Page 260 - Successful Onboarding

Getting Started: Conducting a Program Diagnostic • 241

onboarding program requires. We strongly recommend engaging key stake-
holders from the start of your process. Enable them to evaluate the current
state of onboarding, educate them on the potential and prospect of the
Onboarding Margin and the typical objectives of onboarding programs,
allow them to participate in hypothesis generation, and encourage them to
set forth possible improvement opportunities. That way, they will enjoy
more ownership over solutions and be able to articulate in a compelling
way the key changes that will emerge from onboarding redesign. Focus
especially on convincing stakeholders who feel threatened by an onboard-
ing redesign, since these individuals are those most likely to resist mean-
ingful change.

Taking Shortcuts … and Starting Off Right
The preceding model represents what we regard as the best way to pursue
a rigorous diagnostic process. If you lack the resources to pursue a process
as involved as this, we would recommend the following shortcut (although
recognize that it is a compromise). Find an appropriate group of repre-
sentative stakeholders, educate them on onboarding, and instruct them to
develop a set of hypotheses about the opportunities, problems, and root
causes surrounding onboarding. Validate these hypotheses by testing on
a spot basis. Even better, you can supplement these efforts by cherry-
picking pieces of the above diagnostic approach that fit your resource
levels, time frame, and circumstances.
This is a less rigorous approach, but it can certainly produce an excel-
lent result. In any case, it is far better than skipping the diagnostic. If your
initial analysis yields results that inspire a high level of confidence, then
you are all set. If you remain unsure as to the proper course, then you
should pursue the deeper analysis we have outlined.
We recommend that all firms perform this simpler, initial exercise
before proceeding to the main diagnostic process, as it will help target the
in-depth analysis. If you are tempted to forego the longer process even
though your firm has allocated adequate resources for a diagnostic phase,
you should bear in mind that the small group of stakeholders you have ini-
tially assembled might well get it wrong. In marketing, companies learn a