Page 76 - Successful Onboarding

The State of the Art: Essentials of Strategic Onboarding • 65

into the firm’s definition of successful performance. After an initial employ-
ment period, many firms assume that cultural initiation is something that
happens naturally and a bit mysteriously as a result of a normal process of
socialization. Later on, colleagues in the company will comment upon
whether a new hire “gets it”—and express frustration when they don’t.
Surely we do become acculturated slowly on our own, but firms would
improve engagement, time to productivity, and retention significantly if
they provided a stronger platform for these new entrants to “get it.”

Interpersonal network development
The second area in which firms can help integrate new hires and improve
the experience of joining the organization is with Interpersonal Network
Development. To succeed in any work environment, new employees need
to forge strong and productive connections with others. This is not nec-
essarily about having fun at work and developing friendships, but rather
about networking so as to fit in better, gain perspective, create access to
knowledge and other relevant resources, accelerate time to productivity,
take productivity to the next level, and develop accelerated, more fulfill-
ing careers. It’s also about developing relationships beyond the work-
place—having an easier time finding a place to live, becoming more at
home in new neighborhoods, and building professional connections for
significant others.
By expanding onboarding to include socialization, firms add significant
value. But it is neither acculturation nor socialization that offers the great-
est yield. The next two areas of intervention in the assimilation process—
strategy immersion and direction and early career support—drive the
biggest gains and create the most competitive advantage. We call these
two pillars the “power levers” that raise the level of productivity and nur-
ture more passionate and longer-term commitment to the enterprise. If
you speak to companies that leverage company alumni successfully, you
find that alumni who continue to create value for the enterprise are those
who best understand the enterprise. They are the ones who developed sin-
cere affection for it and experienced significant career development while
at the company. Investment in these two areas will help re-write to both
parties’ advantage the employer-employee compact—with a return far
greater than the investment.