Over the years, companies have invested significantly to ensure they are hiring the best new recruits; but once they’ve got them, what do they with them?
Onboarding of course. Perhaps not…
The Problem With “Onboarding”
Onboarding refers to the process through which new employees should be equipped with the necessary knowledge, skills, and behaviours to become effective members of an organisation. It should be an effective and engaging process designed to assist new recruits in feeling included in and inspired by their new environment, but things have changed.
Recently “onboarding” has become so systematic that it’s value and meaning have diminished. New recruits are pushed through tired, tick box, HR programmes before being left to truly get to know the role and the company by themselves.
So, how do you make onboarding engaging and effective again. Let’s look at it differently.
Effective Onboarding
Onboarding, in essence, is vital. The process can involve orientation days with lectures, videos, print materials, or computer-based product to introduce newcomers to their new organisations.
Sounds like exactly what a new recruit needs but in reality, these aged company exercises are so practiced that everyone involved is on auto-pilot.
By managing an effective talent integration process rather than routine onboarding, organisations can assist new recruits with organisational integration and socialisation more quickly thus promoting continuous productivity in a period of transition. A good talent integration process will ensure new organisational members are anchored into new teams whilst establishing strong relationships, support and loyalty.
Planning for Talent Integration
A focused plan for talent integration should feature a combination of both one to one and group coaching and should cover at least the first 90 to 180 days. It should be fresh, energetic and tailored to each individual as a new process which focuses on the role they are integrating into to ensure learning in the correct areas in a style which meets their needs.
If done well, it will:
- Help individuals understand what the new role really requires b
- eyond what was revealed in the “courtship”. The process will assist the individual in developing strategies in line with their new teams, practices and resources to address these challenges.
- Assist individual transition if the role presents a significant step-change in mandate or seniority (e.g. transitioning from technician to leader). They should learn how to challenge assumptions they might bring from their old jobs.
- Ensure individuals understand the culture of the team or company they have inherited, and how to create a high performance team with shared purpose and energy.
- Provide a core syllabus for coaching emerging leaders, including how to direct attention and build resilience as well as skills in emotional regulation.
- Create strategies to develop trusted new relationships, maximise impact and influence, yet avoiding the common pitfalls new leaders can make.
Talent Integration Programmes
Programmes should not only exist for the first few days of a new recruit’s journey. A talent integration programme should be ongoing and include monthly coaching sessions designed to provide a safe test bed for the individual to reflect on progress and find strategies to improve against a structured set of self and other-directed metrics.
The coach should be available for contact outside coaching sessions as needed. It should also include carefully crafted informal 360 perceptual conversations with stakeholders at key stages through the process, as this often provides the most valuable signposts.
Finally, analysis of how well the incumbents are adjusting to the new individual (repeated team culture audits for example) close the circle and ensure the integration is being “digested” well across all parties.
A good talent integration programme cannot follow a one-size-fit-all approach, it also mustn’t be over-engineered or systemised; it has to be an organic process. Every context is different, as is every individual.
Talent Identification, Acquiring and Integration
Miramar are a global executive search consultancy with a wealth of experience in finding, placing and developing talent. We not only work with our clients to provide them with the best candidates for the vacant role, we further assist them to ensure the chosen candidate is maximised in productivity from their first day.
Talk to us about our executive head hunting services, advanced candidate assessment techniques and talent integration practices.
