Page 107 - Successful Onboarding

96 • Successful Onboarding

certain scenarios in which superiors require a higher
communication standard? Is the weekly or monthly check-in
sufficient? And how does the new hire keep people informed?
Through water-cooler chats? A formal scheduled meeting? An
online template? Or emails on an exception-only basis?
• Appropriate conduct: What is the right time, place, and means to
do anything?

Negotiating these issues—and again, this is only a partial list—takes time and
energy, detracting from new hires’ ability to become effective at their jobs as
quickly as they would otherwise, and reducing their engagement. It’s an
intimidating process for new hires, since they are trying to impress their new
colleagues, yet they sense that these colleagues are already evaluating them
on the basis of norms that are puzzling and only partially revealed. Think of
how frustrating, let alone unproductive, the following situation would be:

At your last job you had grown accustomed to the standard of approach-
ing business challenges by examining first and foremost what the compe-
tition was doing, how they respond to customer needs, and how they
might respond to your firm’s actions. In contrast, your new company has
an internal focus, but no one took the time to highlight this fact for you.
Being conditioned for eight years at your prior firm, you are probably
thinking and taking actions that are not in concert with your colleagues
and your reporting manager. You seem not to make any headway in your
job, and for a while at least, you are not sure why. You think you’re doing
everything right, and then your manager informs you that in this first 6
months he found that your thinking is “frustratingly off.” If you decide to
go against the grain, you won’t even necessarily know how to do that well;
you will be clueless about which battles to fight, how to fight them, and
whom to choose as your allies and enemies.

Leaders in your new culture might negotiate decisions casually over
lunch rather than during a formal meeting. Choosing one over the other
can make all the difference, and when you get it wrong early in your
tenure with new employers, it is not fun for you or them.
Other factors and situations can render new hires’ frustration especially
pronounced. If you’re already experienced with other cultures or are new
to an industry you come in with ingrained habits and attitudes that might