How do I stop new hires from dropping out before their start date?

Two reasons dominate. The first is silence. Someone signs, hears nothing for six weeks, starts to doubt the decision, and by then their notice period has given other employers a window. The second is a counteroffer or a competing process that never fully closed, which acquires force in the absence of any contact from you. Underneath both is the same fact: acceptance is not commitment, and the emotional connection to a new job decays without contact. Notice periods vary enormously by country and by seniority, so in some markets you may be managing a gap of days and in others one that runs for months. Longer gaps carry proportionally more risk.

Plan it rather than improvising, and keep the steps in the same hiring software that tracked the search. Within a day of signing, send a warm confirmation with the start date, the first-day details and a named contact. In the first week, have the hiring manager call informally with no administrative agenda. Then keep a light touch every week or two: a team update, an introduction to a future colleague, an invitation to a social event, or the equipment choice conversation. Nothing heavy and nothing that feels like unpaid work. The objective is that the person never goes more than a couple of weeks wondering whether anyone is expecting them. Assign an owner for this, because tasks shared between recruiting and the hiring manager reliably fall between the two.

Everything that could produce an unpleasant surprise. Start date and first-day logistics. Equipment and access. Payroll and benefits enrolment. Any background or right-to-work verification, including what documents are needed and how long the checks usually take, since those requirements differ substantially between countries. For anyone relocating, the visa or permit timeline drives everything else and should be tracked openly with the candidate rather than managed silently. Delays are tolerable when they are explained. Unexplained delays make a person wonder whether the offer is solid, and that doubt is what a competing recruiter needs. Keep the status visible in your applicant tracking system so nobody has to chase for an answer.

Move quickly and talk in person. A wobble raised early is usually recoverable, and the reason matters: a counteroffer, a personal circumstance, or a doubt that grew because a question went unanswered. Ask directly what changed and listen without negotiating immediately. If it is money, decide once whether you can move and say so plainly rather than dragging it out. If it is doubt about the role, put them back in front of the manager or a future teammate. And if they do withdraw, ask why, record it, and leave the relationship intact. Reneges cluster around the same causes, and the pattern is only visible if you write them down.