October 5, 2023
The first 3 months for any new hire is absolutely critical. It’s the time they’ll set their impression of the business, it’s culture, their manager and the role, and there is a particularly open mindset to learning and absorbing new information. Their early experience has a massive impact on the strength of the psychological contract built between parties, and how well they are ultimately set up to succeed and thrive.
A great onboarding experience is important. This has been heightened in recent times by the growing trend of new hires pulling the pin quickly if the experience doesn’t align to the promise. In other words, less people are willing to tolerate a mismatch and will instead resign. Maybe this is a hangover from a tight labour market of late, giving people a sense of confidence in their employability? Or more people feeling compelled to stay true to themselves and prioritise their own needs following the ‘big rethink’ that seemed to happen over Covid? Either way, there are a lot of companies out there that have a lot of work to do when it comes to creating a positive, effective and consistent onboarding experience.
On top of this, we’re seeing an explosion in the prevalence and awareness of neurodivergence in the work place. This further complicates the way companies onboard staff, in needing to be more employee centric and tailored. In the case of neurodivergent staff, who make up over 20% of our population, that means making reasonable accommodations to support their cognition.
What do we mean by onboarding?
1. The process of ‘acclimatising’ the new hire to the values and social nuances of the business,
2. Setting up a constructive relationship between manager and the employee
3. Imparting knowledge around systems, processes, external context, company products/services
4. Setting the expectations for role success
With this in mind, we’ve outlined a few of the key considerations to make sure you are onboarding appropriately:
It starts before they start
The psychological contract between manager and staff begins before they start. It’s developed through a pattern of interactions that builds trust, credibility and a sense of support. Some managers don’t even talk to their new hire between contract signing and start date which is absurd in this (or any) market. We suggest a coffee, meet and great with colleagues, or at least a phone chat a week or two out from their start date.
Discussing dress code, first day structure and meeting place, parking or transport advice and local lunch outlets are all great topics to put their mind at ease. We’d also recommend asking what specific accommodations or support they might need to ensure a great experience. Some brains will really struggle with a desk next to the kitchen, a lack of quiet space, training that is heavy in verbal instructions etc.
Some also find the introduction of colleagues en masse overwhelming, and that’s ok too. None of these sorts of needs are insurmountable and wouldn’t you rather know that now than have them feel awkward or uncomfortable later? My last company even used to ask new starters their favourite snack and have it on their desk day one – it’s just about showing that onboarding is as much their process than it is yours.
Remember, given the competitive labour market, it’s a lot harder for a newly signed employee to tear up your contract for a better offer prior to start if you’ve engaged with them.
One size doesn’t fit all
Hopefully you at least have some sort of onboarding checklist in place to govern what’s covered, when and by who. This is not about throwing that out and redesigning it for the individual, it’s about reasonable adjustments to suit their needs. If you can’t accommodate every request that’s ok, at least you’ve listened and explained why. Maybe you don’t do a big morning tea or lunch with the team on their first day but rather a series of 1:1s with colleagues spread over a few days – should this be more comfortable? Sharing the plan and personalising it needn’t be hard.
Flexibility
This seems to be the hottest topic of 2023…balancing the needs of businesses and individuals in a way that is fair, equitable and defendable. We have a whole different blog on this topic here, but I want to discuss flexibility of hours and office time during onboarding.
Restrictions in technology or the nature of the training might require a new employee to spend more time in the office initially. However, I disagree with an arbitrary limitation like “new employees are only eligible for flexibility after 6 months”. This rigidity may limit your ability to attract talent and create pressure on the new employee to sort temporary dependent care etc. Instead, I’d like to see a flexible approach to flexibility whereby staff are granted flexibility based on the agreed mastery of their tasks. In fact, in my experience, providing a work-from-home day from the outset can give the employee time to process their training, try aspects of their new work independently, and give the manager a break from the intensity of training for a day.
Manager relationship and 1:1s
I’ve been in recruitment 18 years. When checking in with new starters I’ve identified a correlation between those that are feeling uneasy, frustrated or worried about their performance and whether they’re having regular 1:1s with their new manager. For some reason, many managers don’t make this a regular scheduled thing from week one, when in fact this is when it’s most critical. New starters just need instructions initially, but before long, they’ll start to doubt their competence and need constant reinforcement and feedback. Friday reviews can work well in the first few weeks; a quick round up of their week, what they got through, what they’ve learnt, where they’re struggling etc.
The first weeks is a great time for the manager to set out what high performance in the role looks like. Why? Everyone wants a target or expectation to aim for. By being able to describe high performance in the role you’re also providing the standard to be able to compare the new starter to thereafter.
It's also helpful to set up agreed ways the new starter and manager will communicate. This might sound obvious but some people respond markedly better to written instructions than verbal for instance. Agree how you are going to communicate updates, instructions, results, feedback, leave requests etc. You might be comfortable picking up the phone unannounced and rattling through some thoughts and feedback but not everyone operates this way.
Consistency
Often the onboarding experience is too reliant on the new starter’s manager. Therefore the experience is only as good at that manager’s knowledge, training style, attitude and availability. You’re much better off to create SMEs within the team or business for technical or professional training and leverage their best practice. Why would a manager train a new starter if they have someone else in the broader team who already excels in this aspect? It also means each new starter is trained the same way. Delegating to them helps their development, and frees up the manager.
Cultural integration and the buddy system
This aspect is as important as any other onboarding objective, if not more so. New starters need to be able to navigate the organisation’s social norms, communication styles, personalities and unwritten rules - these can be taken for granted if you've been there a while. I’m a big fan of the buddy system, whereby the new starter is assigned a buddy in their first week with whom they’ll catch up fortnightly initially, and then as needed. A casual chat with a colleague over coffee is a great way for the new starter to ask questions about the team, manager or organisation without feeling judged.
It's too hard to find great people only to give them a poor experience when they start with you. First impressions are powerful and getting their onboarding right can really impact an employee’s engagement and ultimate success. Do reach out to discuss your onboarding practices or to dive deeper into our observations and experience.
