Page 226 - Successful Onboarding

210 • Successful Onboarding

support personnel and ensuring compliance with key activities, such as
networking and mentoring. A second group reporting into the Center of
Excellence, regional onboarding coordinators, oversees firmwide orienta-
tion activities; schedules learning and development facilitators, senior lead-
ers, and panelists; and coordinates any community events (e.g., “New Hire
Summits” or networking events within the industry). A third group, Provi-
sioning, provides access to the new hire portal and prepares equipment,
other tools of the trade, and access to resources (including security access
to the building) for Day One and beyond. A fourth group attends to the
unique design elements that exist for new hire segmentation (e.g., by level
and experience, but business unit, by geography, etc.).

Learning centers of governance structures
Some firms make use of corporate universities and learning centers as a
means of centralizing the training portions of onboarding under a single
authority. At these firms, corporate universities become the hub for
resources and training relevant to new hires, providing early opportunities
for employees interested in learning and development. New hires gain
access to coursework supporting their career development through leader-
ship courses taught by senior management and other “guidance-counselor”
based models. This approach demonstrates commitment to new hire devel-
opment, and the centralized governance structure allows for more resource
delivery than programs fragmented across departments or business units.
Interaction between new hires and senior leadership instructors provide
networking and stronger relationships across levels. New hires are also able
to network with seasoned employees in shared courses.
Setting up a structure like this does require a significant investment in
additional learning resources as well as reorganization of career support
functions into a central organization. We recommend that you make
employee participation in coursework mandatory, and that feedback loops
exist between university and senior leadership (to align with business goals)
and between the university and new hire managers (to capture learning
needs). Mandatory participation puts more pressure on designers to cre-
ate coursework that is relevant, effective, and valued by new hires, hiring
managers, and peers. Without proper resources and attention to relevance,
you run a great risk of wasting valuable company resources.