Most small business owners focus on finding the right candidate. They spend weeks reviewing applications, conducting interviews, and negotiating offers. Then someone accepts the job, and the hard work feels done.
It is not. The first week after hiring determines whether that person stays or starts quietly looking elsewhere.
Where Things Go Wrong
A new employee shows up on Monday. Nobody prepared for their arrival. There is no desk, no login credentials, no clear schedule. They spend the morning waiting while someone scrambles to sort things out. By lunch, they are wondering what they got themselves into.
This happens more often than business owners realise. And it sends a clear message: you were not important enough for us to prepare.
Research backs this up. Employees who experience disorganised onboarding are twice as likely to seek new opportunities within their first year. The excitement they felt when accepting the offer fades quickly when reality feels chaotic.
The Financial Impact
According to the Society for Human Resource Management, replacing an employee costs between 50% and 200% of their salary. For a mid-level hire, that could mean $30,000 or more in recruitment, training, and lost productivity.
Small businesses feel this more acutely. Every departure disrupts operations and forces you back into hiring mode instead of growing.
What the First Week Should Look Like
Brandon Hall Group found that structured onboarding improves retention by 82%. The keyword is structured. Not complicated, not expensive. Just intentional.
Before they arrive, send a welcome message confirming start time, location, and what to bring. Complete paperwork digitally so day one is not spent filling forms.
On day one, have their workspace ready. Introduce them to the team. Walk them through how things work. Small gestures matter: a welcome note, a scheduled lunch with a colleague, a clear agenda for the week.
During the first week, check in daily. Not lengthy meetings, just quick conversations. What questions do they have? What feels confusing? What do they need? These five minutes prevent misunderstandings that grow into frustrations.
By week’s end, they should understand their role, know who to ask for help, and feel like part of the team.
Keeping It Consistent
The challenge for small businesses is doing this reliably every time. When things get busy, onboarding tasks slip. Documents get forgotten. Each new hire receives a different experience.
Platforms like FirstHR handle the repetitive tasks automatically. Welcome emails, document collection, and task checklists. Everything stays organised without adding to your workload. It is designed for small teams, so setup is quick and pricing stays reasonable.
The Difference It Makes
People remember how they were treated in their first week. Get it right, and you build loyalty from day one. Get it wrong, and you start the countdown to their departure.
The businesses that prepare for new hires keep them. The ones that wing it keep hiring.