Everyone accepts it takes a bit of time to get your feet under the table in a new job, but a quarter of managers are disappointed at the length of time it takes recruits to adapt to their new corporate environment.
One in four managers worry that the people they have brought into the business have still not adapted to their corporate culture three months after being hired, an international survey has concluded.
More than half of managers in Spain reported a lack of integration to be a particular problem, with two out of five in Luxembourg having the same worry, the survey by financial recruitment firm Robert Half International found.
Around a fifth of managers in Switzerland and Ireland reported weak communication skills among new recruits as a more common shortfall.
Companies and managers, the survey also reported, are increasingly turning to training and development as a way to motivate and retain their top talent.
The survey of 2,300 HR and finance managers across 13 countries found nearly three quarters believed training was the best way to boost retention in the workplace.
This was closely followed by career development programmes and more hard cash in their pockets.
Training courses were most widely favoured by managers in Switzerland (93 per cent) and Luxembourg (91 per cent), while in the Netherlands and New Zealand it was less popular, at 58 per cent and 63 per cent respectively.
In Germany and Luxembourg more than a quarter of managers said they were actively involving employees in team building activities, while managers from Spain and Italy were more likely to involve staff in company decisions.
Intriguingly, more than half – 57 per cent – of those polled said they would consider making a counter offer to a top-performing employee who had resigned.
This feeling was strongest among managers from the Czech Republic and New Zealand, but least likely among managers in Luxembourg.
Ian Graves, managing director Continental Europe at Robert Half International, said: "Retention continues to be a priority for businesses across the globe. We are seeing, especially in Europe, that managers are looking at more creative means to engage and motivate staff.
"Training and compensation remain popular techniques to reduce staff turnover but, what is interesting, is the increasing tendency by finance and accounting firms to get employees more involved in the broader operations of the business," he added.
"Offering people the opportunity to participate in the business decision making processes provides a real sense of empowerment and means staff feel more valued in their role within the company," he continued.