The contract is signed, your new employee has accepted the job and there’s a sense of relief that recruitment is finally finished.

But they might not actually start for another four weeks.

In this episode of Find Grow Keep, I’m looking at that often-overlooked period between accepting a job offer and day one, and why it’s an important part of the candidate experience.

While you’re organising payroll information, super, laptops and system access, your new employee is still in their old workplace. They’re finishing things off, saying goodbye to colleagues and perhaps dealing with a counteroffer. They’re also starting to wonder what their new workplace is really going to be like.

So what should happen during those few weeks?

I talk about how to stay connected without smothering someone, why their new manager should be part of that communication, and what a simple preboarding process can do to reduce uncertainty before they arrive.

We also look at the extra complications that come with hiring towards the end of the year. Is it actually better for someone to start just before Christmas, or would January give them a more useful introduction to the business? And if you have a Christmas shutdown, what do you need to think about when your new employee hasn’t accumulated much annual leave yet?

In this episode, you'll hear about:

→ Why candidate experience doesn’t finish when someone accepts your job offer.

→ What may be happening for your new employee while they’re serving out their notice period.

→ How to keep a new hire engaged before day one without creating lots of unnecessary activity.

→ Why a simple call from their new manager can be more useful than another automated email.

→ The three things I think about in preboarding: administration, certainty and connection.

→ Why recruitment, preboarding and onboarding may be separate processes to us, but the employee experiences them as one continuous journey into the business.

→ Where preboarding can cross the line into asking somebody to complete work or mandatory training before they’ve actually started.

→ How to decide whether a December or January start will give your new employee a better experience.

→ What Australian employers should check around Christmas shutdowns, annual leave and public holidays when somebody has only recently joined.

→ The small things you can organise before day one that help someone feel expected and make it easier for them to settle into their role.

The aim isn’t to create an elaborate preboarding program. It’s really about recognising that there is a person on the other side of all that administration who has made quite a big decision to join your business.

A little communication and thought during those few weeks can make the transition much easier.

Make sure to subscribe to stay updated with new releases on Mondays!

Visit https://www.amplifyhr.com.au/for more insights and resources.

Related episode articles:

https://www.amplifyhr.com.au/the-importance-of-emotional-connection-in-onboarding/

https://www.amplifyhr.com.au/standardise-onboarding-with-these-3-simple-tools/

https://www.amplifyhr.com.au/what-to-do-when-your-new-hire-isnt-working-out/

Send us Fan Mail

Download our free guide, “Getting Stuff Done Through Your People,” giving you the tools to build a culture where people take ownership, goals get achieved, and results follow.

https://www.amplifyhr.com.au/downloadable/getting-stuff-done-through-your-people/

What does good leadership look like when the traditional way of working doesn’t necessarily work for you?

In this episode, Karen welcomes Jess Jasch back to talk about her experience as an autistic and ADHD leader. They explore what neurodivergent leadership can look like in practice, from understanding your own needs and communicating differently to masking, burnout and the assumptions we make when someone appears to be coping well.

It’s also a broader conversation about leadership. Because whether someone is neurodivergent or not, people don’t all need the same environment, communication style or way of working to perform at their best.

In today’s episode, you will learn about:

→ Why neurodivergent leaders can find traditional expectations around leadership, availability and the workplace more draining than they appear from the outside.

→ Why supporting neurodivergent employees doesn’t have to start with a diagnosis, and the simple question leaders can ask instead: What do you need to succeed in your role?

→ How small changes to communication — including giving context rather than simply messaging “Can we talk?” — can make it easier for people to process information and show up prepared.

→ The difference between adapting the way someone works and lowering performance expectations, and why the optics of work don’t always tell us much about actual performance.

→ How leaders can model their own needs and create greater safety for other people to ask for what helps them work well.

→ Why describing neurodivergence as a “superpower” can overlook the very real challenges and accommodations that may sit alongside someone’s strengths.

→ What masking can cost someone over time, including the active recovery that colleagues and managers may never see.

→ Why someone performing well isn’t necessarily the same as someone coping well — and why the person who always seems capable may still need you to check in.

Jess also shares some of what she learned through writing her book, Leaders Who Thrive: A Mindful Antidote to Disconnected Teams, and why completing it changed the way she thinks about taking on difficult projects.

Connect with Jess and find out more about her book:
https://jessicajasch.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicajasch/

Make sure to subscribe to stay updated with new releases on Mondays!

Visit https://www.amplifyhr.com.au/for more insights and resources.

Send us Fan Mail

Need to hire someone before Christmas? Sometimes the deadline is genuine. Someone has resigned, the team is stretched, or there is work that simply needs to be done before the end of the year.

But sometimes Christmas becomes a deadline simply because it feels like everything needs to be finished before the break.

In this episode, I look at how to tell the difference and how to move through your recruitment process quickly without turning it into a rushed hiring decision.

I also look at what the Australian recruitment market is telling us at the moment, why a more structured process can actually help you hire faster, and the conversation I think every business should have before they start recruiting: what will we do if we don't find the right person?

In this episode, you'll hear about:

→ What “we need someone before Christmas” actually means — and why your real deadline may be different from the one in your head.

→ Why recruitment can suddenly feel urgent in October and November, particularly when a team has been absorbing extra work for some time.

→ What current Australian employment data tells us about the recruitment market and why the experience can be very different depending on the role you're trying to fill.

→ The difference between a fast recruitment process and a rushed one, and where unnecessary delays often creep in.

→ Why getting clear on what somebody needs to bring from day one — and what you can reasonably teach them — becomes even more important when you're under time pressure.

→ How structured interviews can make the final decision easier rather than slowing recruitment down.

→ Which parts of recruitment you can compress, and why reference checks and important assessments shouldn't disappear simply because Christmas is getting closer.

→ Why having a Plan B before you start recruiting can stop you choosing the “least worst” candidate just to meet a deadline.

→ How to work backwards from your Christmas hiring deadline so you know early whether the timeframe is actually realistic.

If you're hiring before Christmas, the aim isn't simply to get someone into the role before the break. It's to move quickly where you can, keep the parts of the process that help you make a good decision, and still feel confident about that decision when you come back in January.

Related episodes:

How to Run a Simple Recruitment Process for Small Business – Episode 151
https://www.amplifyhr.com.au/podcast-episodes/s02e151-how-to-run-a-simple-recruitment-process-for-small-business-with-daniel-moussa/

Informal vs Structured Job Interviews: Why a Chat Over Coffee Doesn't Work – Episode 38
https://www.amplifyhr.com.au/podcast-episodes/s02e38-informal-vs-structured-job-interviews-why-a-chat-over-coffee-doesnt-work/

The 9 Hiring Mistakes That Cost You Time, Money and Team Morale – Episode 134
https://www.amplifyhr.com.au/podcast-episodes/s02e134-the-9-hiring-mistakes-that-cost-you-time-money-and-team-morale/

Visit https://www.amplifyhr.com.au/ for more insights and resources.

Send us Fan Mail

Download our free guide, “Getting Stuff Done Through Your People,” giving you the tools to build a culture where people take ownership, goals get achieved, and results follow.

https://www.amplifyhr.com.au/downloadable/getting-stuff-done-through-your-people/