Page 216 - Successful Onboarding

200 • Successful Onboarding

4. Administer the process.
5. Embed a continuous improvement system for the process.

Within the human capital world, we have developed strong administrative
processes for things like recruiting, performance assessments, promotions,
compensation, benefits administration, labor utilization, and succession
planning, among many others. So what does proper administration of
onboarding look like?
Let’s start with Week One and the preparation leading up to Week
One. Administration means organizing and overseeing the numerous
preparation and orientation processes—getting everyone’s security, legal,
confidentiality, and compliance forms taken care of efficiently and com-
pletely and delivering information to new hires (company policies, ben-
efits, etc.). It also means giving new hires tools they need to do their jobs,
including business cards, computers, mobile phones, telephone exten-
sions and voicemail, email addresses, email system distribution groups,
security access, and much more. It includes preparing the new hire’s
manager about the new hire start date and prepping the department on
the new hire’s background, strengths, weaknesses, and objectives. It
includes determining the new hire’s first assignments and providing the
necessary orientation.
At the childcare provider company Bright Horizons, everything is ready
upon the new employee’s arrival, including nameplate, security access,
phone system, email, desktop, and paperwork. Unfortunately, most com-
1
panies do a far less comprehensive job prepping for and delivering Week
One, and people do talk about it. Many HR task leaders presented with
the task of addressing onboarding are told to focus on this world—in our
view, a short sighted approach to onboarding. Managers in charge of
onboarding notice the griping (from both the new hires and the hiring
managers), and they in turn talk about the organization’s failures. This is
a good thing; managers should clean up those processes to take wasted cost
out and improve the experience for the new hire and the hiring manager.
Still, we have not seen many companies truly do the basics well, and as a
result some low hanging fruit is sitting there for the taking. But we want
to repeat again, don’t fool yourself or your team. Improving Week One
administration won’t materially impact retention and productivity. If new
hires are aligned on objectives, love their jobs, find the work fulfilling,