Page 49 - Successful Onboarding

38 • Successful Onboarding

into an ability to have open, frank conversations with bosses and peers,
among other things. New hires feel comfortable to say what they really
think, and as a result, they find themselves pleasantly affirmed, validated,
and appreciated for their own unique qualities.
Such validation leads directly to a next level called esteem—self-esteem,
achievement, respect of others, respect by others. Thanks to relationships
built because of onboarding, and thanks, too, to employees’ abilities to
function both at higher levels and as authentic members of a community,
new hires are positioned to feel great. If we give people more tools to suc-
ceed better early on—if they understand the culture, have the requisite
skills, and have a chance to impress others—their sense of self-worth (and
therefore satisfaction) will skyrocket. Employees will feel proud to work at
their firms and will likely become strong evangelists for corporate and
employment brands.
Onboarding’s components that teach strategy also play an important
role here. To the extent that companies can change employees’ percep-
tions of their jobs from a functional description to one that contains a
sense of mission that “I am excited to be part of this,” companies will dra-
matically enhance employee self-esteem. The recruiting process already
does try to inspire new hires, but onboarding must reinforce this idea, in
ways both large and small, during the first year and beyond. Think, for
instance, how uninspiring it is to arrive at a new job only to spend the
first day or two filling out forms, completing compliance materials, and
taking care of other boring administrative tasks. New hires in this situa-
tion take nothing away from that first day that helps them regard the com-
pany as the best in the world. These new hires will not feel especially
great about themselves (“We are what we do.”), which in turn will affect
engagement levels, and ultimately, job performance. With a dynamic
strategy in place, we can craft the new hire’s initial entry into the firm to
be far more inspirational, leading to higher productivity from Day One,
or even earlier.
Once employees feel high self-esteem, they are in a position to satisfy
the highest-level need, self-actualization. Strategic onboarding helps fur-
ther nourish self-actualization in part by providing early career support
that maps out fulfilling, enriching careers as well as tools to help get new
hires on their way. Onboarding’s strategic immersion and development