Illustrative photo
2026 company guide · free
Executives, HR directors and managers · industry and energy
A hire that won't last shows in the very first weeks. Four steps to onboard them, from preboarding to month twelve, five levers to keep them, and the 30, 60, 90-day plan. With what makes each one fail.
36%
of permanent contracts ended within a year · Dares 2015
56%
of early manager resignations considered within the first six months · Apec 2022
4 + 5
four steps to onboard, five levers to retain
9pages
as a PDF, free
01 · The path
The crossing
On one side the signature, on the other autonomy. Between them, four spans. If one is missing, you cannot cross.
Between signing and arrival, they remain a candidate: they keep receiving approaches, and their former employer has the whole notice period to keep them. Preboarding is what fills this gap.
Fails when: They arrive without having had the slightest sign of life since signing the contract.
02 · The actions
Step by step
Four actions per step. Opposite, the sign that it is failing.
Building the bond before arrival
The sign it is failing
What gets done
03 · Why they leave
Where it leaks
In France, 36% of permanent contracts end before their first anniversary, 19,3 % among managers (Dares). Almost never for incompetence. Here is what departing hires say.
36 %
of permanent contracts ended before their first anniversary, all employees combined. Managers: 19.3 %
Dares Analyses no. 005, 2015 (permanent contracts signed in 2011)
19,6 %
of these permanent contracts lasted less than three months: the risk is highest at the start
Dares Analyses no. 005, January 2015
34 %
of executives see a significant gap between the actual role and its description at hiring
Apec, Early executive resignations, 2022
You fill it from the top: search, interviews, signing. And it leaks out through five holes, always the same.
« I was sold a leadership role, I spend my days doing reporting. »
The gap shows from the sixth week. It is never made up with a pay rise.
“On my first day, my badge wasn't ready and my manager was away on a trip.”
Preboarding costs three hours. Skipping it costs a hire.
“Between my signing and my arrival, the reorganization changed who I report to.”
Three months' notice means three months during which the company keeps running. What changes gets said, or gets paid for.
“My manager is an excellent technician. He never gave me any feedback.”
It is the most frequent cause, and the only one that can be fixed with no budget.
“The team had been waiting for extra hands for two years. I arrived with methods.”
A role created to fix a point of tension exposes its holder to that tension.
04 · The levers
To retain
None requires a budget. Each has a specific action, and a signal that shows it is missing.
What was said during recruitment matches the reality of the role.
The warning sign
The action
Clear, human, nothing improvised. A written plan at 30, 60 and 90 days.
The warning sign
The action
A peer at the same level, appointed, available, to ask the questions you would not dare ask your boss.
The warning sign
The action
Two-way, concrete, action-oriented. Weekly in the first month, then monthly.
The warning sign
The action
Able to listen, set direction and develop people, not just run production.
The warning sign
The action
What a departure costs
Replacing an employee costs a median of 21 % of their annual salary, and up to 213 % for a highly qualified leadership role (Center for American Progress, 2012, 30 US case studies). Then you have to start over: 12 weeks on average to hire a manager (Apec, 2026).
05 · The milestones
The thread of the journey
At each milestone, one thing must be true, and someone carries responsibility for it.
At each milestone, one thing must be true. If it is not, we do not move on to the next.
Integration is carried by the person who will work with the new hire. HR equips them.
06 · The detail
The tools
The 30 / 60 / 90 plan, the self-assessment, the indicators, what to check the day before, what undoes an onboarding, and what we commit to on our side.
Written before arrival, on one page: what is expected and the signal that proves it has been achieved.
They know who does what, have met their key contacts, and have understood how decisions are made here.
The signal: They ask questions about how things work, not about their scope.
They have taken on a first topic from start to finish, even a small one, and delivered it without being pushed.
The signal: Someone other than their manager comes to them for a decision.
They propose, they flag issues, they push back when needed. The plan is reviewed together and replaced by objectives.
The signal: They say no to something, with an argument.
For your latest hire, answer yes or no, then read the result.
your onboarding is a process, it will hold without you.
it rests on the goodwill of one or two people. It will break the day they are busy.
your next early departure is already under way, and it will cost more than the hire.
12-month retention, autonomy, first feedback, departures analyzed.
Hires still in post at month twelve, divided by the previous year's hires.
The date when the manager stops reviewing their work before it goes out.
Number of days between arrival and the first one-to-one dedicated to their progress.
Exit interviews held, out of total departures within twelve months.
Six points to check, not one more.
The ones that cost the most, and that we see most often.
What Volta Executive delivers once the contract is signed.
07 · The essentials
In 30 seconds
36 % of permanent contracts end within a year (Dares), and 56 % of early manager resignations were considered within the first six months (Apec, 2022).
Four stages: preboarding, day one, the first three months, the first twelve months. Six milestones, from the day before arrival to D+365, each with its owner.
Five levers with no budget: the promise kept, a written 30, 60 and 90-day plan, a peer mentor, regular feedback, managers trained to onboard.
12-month retention, time to full autonomy, first formal feedback within 30 days, early departures analyzed.
The full guide
9pages, as a PDF, free
08 · Questions
10 questions
Onboarding is the integration journey of a new hire, from the signing of their contract to the end of their first year. It comes down to four steps: preboarding (before the first day), the first day, the first three months, then the first twelve months with reviews at six and twelve months.
Preboarding covers the period between signing the contract and the day before arrival. The new hire remains a candidate during it: they still receive approaches and their employer has the whole notice period to keep them. Four actions fill it: a welcome kit, equipment and access ready, a message from the manager or the team, a designated buddy.
Twelve months. The first three are driven with a written plan at 30, 60 and 90 days and regular meetings with the manager. The reviews at six and twelve months then turn the start in a role into a trajectory. Risk is highest at the beginning: 56% of early manager resignations were considered within the first six months (Apec, 2022).
The manager, at every milestone. HR prepares the equipment and access with them before arrival, then shares the D+180 and D+365 reviews. Limiting onboarding to the HR department alone, without involving managers, is one of the five mistakes to avoid.
Each step has its sign: the new hire arrives without having had the slightest sign of life since signing; nobody expected them on the first day; after a month they still cannot say what they will be assessed on; the first real feedback on their progress comes at the annual review.
In France, 36.1% of permanent contracts signed in 2011 were terminated before their first anniversary, across all employees, and 19.3% among managers (Dares Analyses no. 005, January 2015). The risk is highest at the very start: 19.6% of these contracts lasted less than three months.
Apec identifies two equally common triggers: an opportunity at another company (29% of cases) and the gap between the actual job and how it was described during hiring. 34% of managers notice such a gap (Apec, Early resignations of managers, October 2022). Our follow-up interviews add four causes: nobody was really expecting them, the scope shifted during the notice period, the manager was never trained to onboard, they arrived alone in a team under strain.
A plan written before arrival, which fits on one page and which the new hire receives on day one. By day 30, they understand: they know who does what and how decisions are made. By day 60, they contribute: they have led a first project from start to finish. By day 90, they own the role: they propose, flag and push back when needed, and the plan is replaced by objectives.
Four are enough: the 12-month retention rate (target above 90%), time to full autonomy (under 90 days), time to the first formal feedback (under 30 days) and the share of early departures analyzed through an interview (100%).
No French figure has been published with its methodology. A review of 30 US case studies puts the median cost of replacing an employee at 21% of annual salary, and up to 213% for a highly skilled executive position (Center for American Progress, 2012). Then there is time: hiring a manager takes 12 weeks on average (Apec, Pratiques de recrutement de cadres 2026).
09 · And now
Before the next arrival
They take less than an hour, cost nothing, and change day one as much as month twelve.
A peer, before the arrival, briefed, with time set aside.
It fits on one page, and the new hire receives it on day one.
In the manager's calendar, before day one. Then a check-in before day thirty.
Your onboarding
Confidential 30-minute conversation.
Sources and method
Early manager resignations were considered within the first six months after hiring in 56% of cases. 34% of managers note a significant gap between the actual role and its description at hiring. Survey of 3,100 private-sector managers.
Only 12% of employees strongly agree that their organisation onboards new hires very well. US data.
19.6% of permanent contracts signed in 2011 lasted less than three months: the risk of termination is highest right at the start.
The steps, milestones and mistakes come from our follow-ups at D+7, D+30, D+90 and D+180 on industry and energy assignments. They are qualitative, aggregated and anonymised.
Review of 30 US case studies: median replacement cost of 21 % of annual salary, up to 213 % for highly qualified leadership roles.
The average length of the latest manager hire is 12 weeks, stable for two years. 1,150 companies surveyed.
This guide combines the former Onboarding guide and the former Retaining after hiring guide. Previous editions cited “88% of employees link their engagement to the quality of their onboarding”. We found no primary source for this figure: it has been replaced by an Apec measurement. Previous editions cited “€150,000” for an executive hire that does not last and “90 days” as the decisive window. We found no primary source for either figure: both have been removed.
Florian Beurtey, founder of Volta Executive. Engineer from Mines Saint-Étienne and AgroParisTech, formerly at EDF (nuclear power plant) and Safran before moving into recruitment at Michael Page. Lecturer at ISTP, Arts et Métiers ParisTech and Mines Saint-Étienne. Leads the community "La Voix de la Transition" (13,000 industrial decision-makers).
Page updated on October 8, 2026. PDF: single October 2026 edition, 9 pages.
