It could be a lot. I’ll come back to that after I explain what it is, because whether you’re familiar with it or not, it’s probably costing you money.

“Hires Remorse” is that time between the accepted job offer and the start date of a new hire. It’s the peak of anticipation from making the leap, followed by the valley of waiting and wondering if they jumped to the wrong place.

And it’s inevitable unless you do something to counter it – something to reaffirm their decision to accept the job offer.

Here’s what some of my clients and acquaintances do:
– They have an offer letter that excites new hires about the vision of the business.
– They give company swag before their first day.
– They have the employee’s manager or another senior company leader call or text all new hires to tell them how excited they are to have them join the team.
– They have multiple people who will work with the new hire mail them a handwritten note.

What about you? What do you do to wow new hires? What do you do immediately to reinforce their decision to join you? How do you surprise them and show them that working for you is different?

I learned about Hires Remorse from Joey Coleman, in his book Never Lose an Employee Again. Employee with Hires Remorse are disengaged, which Gallup has said costs companies a third of the employee’s annual salary.

When you think about it that way, ask yourself this: is it worth your time to rewrite your offer letter, call a new hire, or send a handwritten note if it saves the company one-third of their annual salary? Seems like a good investment to me.