Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1497518
APRIL 2023 I PCB007 MAGAZINE 9 With that in mind, this issue offers multiple contributors who provide a set of best practices for successful, swi onboarding of new hires, and methodologies for turning new employees into productive, long-term staff. As I've men- tioned, Frank Lorentz walks us through his onboarding process in detail, and he explains why it's so important to foster a two-way atmo- sphere of trust with each employee. We also have feature interviews with corporate advisor John Izzo, IPC training advisor Michael Hoyt, Texas trade school owner Elvia Quintanilla, and HR consultant Brian Wallace. I've also included feature columns by Han- nah Nelson, IPC's John Mitchell, Dan Beau- lieu, Todd Kolmodin, Christopher Bonsell, and Anaya Vardya. Each brings a different per- spective about onboarding and how and why it's important. Columns by Michael Carano and Happy Holden, and a timely conversation with PCBAA Executive Director David Schild round out this issue. is issue is packed with information that managers can take advantage of right away. If you're hiring—and I bet you are—you want the new hires to stay with the company for years, not months. Check it out. PCB007 keep playing musical chairs with employees. Staff turnover is costly, so when you hire new employees, you don't want them leaving nine months later. e average cost of finding and hiring a new employee is $4,400, according to recent research by the Society for Human Resource Management. That's an average across all industries; in some electronics companies, when you calculate the cost of recruiting, hir- ing, process training, safety training, benefits, insurance, and other overhead, that cost is eas- ily in the five figures. Again, this wasn't a con- cern when HR had a stack of resumés for each position at the company. So, what's the secret to converting a new hire into a long-term employee? As Ventec's Frank Lorentz has found, satisfied employees are more likely to stay with the company for many years. He goes out of his way to regularly visit with employees, especially new hires. He stays in constant contact with them, especially dur- ing their first year. He also assigns them a men- tor, and lets them know that it's okay to fail, because failure is a great teacher. New hires never have to wonder what's going on or who to talk to when they have questions. "Keep your employees happy." It sounds like a cliché, but it seems to be working. e employ- ees that Frank has onboarded are still working there years later. What I really liked was when he pointed out that onboarding starts in the first hour of the employee's first day. Andy Shaughnessy is managing editor of Design007 Magazine and co-managing editor for PCB007 Magazine. He has been covering PCB design for 20 years. He can be reached by clicking here.