Let's Improve Employee Onboarding

The March 24th issue of Time.com posted an article by Martha C. White titled, "Too Many New Hires Quit for This Really Dumb Reason."  Here's a quick summary:

• One in six employees quits a new job within six months.
• First impressions are lasting impressions when it comes to fitting in on the job.
• On-boarding is the problem.
• "Your new boss or HR department does a horrible job orienting you and getting you up to speed." (direct quote)
• There's only a 90-day window for settling in. Don't mess that up.
• Inform new employees without overwhelming them.
• Perks are nice, but what new employees really want is better training.

The article when on to suggest some steps new employees can personally take to alleviate this situation.

1  Start before you get there.

2. Don't be afraid to ask.

3. Seek out a mentor.

4. Be friendly.

5. Approach people the right way.

6. Say thanks.

These are all good suggestions, but they treat the symptom and not the problem.  The problem is that organizations take a "sink or swim" attitude toward new employees.  On-boarding programs vary considerably.  Few address this issue.  A new employee's integration into the organization should not be a self-directed process. There is a better way.

When I was an officer in the U.S. Army, we had a great system for orienting new officers.  Each incoming officer was assigned a "sponsor."  It was that person's job to not only provide you a detailed orientation into your new organization, but to even assist you in getting your family settled.  It was a great program. For the most part, sponsors took their job seriously.  They knew that they, too, needed a sponsor when they were newly assigned.  In short, the process worked for the most part, and new leaders were up to speed in a short amount of time.

Here's a suggestion for how organizations can turbo-charge their on-boarding programs.  Assign a sponsor to each new employee for that employee's first 90 days.  Have a detailed checklist of what is to be covered by the sponsor.  This is an "additional duty," so to provide a proper incentive, give that individual a "sponsor bonus" for that 90-day period. Make it substantial.  Evaluate the effectiveness of each new employee's on-boarding.  Adjust the program accordingly.  If your organization does performance appraisals, evaluate each sponsor's effectiveness during their annual review. Identify and reward your best sponsors in other ways besides the bonus (e.g., recognition, extra bump come raise time, etc.).  While there are direct costs associated with this program, the costs of employee turnover are MUCH higher.

For more information about integrating new leaders, in particular, my book, BEFORE ONBOARDING: How to Integrate New Leaders for Quick and Sustained Results, is a great place to start. You can get it on Amazon and Kindle.  Link to Before Onboarding on Amazon