Retaining employees from day one: Joey Coleman's eight-phase framework

Executive overview

Most organizations lose 40% of new hires before their first anniversary, with 22% gone within 45 days. The problem isn't the job market — it's that employers treat onboarding as a two-day event rather than a months-long relationship.

Joey Coleman's eight-phase employee journey reframes retention as a deliberate, phased process that begins before the first day on the job. The core disconnect: employers want employees to care about the business as much as they do; employees want employers to care about them as much as the business.

Retention is won or lost in the first 100 days — and that clock starts at the job posting, not the first day of work.

The eight phases of the employee journey

1. Assess — Candidate explores the role; employer evaluates the candidate. Includes job posting, application, and interview.
2. Accept — Employer extends an offer; candidate accepts. They transition from prospect to employee.
3. Affirm — Post-offer emotional doubt ("new hire's remorse") sets in. Most companies do nothing here; this is why 50% of accepted offers result in no-shows.
4. Activate — First official day on the job. A core memory for every employee — make it remarkable.
5. Acclimate — Day two onward, for weeks or months. Learning the role, culture, relationships, and responsibilities. Most companies move too fast and overload information here.
6. Accomplish — Employee achieves their original goal. Employers should track these milestones and celebrate them.
7. Adopt — Employee becomes loyal and stops responding to recruiters. Most organizations take adopters for granted until they quit.
8. Advocate — Employee actively refers candidates and writes positive reviews.

Why the first 100 days matter

• Day one is not the first day at work — it starts when the candidate first considers applying.
• A 90-day lag between application and callback guarantees candidate drop-off.
• Employees who love their job on day 101 typically stay at least three years.
• The hundred-day window usually closes somewhere in the acclimate or early accomplish phase.

Common employer failures

• Flooding new hires with information on day one, then abandoning them.
• Treating loyalty-stage employees as a given and not investing in them.
• Probationary periods that signal distrust before the relationship has started.
• Unexpressed expectations — then penalising employees for not meeting them.
• Pre-COVID first days were rarely remarkable; blaming remote work misses the root cause.

Making remote onboarding work

• Blend group video calls with one-on-one conversations — avoid an all-day Zoom marathon.
• Send a physical package before the first day (marked "open on day one") to create an analog moment.
• Find coworkers near the new hire's location for an in-person lunch.
• Lego sends Lego sets with the offer letter: "Come build something with us." Match the gesture to the brand.
• Mugs, swag, or anything personalised work — the goal is personal and emotional connection before they log in.

What employers and employees should do first

• Employers: map your current employee journey against the eight phases. You will immediately find phases you are skipping or compressing.
• Employees: state your goals explicitly from the interview. Ask what the criteria and timeline are for advancement. Managers are starved for this kind of clarity.
• Both sides benefit from clear, mutual expectations — not assumed ones.