Page 219 - Successful Onboarding

The Onboarding Margin Life Support System • 203

learning and development programs does not provide nearly as great a
return as it might otherwise.
To give you a sense of the myriad administrative tasks required to exe-
cute a state-of-the-art onboarding program, imagine you are sitting down
with a new hire and explaining to him or her all the elements of the rede-
fined employee compact that you are promising to provide. As an impor-
tant aside, we strongly suggest that you take this step; i.e., have actual
conversations about this with new hires so that they fully understand and
appreciate the commitment the firm is making on their behalf, as well as
the responsibilities that they, the new hires, accept when entering the com-
pact. Even a partial list of the firm’s promises as part of the employer-
employee compact suggests the breadth of the administrative burden that
accrues during onboarding:

The Firm’s Initial Promise to the New Hire

• We will provide you with the tools you need to get the job done: A
computer, a work space, a phone/phone number, email, supplies, tools,
equipment, safety equipment (personal protection equipment), etc.
• We will ensure that (if offered) benefits are handled smoothly.
• We will ensure that your new manager (and team) are ready for
your arrival.
• We will assure you that a manager who oversees the onboarding
program is available to answer questions that may arise.
• We will provide you with an onboarding buddy—someone who is at
your level or is not long from having been a new hire themselves to help
shepherd you through the process and serve as a resource for questions.
• We will provide you with knowledge about company learning and
development resources at your disposal for establishing your career and
setting out your career development.
• We will help you make connections with others in the company so that
you can hear from others their “secrets of success,” make connections
that may help you with your job performance, help you understand the
strategies of the company and how the various units support each other
in execution of those strategies, and make friends with similar
professional and extracurricular interests.