Your Part in the American Diversity – Onboarding Advice for New Employees (The New Kid on the Block)
Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little.
– Edmund Burke
A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives it a superficial appearance of being right.
– Tom Paine
Memories of our lives, of our works and our deeds will continue in others.
– Rosa Parks
The past fifty years or so have been the most amazing time in corporate life in America. At the beginning of that period African-Americans, Latinos, LGBT, and women were, with extremely rare exceptions, excluded from corporate management (imagine being the New Kid in that environment!). Think of that. Within the span of a single career we have created a workplace in which all those manifestations of race, biology, persuasion and preference are now almost incidental to talent and ambition. When so much change occurs within such a relatively brief period of time it is no exaggeration to call it a revolution. How did such a transformation come about? What does it imply about the future?
America was a diverse nation even before it was officially a nation (yes, there was a time when we, America, were the “New Kid”!). Every major European nation wanted a piece of the huge pie that was ‘The New World’. And, as was their custom, they fought for their various pieces. While men like Edmund Burke were counseling rational evolutionary change, others, like Tom Paine, were urging their countrymen to create a new kind of government based on universal justice. Those two strains run deep in our political DNA and in the ways we organize ourselves in large commercial ventures.
All of the battles for “rights” that have occurred in the past fifty years can trace their impetus back to the idealism that drives an American philosophy based on fairness, justice, and equal opportunity. That idealism forged what at the time were considered unlikely alliances in which those in power ceded at least some of their power to a higher ideal. Both Burke and Paine were right – in time progress does happen, and seizing the time makes it so.
As with all cataclysmic social events, like war and revolution, making history is a dirtier job than writing history. The former is done without fanfare as one person at a time decides to stand up, the latter mythologizes the former – we remember the glory of Rosa Parks more than her weariness and dogged determination to rest her tired feet. But every day a new history is being written by individuals doing their jobs in large corporations, chipping away at the remaining prejudices and impediments, with little to gain for themselves but with much to gain for us all.
It is a commonplace to hear those who grew up during the Great Depression maintain that while they were undoubtedly poor, so was everyone else, and so no one thought of themselves as poor. It is only in looking back that the poverty can be seen clearly. It is only in looking back that most of us can see how we impoverished ourselves by excluding others from making their own unique contributions to our mutual enterprise.
We need to remind ourselves occasionally how easy it is in the thick of things to overlook the fact that while we are performing our daily tasks we are also in a bigger game.
Onboarding The New Kid – Tips for Success
- ONBOARDING the NEW KID Tip #1 – PROCESS: The onboarding process should be an experience every new employee will appreciate, remember, and view as a positive experience. It is to the benefit of the employee and the corporation for HR to take time to come up with a detailed plan for each step on the onboarding process.
- ONBOARDING the NEW KID Tip #2 – MULTI-MEDIA INTRODUCTION: Nothing kills the interest or enthusiasm of a new employee than being handed huge stacks of paperwork and worksheets the first day of hire. Using video, in person talks, classroom lectures, written presentations and online learning can help improve employee retention and make the onboarding process more engaging for your new team members.
- ONBOARDING the NEW KID Tip #3 – FEEDBACK: You can never underestimate the value of employee feedback – even from a new employee on the first day. Even if your onboarding process is well structured, the opinion of the employee experiencing it is invaluable. Take time to gather and analysis feedback and continually improve the process.
- ONBOARDING the NEW KID Tip #4 – REALISTIC JOB DESCRIPTION: Job descriptions and responsibilities that are not defined realistically during the onboarding process are a recipe for disaster (i.e., unhappy or disappointed employees leads to high turnover). Make sure your new team member knows what they are signing on for, what to expect from the position, and what they need to do to be successful in their new position.
- ONBOARDING the NEW KID Tip #5 – PACE NEW EMPLOYEES: You should always consider new employee onboarding a marathon – not a sprint. Rushing new employees through the process can result in them missing out on valuable opportunities to bond as a new team member. You don’t want to force them to choose between mastering their job duties & accumulating to the corporate culture.
- ONBOARDING the NEW KID Tip #6 – CULTURE: Every company has its own culture with unique language and jargon. Dropping new employees into the conversation without teaching them the “lingo” sets them up for failure. Make sure your new employee is educated on the corporate buzzwords, lingo, and acronyms. It is equally important to fill new hires in on any inside jokes, traditions, and other important bits of your company’s culture.
- ONBOARDING the NEW KID Tip #7 – POSITIVE INTERACTION: The key to a new employee’s success is tied to their relationship & level of comfort with their immediate manager. Managers should be included in the onboarding process, and actively engaged in enabling the new employee’s success.
About RJ Winston Consulting: Reginald Winston, CEO and founder of RJ Winston Consulting, Inc. has 25+ years’ experience in Organizational Development with a focus on Executive Coaching & Training, Team Building, Group Facilitation, Conflict Management, and Professional Life Coaching. Before consulting, Mr. Winston held positions in numerous large organizations including Ameritech, SBC, Motorola, Advocate Health Care, Corning Consumer Products and the Federal Reserve. In addition, Mr. Winston’s service in the US Marine Corps and assignments with the United States Department of State gives him a unique insight in the challenges management teams & leaders face in the expanding global world market.
Mr. Winston has extensive experience in working with Hospital Administrators and Senior Medical staff (doctors, nurses and executive-level hospital administrators) in a wide variety of hospital settings and departments. His experience also extends to the public & private sector, as well as industrial, manufacturing and corporate environments where he has provided coaching services to C-Level Executives, Mid-Level Directors & Managers and teams. Mr. Winston holds a Master of Science Degree in Organization Development (MSOD) from Loyola University, in Chicago, Illinois.
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