Page 40 - Successful Onboarding

The Business Case for Onboarding • 29

Context is the variable that may be most often taken for granted, but it
is crucial to bringing together the other three in a way that drives signifi-
cant New Hire Contribution. Understanding the organization means
much more than knowing who runs it and what it does. It is a deeper com-
prehension or mastery of the organization’s mission and goals, the strategy
that has been set to get there, the competitive and regulatory landscape,
the customers and their needs, the resources available, the business model
the firm employs to execute on the strategy, and the firm’s culture and way
of doing business and driving change. When employees truly understand
the organization, they can act most fully as agents of the organization’s
mission and not simply complete tasks assigned to them. With the right
Context, employees can step up beyond their defined role, title, age, and
experience level to add more value to an organization than originally
expected or planned. The period early in an employee’s life cycle with a
given organization can be more significant, but the chance for success rad-
ically decreases without sufficient context. The key is to provide context
that will allow the employee to use his or her capabilities, connections,
and drive to deliver the very best possible results.
Experiential understanding includes all of the contextual knowledge
gained during a lifetime in and out of the profession. The more an indi-
vidual understands about the realm in which the organization operates,
whether in a certain market, industry, region, and so on, the more value
that individual can add to the organization. This is not to say that experi-
ential understanding is necessarily measured in years of life or work
experience. We gain experiences and worldly knowledge through research,
specialized learning experiences, or, in the modern age, through being a
curious individual with an Internet connection.
Our Connectedness in the business environment affects our ability to
get things done more quickly and to a higher standard. The personal and
professional relationships we have provide us with leverage under certain
circumstances, such as when we are looking for a job. According to the
US Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 70% of jobs are found though net-
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working. The more connected we are (in terms of both number and qual-
ity), the better the job search outcomes will be. The same applies in
professional endeavors. When a situation arises, a new task is assigned or
an unfamiliar request is made, a new hire who has many connections (and