For years, retail employees at New York Community Bancorp, Inc., were hired, attended orientation, and then reported to their assigned work location to await the next scheduled training class while on payroll. The waiting period for the next class could be anywhere between one and 21 days away. Essentially, employees were receiving salaries despite not being able to function in their new role since they had not yet attended training. In 2013, that cost amounted to approximately $3.2 million.
Employee Development & Training (ED&T) set out to reduce that cost by submitting a proposal to revamp the retail onboarding process. The proposal included the following changes:
- The employee’s date of hire would be determined by the next available training session.
- Human Resources would determine employment eligibility and facilitate orientation.
- Successful completion of the New Hire Training program would be required before the employee could report to his or her respective work location.
- Additional training requirements would need to be completed within the new hire’s first year of employment.
Executive management fully supported this proposal and further deduced that ED&T would determine the viability of continued employment based on the employee’s performance in the New Hire Training program.
Program Details
The change required ED&T to update the way participants are evaluated and graded throughout the New Hire Training program. Performance ratings now include feedback and scores on the following:
- Professional Behavior (i.e., attendance, adherence to dress code, communication skills)
- Participation (i.e., initiative, engagement, compliance with policies)
- Written Knowledge Assessment Grades (i.e., policies and procedures, processes)
- Practical Knowledge Assessment Grades (i.e., system)
At the conclusion of the class, the performance rating is calculated and a metrics-based determination is made as to whether the employee:
- Met the requirements: The employee reports to his or her work location immediately.
- Met some of the requirements: The employee is retrained (on-site or in-class) and then reports to his or her work location.
- Did not meet the requirements: The employee is terminated by ED&T.
Results
Since implementation, 100 percent of retail new hires go through this program, thereby reducing the salary cost for non-trained employees from $3.2 million to zero. In addition, New York Community Bancorp has seen a 50 percent decrease in failure rates for the additional training requirements of the New Hire Training program by identifying stronger candidates early on.
