New Employees Onboarding Advice – The Demise of the Least Common Denominator
This series of short essays called The New Kid on the Block is a retrospective of the progress (or lack of it) of the demographics of the corporate world since about 1960. That period, encompassing little more than a single career, has seen more social change than any comparable period since the Industrial Revolution. Those changes grow from roots that go back to times when to be black or to be a woman, or Jewish, to be anything but heterosexual, or to deviate from any but the most widely accepted social norms was to be excluded.
It used to be said that you couldn’t legislate morality. Practical reformers accepted that axiom but did not let it deter them; they simply responded that you could legislate behavior. You could still hate your traditional enemy but, if you threw rocks at him or her, you would be subject to the new law against such behavior. In large corporations new HR policies began to reflect the law, and to craft ways to regularize in a fair manner, recruiting and hiring. Suddenly there were a lot of new kids on the block.
Within the limits of a short post it is impossible to describe the new fervor with which these changes were advocated or resisted. And, considering the size of the playing field – all of corporate America, it is easy to forget that, as influential as these new changes would be, they were hardly noticed by the general public that had assassinations, marches, riots, psychedelic drugs, the war in Viet Nam, hippies in the parks, Masters and Johnson in our bedrooms, J. Edgar Hoover, Fidel Castro, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. It was not a time of attention deficit but of attention overload.
So let’s just focus on one small but significant aspect of the times as it relates to women’s roles in large business. First, who were these women who wanted to play what were traditionally male roles? Two things motivate outsiders – denial of entry and self-confidence. Yes, yes, I know, I am speaking in unsupportable generalities. Nonetheless, girls of that time grew up with brothers, many of whom would acknowledge that their sister was smarter than they were all through school and who was then expected to forget all she had learned. She was to accept her given role, subservient to her brothers and her husband, forget further education, be a good wife and mother.
Very often the subversive agent in this domestic drama was the girl’s father. No matter how he played his role he was encouraging transgression. If he reinforced traditional social restrictions his actions stimulated rebellion and increased interest. If he encouraged ignoring or overcoming tradition, he shone a light on what was possible and set a challenge for ambition.
These father-daughter interactions were taking place in the roiling ferment of waves of social change; they were as likely to be destructive as to be inspiring. They say that those who make the revolution, who fight in it, are not the ones who get to manage the aftermath. Take a walk in the halls of corporate America and tell that to the women running things today. Very often they are the women who fought and who were first across the barricades. Certainly they are the new daughters of the revolution.
Onboarding Advice – Tips for Success
- ONBOARDING ADVICE 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 ADVICE 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 ADVICE 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 ADVICE 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 ADVICE 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 ADVICE 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 ADVICE 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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