start but they’re catching on faster, which translates to less strain on our current employees and a happier, more productive community.
