Imagine starting a new job, feeling welcomed, and having all the resources you need to succeed, compared to feeling lost and unsupported. Bella will share some relatable examples and personal experiences to help you understand why onboarding is crucial for employee retention and company success. In this week's Podcast, Bella is going to take you on a journey of understanding the importance of a smooth and effective onboarding process.
Biggest Takeaways
Real-Life Examples of Things Pet Based Business Owners Say and Do When It Comes to Employees [7:28]
Why you’ll be needing to onboard employees in record time very soon and how you can be ready [10:10]
Exactly what NOT to do in the onboarding process [10:45]
Defining Onboarding and what it means [11:45]
Studies pertaining to high employee turnover [13:00]
Why employees leave companies [13:30]
Standardization of onboarding process [13:05]
Importance of schedule for onboarding [18:30]
Why pet care team training videos can give you a headstart [21:45]
What is an employee's worth vs a client's worth? [23:35]
Types of employee learning and training styles for employees [26:30]
Links:
Pet Care Team Training
Jump Mastermind
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Transcript:
This is episode 251 of Bella in Your Business. Hi there, I'm Bella Vasta from Jump Consulting. You might know me from CBS, NBC, Fox, Huffington Post, Entrepreneur, or maybe you've seen me speak on stage or read my book, The Four Dogs That Every Business Owner Needs. In any case, get ready because you're about to get your hashtag Bella Butt Kickin' in this next episode of Bella in Your Business.
So what do you say? Let's get ready and jump. Welcome to the summer of 2021, where our businesses are exploding and we cannot hire fast enough. What's up, everybody? My name is Bella Vasta, your host for this podcast, Bella in Your Business, because guess what? I am totally in your business. I recently got off two intensives in Maryland, and one of my girls said to me, “Bella, how does it feel always being right?” It’s kind of embarrassing to say that, but I kind of was. I predicted a lot of the stuff that happened. In fact, there was something so important that I really want to put on this podcast again. This is why I'm bringing it to you again. The one thing that's going to be happening right now is, as I've been saying, the market is very volatile and we want to do our best to decrease turnover. That means that just like when you market for new clients, you need to be disruptive when you're marketing for new employees as well.
That looks like a way to really start the company culture from the very minute that they read your job description and then through the whole entire ecosystem from beginning to end. I want you to think of a rainbow—how it starts on one side and goes all the way to the other end. Unfortunately, I think people just kind of say, “Cool, you're going to work for me, awesome,” and then people end up helping them, not actually working for them. And then they end up basically being a slave to them. They’re like, “You can’t do it this weekend? Okay, I’ll let you work another time.” The other person doesn’t take the business seriously because their entire onboarding process wasn’t really that amazing to begin with.
If you really think about how you can create raving employees and make them part of your company culture where they never want to leave you, I think you could radically change your business because your people are now never leaving you. Imagine if you never had an employee leave your company. Now, is that feasible? Probably not. If you’ve got them for a year, that’s really good. Obviously, you want them longer than that, but we want to get people on board and not dropping. We don’t want people ghosting us or getting confused during training and feeling like they’re supposed to be mind readers. We want them empowered.
In today’s episode, I’m going to break that down for you and show you exactly how you can decrease turnover and create raving employees. I have a really cool thing for you today—we’re going to talk all about problems with onboarding new employees. You’ll want to stick around for this because there are constant challenges that people overlook all the time, and they cause massive problems later on. Before we dive in, I just want to thank you for all of your feedback on the last couple of podcasts. Our downloads have been skyrocketing, and I’ve gotten amazing feedback from you guys. I wanted to read a few because I’m so honored that you took the time.
First, W. Fisher says: “No matter how big my company gets, I'm still picking up useful advice from Bella. She gives away mountains of information for free, which is greatly appreciated by all who follow her.” Thank you for everything, Bella. We appreciate you.” Well, I appreciate you too! You're exactly right—I’ve been in your shoes. And another one, from Angel Karma: “I listen to all Bella’s podcasts and they always motivate me. Bella cares about her community and tries to make the pet care industry better. I’ve been amazed with her motivation during the pandemic, but today's episode blew me away.”
She’s referring to the episode where I talked about growing your business through a divorce, and I shared what I went through two years ago. I’ve now come through it, but I’ve also consoled many of you going through it. Without further ado, let’s transition. This topic has been birthed from your questions about how to properly onboard people. Once you finally hire someone, you're elated. You’ve interviewed what you thought was the perfect person, and now you have to extract everything from your brain into theirs—and trust that they’re picking it up. There’s so much information about our business. People often come in thinking it’s just dog walking or pet sitting, as if it’s just playing with puppies all day, without realizing the responsibility and professionalism required.
As leaders, it’s our job to rise up and empower others to help us grow. But I’ve heard so many stories: “They shadowed me for days, but they still don’t get it.” Or, “I told my best sitter to train them.” Or, “I wrote everything down in caps and red text with five exclamation points, but they still don’t get it.” Sound familiar? That’s how I used to think too—without realizing I was sabotaging myself.
There are so many new people entering the industry right now, ramping up after the pandemic. Many of you have had to cut staff, but now with travel reopening and pandemic puppies everywhere, people will start booking vacations again. You’ll have to onboard staff at record pace. And remember—you’re not the only option. If you don’t make the onboarding process amazing, you’ll lose them. You need to make them feel excited, empowered, and appreciated.
Today, I’ve got seven things I don’t want you to do. The first is not having a standard process. Standardization means everything is done the same way for everyone. If you don’t have written steps or a manual, new hires won’t clearly understand where instruction ends and autonomy begins. They may feel micromanaged—or completely ignored. It also confuses whoever handles onboarding for you. You can’t tell clients “everyone’s trained the same way” if you don’t actually have a system for it.
The second mistake is not having clear instructions during training. Your new hire wants to impress you, but if your expectations are a moving target, they’ll get frustrated. You need a handbook explaining your mission, values, policies, and step-by-step procedures. Don’t assume that because you’ve said something once, it’s locked into memory. Provide reference materials they can revisit.
The third mistake: not having a training schedule. Assuming a new hire knows everything after shadowing for three days is unrealistic. Each employee learns differently, so some will miss key details. Have a schedule: “Day one, we’ll cover these 10 things.” Review them at the end of the day. This structure ensures consistency and builds trust. Without it, your business looks disorganized—and that erodes confidence.
Fourth: no follow-up or goals. How do you know training went well? Did they absorb it? Are they confident handling clients? Set goals and check in. Employees who know they’ll be evaluated tend to feel empowered and confident. They perform better and go the extra mile. Take care of your employees, and they’ll take care of your clients.
Fifth: not offering a variety of learning resources. People learn in different ways—visual, auditory, verbal, and kinesthetic. The more senses you engage, the better. That’s why tools like Pet Care Team Training are powerful. They offer professional, engaging video training you can customize. Avoid boring slides or monotone recordings. Combine videos, manuals, and hands-on learning.
Finally, remember: your employees are worth more than any client. If one employee brings in $20,000 a year and your average client brings $2,000, who’s more valuable? Your focus should be on keeping your staff happy, trained, and loyal.
I know building systems can be overwhelming. That’s why I created the Mastermind—to help you develop onboarding processes, systems, and strategies that grow your business sustainably. You don’t have to do this alone. If you join, I’ll even give you $25 off every month. It’s $147 a month, no contract. I challenge you to join, show up Monday through Friday, and work alongside others building the same systems.
Are you further along this month than last month? If not, it’s time to take action. I’ll help you every step of the way—but you have to show up. I love you guys. Remember,
