Page 225 - Successful Onboarding

The Onboarding Margin Life Support System • 209

Governance Structures
If companies require proper administrative resources to reap onboarding’s
full value, they also require governance and accountability mechanisms to
ensure that the program works as intended. Without administrative resources
in place, you’re leaving money on the table. If you have administrative
resources without a governing and accountability mechanism, then every-
thing you’ve tried to build is at risk. You may have the ability to execute
processes, but you’ll be doing the same thing again and again without review-
ing it to know if it’s working (i.e., meeting the original objectives, let alone
the most current objectives). We have seen firms waste large dollars by fail-
ing to build a governance component into their onboarding program. More
often than not, companies do not hold anybody accountable for onboard-
ing, in large part because no single department oversees the whole program.
These companies pull together cross-functional teams, which is great on the
front end from a diagnostic and design perspective but ultimately insufficient
from an oversight and management perspective. Exceptions do exist; we’ve
seen companies that maintain piece part accountability; e.g., holding IT
accountable for delivering computers or phones on time. Yet limited
accountability comprises a mere shadow of what companies should imple-
ment so as to reap the full Onboarding Margin described in Chapter One.
Proper governance requires that as a first step you designate individu-
als with clear governing authority. We recommend a governance model
with clear roles and accountabilities. A steering committee might provide
strategic oversight, while below it an onboarding Center of Excellence
might oversee programs and keep on eye on how well participants are per-
forming and the return stakeholders are receiving. The Center of Excel-
lence should also monitor content and delivery, including the ongoing
development and updating of program curriculum and portal content.
Companies should designate an “Authenticity or Integrity Czar”—a per-
son who understands and encourages frank and genuine communication
(e.g., calling the aspirational just that instead of portraying the aspirational
as the “here and now”).
Below both of these groups, local onboarding coordinators should take
charge of coordinating orientation for local offices and teams, ensuring that
the new hire’s team and broader community is prepared to support key
activities. Local onboarding coordinators also are tasked with reminding