Page 74 - Successful Onboarding

The State of the Art: Essentials of Strategic Onboarding • 63

hires in structured ways that help new hires assimilate. A firm that
embraced a strategic approach to onboarding would adjust the standard
review form and review process. The firm would give instructions to a
hiring manager specifically for use with a new hire, offering different
versions for different new hire segments such as experienced new hires
versus new college graduates. This progressive firm might also include in
the review meeting the original recruiting manager who had been there
at the very front end when original expectations were established to
see how things are progressing and be able to provide additional support.
Perhaps this firm might even tie the recruiting manager’s bonus to the
retention rates of the new hires placed, rather than only to positions filled
in the quarter.
The instructions disseminated by this firm would direct reviewers to per-
form certain actions, such as discussing whether the new hire’s actual
experiences met with expectations, reviewing whether and how any train-
ing taken has supported the new hire’s work performance, discussing ideas
for how the manager might support the new hire, reviewing the company/
unit’s strategy, and comparing the work culture here with the new hire’s
previous employer’s culture. Additionally, this firm would make sure that
other reviewers have background information regarding this specific
employee’s prior experience, accomplishments, concerns, and aspirations.
With this information incorporated into the discussion, each of the indi-
viduals providing the review will be in a position to speak directly to the
new hire’s specific aspirations. The instructions might mandate that
reviewers discuss the consequences, purposes, and process of the review
so that new hires understand the meaning of any negative feedback they
are receiving and can track their progress. All of this would help new hires
remain engaged while simultaneously shortening the amount of time they
require to improve their performance. Both parties win.
Although many of these ideas are incorporated in some world-class per-
formance review systems, the key is to customize this standard and exist-
ing tool so as to address new hires’ needs. New hires, after all, represent a
very expensive investment, and this first year is the year in which most of
the investment risk exists. If we can reduce this risk, we radically improve
the organization’s overall and downstream performance with its human
capital, as new hires matriculate into tenured employees.