Page 16 - Successful Onboarding

Introduction • 5

the specific initiative and associated responsibilities that sold him on the
job belonged to another group within the company—and it was not going
anywhere. In the blink of an eye, Charles’ excitement for his new role van-
ished. After weeks spent seeking a remediation path or support resources,
Charles sat down at his new computer and restarted his job search.
A month later, he was gone.
Charles’ experience casts light on just a few of the common shortcom-
ings of standard, non-strategic and non-systemic onboarding initiatives.
Lacking any formal collaboration between recruiting, the hiring manager,
senior management, and other parties in the firm—lacking, too, a process
for addressing new hires’ career planning needs—Charles’ firm quickly
wound up disappointing him. Even further, it broke “the hiring promise”
it had made during the recruiting process. Charles in turn questioned his
new company’s values and the support it would provide over the course
of his career. Without anywhere to turn to figure out a solution, he could
only conclude that a position with a smaller high-growth firm could be
every bit as frustrating as his previous job with an established industry
player. The best choice now was to leave.
Charles was not the only one hurt by the lack of an adequate onboard-
ing program; the company suffered, too. Charles was a supremely talented
guy whom the firm had spent 6 months wining and dining and whom it
had also engaged an external search firm to find (paying 20% of a year’s
salary in a finder’s fee). Lost for good were the recruitment expenses, as well
as the funds the firm had invested in his signing bonus, his moving expenses,
and other administrative costs associated with his hire. In addition, the com-
pany had to spend even more money recruiting someone else to fill Charles’
position. Productivity suffered, since after six months of recruitment, two
months of unenthused work on Charles’ part, and a subsequent search of
undetermined length, the job position Charles was to have occupied would
be filled by another person who would also likely require an adjustment
period before being able to work at his or her best. Most damagingly of all
were the long-term, indirect costs. When top-notch people like Charles
become disillusioned, a firm’s brand becomes tarnished in the eyes of
prospective employees (after all, Charles actively participates in online
social networks), and it becomes even more difficult to attract the best
talent. Also, the firm’s strategy suffers. How do you propel an organization