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4477
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Onboarding Employees
Do It Right and Reap the Rewards

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The term "onboarding" hasn't yet graduated from mere business jargon to an
entry in the Webster's Dictionary. Still, it's a term that's common in today's
business world. It refers to "the process of helping new hires adjust to social
and performance aspects of their new jobs quickly and smoothly," according
to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). The sooner new
employees are truly on board, the faster they can be productive.

It's no longer considered sufficient to show new employees around, introduce

them to a few coworkers, complete basic legal paperwork and then wish them
good luck. SHRM research suggests that devising a formal onboarding
program and implementing it methodically will deliver better and faster
results than a seat-of-the-pants approach.

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In particular, a comprehensive onboarding program promises to deliver:
Higher performance,

Higher job satisfaction,

Organizational commitment,

Reduced stress, and

Career effectiveness.

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 Assimilation at IBM
What does a comprehensive program look like? Large employers like IBM have
been very intentional about integrating new employees, long before the term
"onboarding" was used.

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About 20 years ago the company created what it called its three-stage
"assimilation process:"

Stage 1 ("affirming"), begins before new hires start to work. It involves

designating a coach for the new worker, getting the workstation prepared,
and welcoming him or her to the company.

Stage 2 is when the employee officially begins work, procedures are in

place to assure that the new employee is greeted, necessary paperwork is
handled expeditiously, and, for the first 30 days, regular "check-in" times
are scheduled with managers to create opportunities for any settling in
issues to be addressed.

Stage 3, labeled "connecting," lasts an entire year. It features scheduled

interaction with a coach who, after making sure the new employee is
basically integrated, assesses his or her accomplishments.

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The informality of the coaching relationship gives new workers a greater
comfort level in seeking and receiving advice than is often possible with a
supervisor. New employees are, naturally, reluctant to ask questions that they
think might make them appear incompetent.

Similarly, trusted mentors can help new employees feel their way through the
"political" dynamics of the organization before they are fully acculturated.

Not every organization is large enough to have people available to serve as

coaches and mentors, of course. What's most essential is acting proactively to
detect and address any employee integration issues before they blow up;
don't expect new employees to bring them to you.

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 The 4 Dimensions
Here's a template for onboarding programs developed by Talya N. Bauer,
Ph.D., an expert on the topic and professor in the Portland State University's
School of Business Administration (in Oregon). It features four dimensions:

1. Compliance teaching employees basic legal and company policy rules,

2. Clarification ensuring that new workers understand their jobs and all
related expectations,

3. Culture acquainting employees with the workplace ethos and

organizational norms, and

4. Connection developing relationships with other employees and

information networks required for them to truly fit in.

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 Pulling the Levers
According to Bauer's research, there are several social and job-specific
"levers" related to those dimensions that can be pulled to smooth the new
employee's transition to becoming a highly productive worker. One is
employee self-confidence.

While that attribute cannot be manufactured and handed to employees on a

platter, a key aim of onboarding programs is precisely to instill self-confidence.
Greater self-confidence can lead to great motivation and better job
performance.

Another lever, clarity, pertains to how well a new employee understands his or
her role. Performance will be disappointing if expectations are cloudy.
"Measures of role clarity are among the most consistent predictors of job
satisfaction and organizational commitment during the onboarding process,"
Bauer stated in a study published by SHRM, "Onboarding New Employees:
Maximizing Success."

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A third lever, social integration, can be accelerated in the onboarding process
by connecting new employees to a variety of seasoned employees, both peers
and others higher up in the organizational chart. "Failure to establish effective
working relationships" Bauer writes, "is a commonly cited cause of
unsuccessful hires, and the onboarding program is the best tool to prevent
that from happening.

Finally, pulling the lever of cultural fit is a key goal and purpose of onboarding.
"Understanding an organization's politics, goals and values, and learning the
firm's unique language are all important indicators of employee adjustment
and down the line are associated with commitment, satisfaction and
turnover," according to Bauer.

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Phone : 281.880.6525
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