Onboarding is a business imperative
Sourcing the best talent to fit the ever-changing business needs of an organisation is critical
Onboarding or organisational socialisation of new employees within a company is vital, and is a process that requires careful management to achieve a smooth and positive outcome.
Companies are increasingly sharpening their onboarding processes to ensure they get the best out of their talent. A good onboarding process aims to create an exceptional experience that sees new employees easily integrate and succeed in the shortest time possible, and this sets them up for successful careers.
Onboarding is neither orientation nor induction. Instead, it is a more comprehensive and longer term approach that is designed to support the transition of new employees into the company beyond just the first few days. Sometimes the process can last between six months to a year. As long as it may take, a good onboarding process is an area worth investing in, because ensuring that newly acquired talent is prepared to succeed from Day 1 is essential for engagement and productivity.
Onboarding programmes focus on three key phases:
• Accommodation: this covers all activities aimed at making sure that the new employee is well set up and absorbed into the company, including administrative tasks like access cards, computers, office or space allocation, PA allocation, and induction. Whilst these activities sound mundane, they constitute the earliest experiences and perceptions employees form about the company they’re working for.
• Integration: this involves all activities aimed at making sure that new employees are socialised to the company’s culture, introduced and connected to the relevant business networks internally, and participate in programmes tailored to get them up to speed with company tools and methods relevant to their role.
• Acceleration: this process covers all activities necessary to enable and support new employees achieving success early. This could include introducing them to clients, helping them sign their first deal and openly celebrating their early successes. The sooner new employees become confident and successful, the sooner the return on investment.
Looking at these key phases, one would argue that these activities are no different from the course of any new intake. But without an onboarding programme that is well co-ordinated, carefully timed and intently driven, these critical business activities might not be consistently, effectively or even timeously deployed to create an exceptional experience for the new recruit. The ripple effect of that would be a negative impact on the company’s employer value proposition, its failure to retain top talent, and an inability to realise return on investment.
An onboarding plan should clearly identify activities that need to take place in the first week, first three months, and first six months of a new employee’s experience. It should also identify key role players who will not only participate in but drive the execution. These role players would be different for each senior employee, depending on their role and particular circumstances, and are identified and agreed prior to the new joiner’s start date.
The roles could include a sponsor, a buddy, a mentor, an anchor, or an onboarding co-ordinator, and are set with clear descriptions of what is required from each role player, and when.
It is important for new joiners to be taken through the overview of the onboarding programme as soon as possible after joining the company, as this eliminates uncertainties often associated with starting a new job, and allows new recruits to seek clarity, freely participate and get settled sooner.
Importantly, for new people to be properly set up, all key onboarding activities and role players should be carefully planned and briefed prior to Day 1 on the job.
Effective onboarding plans are dynamic and take into account new employees’ roles, level of seniority and, in certain instances, geographic location. For instance, a new business development senior employee will need to be set up differently from a finance person.
New recruits will need to quickly come to terms with aspects relevant to the role, such as the company’s go-to-market strategies, the sales culture, existing clients, relevant tools and methods, as well as internal networks necessary to make them successful.
This will hardly be the case for the finance or IT departments, whose plans will be differently designed.
For global firms, the size and level of complexity of their remote locations might necessitate a more rigorous onboarding process to provide sufficient support to new senior employees who might not have all the necessary networks within reach, compared to their counterparts in other bigger, well established offices.
The onboarding plan for these recruits could i nclude planned travel and the use of technology to connect them with colleagues at more established offices.
Mergers
Another critical business dynamic for onboarding is created during mergers and acquisitions. The process during company takeovers takes a different form, shape and timeline altogether.
Throughout the rigorous process of assessing and acquiring the target company, people-related activities
are often limited to change management and barely take into account a holistic onboarding approach for the newly acquired company.
Unlike ordinary new employees, those people joining through an acquisition are not choosing to be part of the new company — it is a decision taken by their shareholders over which they have little or no say.
The level of uncertainty, anxiety and sometimes despair is often high. Cultural adaptation during a company takeover could take much longer, and employees are prone to look elsewhere and leave the new company at the slightest hiccup or provocation.
A robust onboarding programme specifically designed to onboard large groups of people with different roles and levels is an absolute necessity to help newly acquired employees establish loyalty and trust in their new company early.
Making sure that leaders of the newly acquired company are empowered with i n f o r ma t i o n , inducted first and then participate in driving the induction of their teams is a critical step that quickly builds buy-in, particularly during the first few days and months as new employees continue to look to their old leaders for direction.
During a merger or acquisition, attention to detail is critical in the days leading up to the first day in the new company.
This involves activities aimed at building a level of excitement about the new company; employee consultations in conjunction with their leaders; discussion of new contracts, benefits and conditions of employment with each employee; and organisational development i nterventions aimed at allaying uncertainties and fears.
Some organisations implement formal ceremonies and symbolic rituals that help employees “cut ties” with their old company and transition to the new.
Organisations cannot afford to overlook the wellbeing of employees — their brands and the success of the company depends on the perceptions of past, current and prospective employees.
Creating an exceptional employee experience is of mutual benefit to both employer and employee and has far- reaching results.
A carefully crafted and diligently driven onboarding program is a key enabler in driving exceptional employee experience and good return on investment for the company.