1. ONBOARDING
PRESENTED BY
John Madigan
V. Vanessa Williams

2. Questions we’ll look at today…
What is onboarding?
When should onboarding start?
Why should we even bother?
What is important to new employees?
What are a few good
practices?

3. Onboarding is not…

4. Or this...

5. Or even this...

6. What is onboarding?
“is the mechanism through which new employees acquire the necessary knowledge, skills, and behaviors to become effective in your organization.”

7. Onboarding versus Orientation
What is onboarding?
A comprehensive approach that starts before orientation and extends well beyond the first few days.
Onboarding versus Orientation
Provides a more strategic plan for employee success than orientation alone.
An onboarding process can last from three months to two years, depending on the position.

8. When should onboarding start?
Good onboarding starts with great recruiting!
Good onboarding starts with great recruiting recruiters!

9. Effective onboarding starts in the recruiting process.
Assessing style & fit
Anticipating challenges
based on:
Skills and knowledge
Previous employer
Individual personality
What else?

10. Why should we even bother?
Four out of ten managers and executives
fail within 18 months of
starting new jobs.

11. Major reasons for failure are:
75%
Failure to establish a cultural fit
52%
Failure to build teamwork with staff / peers
33%
Unclear about bosses expectations
25%
Lack of political savy

12. 1 2 3 Companies want to: Get new employees productive more quickly
(68%) 1
Drive higher employee engagement
(67%) 2
Retain good employees longer
(51%) 3

13. Companies that
have best-in-class onboarding enjoy greater success in retaining employees, having them achieve performance targets and satisfying hiring managers.
Retention
(91% vs 70% vs 30%)
Manager
Satisfaction
(33% vs 11% vs 3%)
Performance
(62% vs 29% vs 17%)

14. Revenue per employee by
Best-in-class companies also improve the business:
Customer retention by
16%
Revenue per employee by
17%
Source: Aberdeen Group

15. Real Feedback
What did new employees have to say about recent onboarding experiences?

16. What are a few good practices?
Build onboarding concepts into your recruiting process.
Have a “tested routine” for the first day; make the first day on the job special.
Orchestrate a plan in the functional area (provide guidance)

17. More Good Practices Encourage new hire to document objectives.
Become a “self-cleaning oven”; survey new hires about their surprises.
Be sure your program is consistently implemented.

18. Challenge
Solution
Leaders must communicate the purpose of the company to employees so that they understand the greater mission and find significance in their work.
Only 25% of employees worldwide feel connected to their company’s mission.
25%
50% do not find any meaning/significance in their current role.
50%
Source: Appreciation Index EMagazine

19. Challenge
Solution
Relationships between leaders and employees matter. By having a great first few months/years, employees will feel more dedicated to their company.
69% of employees are more likely to stay with the company for at least 3 years after a great on-boarding experience.
69%
Source: Appreciation Index EMagazine

20. Challenge
Solution
Leaders should connect with their employees, especially during the first few months. They can engage with them by asking them how they are feeling and doing to get a better understanding of the employees’ feelings.
20%
20% turnover happens within the first 45 days of employment.
Source: Appreciation Index EMagazine

21. Challenge
Solution
Leaders should give recognition to employees for good work that they have done, and also create a plan with them so they are focused and always have a goal to achieve.
60% of companies indicate that they do not set any milestones or concrete goals for new hires to shoot for.
60%
Source: Appreciation Index EMagazine

22. Many transitions are not successful.
Each year, more than 25% of the US population experience career transition
50% of all hourly workers leave new jobs in the first four months.
50% of senior outside hires fail within 18 months.
The faster new hires feel welcome and prepared for their jobs, the faster they will be able to successfully contribute to the firm’s mission.
Employees get about 90 days to prove themselves in a new job.
Source: SHRM

23. Failing Newcomers Make These Common Mistakes
After the Handshake
Failing Newcomers Make These Common Mistakes
1 They don’t read the political situation well enough to build necessary relationships and coalitions
2 They don’t achieve the cultural changes their strategic and operational agendas require
Failing Newcomers Make These Common Mistakes
5 Helping new leaders understand that culture and improve their ‘soft skills’ to successfully navigate the transition may be the best way to increase their chances of success
3 Most new leaders fail not because their financial or operational abilities are inadequate but because their style or political skills render them unprepared to manage the organization’s culture
4 They overestimate the willingness or the capacity of the people they inherit to abandon old habits and behaviors
Source: SHRM

24. Where Hiring Managers Fail
Fail to grasp the complex nature of assimilation and assume new handoffs are simple and straightforward
Fail to carefully consider the cultural and political aspects of the company that will be problematic in the early months
Set one-dimensional or generic expectations of the new employee – in particular, emphasizing only financial and/or operational goals and not including cultural, political and personal ones
Source: SHRM

25. Role of the HR Contact Should be involved in all aspects of transition
Be a key counsel on people, politics, and culture
Think of themselves as communicators, interpreters, and sounding boards
Offer candid feedback on how the leader’s early words and actions are perceived by new employees
In the best position to observe the developing relationship between the leader and the new employee(s)
The work should begin during the recruiting/search process to help focus the new hire on what’s ahead
Source: SHRM

26. Role of the Leader
A successful onboarding starts during the interviews – use behavior interviewing to dig deep
Demeanor during onboarding is crucial
Recognize that an HR advocate such as Talent Acquisition can be a cultural translator
Participate in early on boarding discussions – even before the official start
Get out of the office – visit the new employees in their space not yours
Meet, great and eat
Find the balance between fast starting and slow moving
Source: SHRM

27. John Madigan
Executive Talent Services
President & CEO
50 Stanford Drive, Second Floor
Farmington, CT 06032
V. Vanessa Williams
Leading Edge Consulting, LLC 50 Stanford Drive, Second Floor Farmington, CT 06032
(office)
(cell)