Eons ago when I was a boss, I figured out that if new hires stayed six months after they were hired, they’d likely remain with the company at least a few more years.

New hires, especially those moving into an unfamiliar community, need time to build relationships and check out the sights and activities in their new home. They also need time to get a feel for their new work environment and co-workers. Being especially attentive to the new workers during this time was key to helping them adjust to their new surroundings.

Today, as employers scramble to fill open positions, it’s even more imperative to keep new hires. Spending time and money on training new hires just to see them leave in the first few weeks on the job can be costly to a company.

Today, top executives and human resource specialists say that if they hold on to a new worker at least 90 days, the worker will stay for the long term, writes Chip Cutter for the Wall Street Journal.

Manufacturing companies, restaurants, hotel operators and others are offering special bonuses, stepped-up training and new programs to prevent new hires from quitting in their first three months on the job, Cutter writes.

Carrier Global Corp. has started pairing new hires with a more tenured employee after the company found most attrition occurred before a new worker’s three-month anniversary. Some fast-food restaurant chains are offering new-hire bonuses, payable after three months on the job.

“The first 90 days is almost like an extended interview process by the employee of the company,” L. David Kingsley, a chief people officer for a San Francisco-based software company, told Cutter. “Those are the critical moments where someone is truly deciding.”