Page 163 - Successful Onboarding

150 • Successful Onboarding

Slightly less than half (45%) of Gen Y workers reported expecting to spend
their entire careers with their current employer, but a majority said they
“also want work to bring a range of new experiences and challenges,” lead-
ing the authors of the study to conclude that these respondents “may be
11
more susceptible to wanderlust than they realize.” A 2009 survey by
Deloitte Consulting found that 40% of Gen X workers gave “lack of career
progress” as a reason for their unhappiness on the job, ahead of job secu-
rity and inadequate pay. 12
All of this data, along with anecdotal evidence compiled through our
work, suggests that companies would do well to stimulate early career plan-
ning and development during the first year—making it available to all new
hires, helping new hires to identify better their prospects, and affording
new hires opportunities to make gradual, visible career progress. The
potentially pivotal role of career development initiatives like mentoring;
coaching; career exploration; progress pathing and modeling using career
development plans; and skills assessments becomes intuitively clear when
we consider the kinds of questions and concerns new hires typically have
when they join a new company or step into a new role within an existing
employer. New hires wonder about the opportunities that really exist,
beyond the entry position, for them at their new employer. They are not
just thinking about the standard straight line of progress—staff position,
supervisor, manager, and executive. Many new hires join a firm hoping to
gain experience and move into a different function. Rather than feeling
pigeon-holed in a job that does not reflect their long-term ambitions, they
want a clear sense of how they can move from a position that their current
resume qualifies them for into one that they dream about. If they enter a
firm in finance, can they talk about a marketing role? If they are back
office employees, is there any chance they can eventually get out into the
field (or vice versa)?
New hires at all levels also expect that certain behaviors, actions, and
proving competencies will lead to future career progress. But what are
the specific requirements? Is it working longer hours? In other words, how
does advancement happen? What are the criteria? Questions about career
advancement merge with those about the culture, and specifically, the
performance values that an organization prioritizes. Often it is the most
ambitious, high-potential employees who concern themselves most
intensely with performance values. For this group and for all new hires,