Page 137 - Successful Onboarding

124 • Successful Onboarding

them nurture the healthy relationships they needed to feel healthy and
happy at work. A skeptical manager might object that the burden of assur-
ing a single new hire’s emotional well-being is huge, and attending to
the sense of belonging of a whole cohort cannot and should not rest on
an organization’s shoulders. That is undoubtedly true; however, firms
could do much more to ensure happy workers, and it remains in their self-
interest to do so.
The benefits of nurturing networks and strong social relationships
among new hires go well beyond a happier, better-adjusted, more invig-
orated workforce. In the business world, progress depends upon connec-
tions and relationships. As people work in organizations, they form
relationships that allow for work to get done, whether it is a traditional,
rote task or the more challenging task of transforming processes at an
organization. People realize a number of practical benefits by tapping into
a network. They gain more information about and perspective on the chal-
lenges they face. They gain a chance to spread the word and get buy-in
and feedback on their ideas—which in turn helps them build consensus
and achieve results. Finally, they gain creative stimulation from exposure
to the careers, success, and ideas of other individuals, leading to better job
performance, more engagement, and stronger loyalty.
By enhancing the process by which new hires forge professional rela-
tionships, firms can help them work better on a daily basis. Knowing whom
to approach for an answer allows you to address the issue quickly, mini-
mizing problems or minor annoyances and frustrations. You know how to
work the system, which as an ancillary benefit makes you feel happier and
less frustrated. It also increases your self-esteem, confidence, achievement,
self-respect, and value in the eyes of others—all of which taken together
comprise the second highest category on Maslow’s hierarchy.
Sometimes connections allow employees to recognize problems proac-
tively and come up with solutions. An operations engineer on a factory
line is tasked with making sure the machines keep running. She notices
that a part keeps breaking, or she spots an opportunity for improvement
that might be applied elsewhere in the company. Rather than keeping this
information to herself, she passes it along to a member of her network
within the firm, who uses it to make improvements. This can happen in
the first month of employment, the first year, the third year, or of course,
not at all. When they do happen, collaborative relationships can develop