Effective Onboarding: Building Confidence and Commitment in the First 90 Days FEATURED FACULTY: Michel A. Buffet, PhD, Founding Owner, ETM Consulting Group (609) 688-0111 mbuffet@etmcg.com
Speaker Bios Michel A. Buffet, PhD Michel advises business leaders on how to identify, develop, and engage executive talent to create and sustain competitive advantage for their organizations. He has more than ten years of consulting experience in the areas of human capital strategy, executive assessment and coaching, onboarding and talent management metrics. Over the years he has worked with over fifty different companies, many of which are Global Fortune 1000 companies. His consulting approach includes establishing trusting and collaborative relationships with his clients, gaining a deep understanding of their opportunities and challenges, and showing a bias for practical solutions and demonstrable results. Following are samples of his most recent engagements: Partnered with the Chief Talent Officer of a Fortune 50 consumer products company in designing and conducting a full review of their global executive talent management processes and programs. Went on to lead the in-depth assessment of two global talent development and recruitment programs and created a Program Dashboard to monitor the impact of the two programs. Supported the CEO of a large Midwestern Healthcare company in the assessment and development of his senior leadership team. Provided fast-cycle coaching to a select number of team members. Worked with the VP of HR and senior management of a global $20B company to define their new leadership competency model and design a new 360-degree assessment process for high-potentials. Designed and conducted dozens of organizational and leadership assessments, including 360-degree feedback, executive team assessments and coaching, personality assessments (e.g., MBTI, Hogan, etc.) Michel Buffet recently founded ETM Consulting Group, a consulting firm that works with senior leaders and Human Resources executives on strategic talent management solutions. Before founding ETM Consulting Group, Michel was a Partner at Oliver Wyman and for over 10 years, worked in the areas of organizational design, team and board effectiveness, executive talent management, and organizational assessment. Prior to this, Michel conducted cross-cultural training and development at the Training Management Corporation and at the Prudential Intercultural Services. He also worked on various applied measurement projects at Citibank Bankcards and for the Department of Personnel of New York City. Michel holds a PhD in Organizational Psychology from Columbia University and a DESS in Social-Clinical Psychology from the University of Paris. He was a contributor to Relationships That Enable Enterprise Change: Leveraging the Client-Consultant Connection (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer, 2002). His most recent article on executive onboarding appeared in the October 2007 issue of Talent Management. He has presented his work at several business forums on organizational transformation and leadership. He is a member of the Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, the Metropolitan New York Association of Applied Psychology, the American Psychological Society, and the French-American Chamber of Commerce of New York. He is bilingual in French and English and fluent in Spanish. He lives in Princeton, NJ.
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1. Making the business case and get senior management on board with onboarding 2. Upgrading onboarding processes to maximize retention and overall productivity. 3. Learning about a step by step approach to create your onboarding strategy and program 4. Making onboarding relevant, exciting and interactive 5. Accelerating engagement and readiness to perform through personalized onboarding 6. Using technology to streamline and accelerate orientation 7. Measuring the business success or failure of your onboarding program ETM Consulting Group, LLC 2 1
Why Onboarding Matters ETM Consulting Group, LLC 3 To understand retention and its strategic relevance to onboarding, here are a few facts from a recent survey: 86% of new hires make their decisions about whether or not to stay at their company within the first 6 months on the job tenure 37% of all HR and line of business professionals believe it takes 6 months for a new employee to make a firm decision to stay at their company New employee retention has replaced productivity as the primary driver for onboarding between 2006 and 2008 Source: Aberdeen Group Source: Aberdeen Group 4 2
Failure Rates* Almost one in three senior level executives (30%) who come from other organizations are judged as under performing after two years on the job One in five executives (21%) who make internal transfers do not succeed by the two year mark. Reasons for Failure Interpersonal leadership skills (68%) Personal skills, including the need for better self management and focus (45%). Technical or business skill (15%). *According to a year long study conducted by Alexcel Corporation and the Institute of Executive Development, 2008 5 Onboarding is the process by which an individual (new hire or internal transfer) is integrated and oriented in their new job and/or organization. There are several onboarding approaches: Individual Approach The onboarding individual is responsible for ensuring that his/her integration into the new company is a success by learning as much as he/she can, building the relationships needed, and ultimately performing to meet the expectations of his/her new organization. Learning Relationships Performance Integrated Approach Role Relationship Culture Critical Stakeholders Organizational Support Delivery on Expectations Information Resources Organization Approach The organization delivers learning opportunities, resources, tools, etc., to ensure the onboarding individual is properly integrated and to impact his or her performance. The holistic approach involves a combination of the above, with clear measures on four areas: role, relationship, culture, and critical stakeholder involvement. 6 3
Ultimate Goal Descriptions Integration Accelerating the onboarding individual s readiness to perform and have impact Alignment Networking and relationship-building with key stakeholders Orientation Providing foundational organizational learning Foundation Entry Coordination of all transactional entry processes: forms processing, space set up, technology, etc. 7 70 percent of all organizations are pursuing on boarding to impact new employee retention. This level of focus comes in responses to the ubiquitous global war for talent in which an increasingly global playing field competes for a shrinking and younger pool of skilled talent. However, new employee productivity is still as critical as ever. It ranked as the second most popular factor driving on boarding in 2007. Ranking third was the company's brand or reputation in recruiting top talent, which aids talent acquisition andretention. Most organizations face the same pressures to pursue on boarding, but the manner in which these organizations address these pressures differs and provides the basis for their ability to achieve success. Source: Aberdeen Group ETM Consulting Group, LLC 8 4
Features of Onboarding Elements of onboarding What Most Companies Do Conduct some type of orientation and have formal processes to manage forms and tasks What Best-in-Class Companies Do Include socialization into the standard onboarding process. Assign a mentor or a coach to new employees. Gather feedback to verify new employees had a positive experience and continuously fine-tune their programs. Targets of Onboarding Programs Have onboarding programs for regular, full-time employees. A lesser percentage of organizations propose differentiated onboarding programs for senior executives Provide a more customized onboarding experience to senior leaders with stronger emphasis on relationship building with key stakeholders Extend onboarding support to internal job transfers. Timing of Onboarding Start the onboarding process on or after the first day on the job Conduct onboarding events over 30 to 90 days. Research shows that less than half of companies extend their on-boarding program/process beyond a month Start the process upon acceptance of an employment offer and before the first day on the job Extend onboarding period beyond one month most often to 90 days for most employees and 180 days for senior level executives ETM Consulting Group, LLC 9 Overall Recommendations Shift organizational mindset around onboarding from nice to have to need to have Make on boarding a part of every job fulfillment process for new employee to internal transfers Emphasize the socialization dimension of onboarding. Assign all new or transitioning employees a mentor or coach for the first six months For organizations with minimal to no onboarding process: Identify key business issues that the onboarding process should address Evaluate the onboarding program to ensure it addresses key business issues For organizations with some onboarding processes: Look for ways to provide new employees with appropriate development plans and track and report progress againstsuch such plans. Maintain consistent forms and tasks records. For organization with well established onboarding processes: Expand onboarding to all stakeholders and extend their programs to at least six months. Track new hire performance and respond proactively to their needs. ETM Consulting Group, LLC 10 5
Setting clear onboarding objectives Determine what is in scope and what is not Strive for objective and measureable goals Obtain the right level of sponsorship and engagement Draw a map of key stakeholders for onboarding Define creative ways to engage stakeholders in the onboarding process Develop onboarding roadmap Plan ahead the different elements of the onboarding experience Look for ways to synch onboarding activities with other organizational events Manage the mechanics of onboarding Establish clear responsibilities in implementing the onboarding process Put in place monitoring mechanisms to make quick course corrections in the process Measure impact of onboarding Gather quantitative and qualitative data to measure the impact of onboarding, both at the individual and organizational level Feedback assessment results to relevant organizational stakeholders 11 Onboarding is a shared responsibility its success is dependent on the three critical stakeholders: Human Resources, the onboarding individual, and his/her manager. Onboarding Individual Manager Senior Leader Human Resources 12 6
Critical stakeholders have discreet roles and accountabilities in ensuring the success of the onboarding process: Human Resources Play a prominent role in the Manager process starting at the recruiting phase Provide a roadmap to help Secure support from upper ensure that the foundation management in workforce for success is built development initiatives Show equal support to both Act as a partner to align external and internal hires senior leader and onboarding individual in the Provide the onboarding transition process individual with clear Onboarding Individual Provide a multipronged expectations of his/ support mechanism: her role Understand the charge and role Help set realistic milestones for Mentoring program to Listen and listen some more gaining content knowledge help build a strong Work with senior leader to network Stay engaged and provide timely determine what performance feedback Buddy for answering measures will be used basic questions in an Assist new hire with integration Understand who the key formal informal way into a peer group decision makers are as well as External Executive Coach the informal ones Invest in coaching and to address sensitive and mentoring as appropriate Seek multiple points of view confidential issues Remain adaptable and patient 13 Each of the critical stakeholders can prevent the success of the onboarding process: Human Resources Manager Neglects to compile information during the Doesn t provide enough recruitment process to corrective feedback early identify developmental on for onboarding needs and form a individual development plan Doesn t clearly state his/her expectations of the onboarding individual and their role early on Expects the onboarding individual to handle his/her own onboarding Onboarding Individual Doesn t respect the culture Tries to do too much too fast Receives poor orientation Is hired for unclear objectives Believes employment is a mandate for change Fails to establish networks within the new company Fails to think strategically about the onboarding experience Is overconfident in skills and experience Doesn t provide enough corrective feedback early on for onboarding individual Expects the onboarding individual to handle his/her own onboarding Overlooks the alignment of expectations Fails to help the onboarding individual establish key connections and build strong relationships 14 7
Onboarding program roadmap with aclear timeline of actions and deliverables linked to the goals the onboarding individual is expected to meet in the short and long term Relationship/network building plan, which lists the individuals and groups with whom the onboarding individual is expected to connect and build relationships A list of specific milestones for content knowledge. These include knowledge transfer from the organization to the individual as well as from the individual to the organization (e.g., market intelligence gathering). A list of individual and organization level onboarding metrics that can be linked to key performance measures (e.g., increased net operating income, reduced team member turnover, customer satisfaction, employee engagement, etc.) Onboarding feedback process and development planning process (e.g., one onones, 360º review midway through year, etc.) 15 When it comes to onboarding, best in class organizations leave little to chance in the sequence and timing of onboarding activities. This is particularly the case when the new hire in question is seen as a high value asset for the organization, likely to fill a missioncritical role and for which the organization has invested a significant amount of its resources to attract and hire. Sample Onboarding Roadmap Before employment 30 days 60 days 60-180 days Context setting and contracting Data gathering and diagnosis Defining the orientation development charter Ongoing individual coaching Taking stock and exiting the process Define expectations Review prior and accountabilities of performance the new individual Define/develop coaching support, communication, and data gathering approach for the next phase Review and confirm the rationale and phases of the entire orientation support process assessments and administer additional assessments to fill in gaps where required Help new employee identify important strategic, business, and organizational issues and challenges that need to be addressed Evaluate key individual strengths and vulnerabilities within the current context Outline a social network map and a transition dashboard Set a development plan and coaching approach to cover a 4-6-month timeframe Meet with manager and HR representative to review insights and roles Hold regular coaching Assess individual s meetings focused on contributions and elements of charter influence on the and key milestones organization Convene timely status Obtain feedback on key meetings with orientation and manager and HR performance measures to representative to review with individual and ensure continued note progress and gaps effective feedback and support Close out the coaching or define additional coaching to sustain individual growth and development 16 8
Leveraging New Technologies to Keep New Employees Engaged ETM Consulting Group, LLC 17 Best in class companies aggressively use talent management technology tools to aid in new hire retention and productivity. More than two thirds thi of best in class organizations have fully or partially automated t dtheir onboarding processes. Examples of automation in on boarding processes include: Automatic messaging to HR or facility personnel to ready the workstation once candidate status is changed to employee. Smart e mails to new employees alert them to begin enrolling in their benefits programs. Messages about training requirements and class availability. Automatic instructions to arrange meetings with hiring managers upon start of employment. In addition to the use of automation in specific processes, best in class also lead in the use of performance management tools and assessment tools for skills, knowledge, attributes and/or behaviors. Best in class companies realize, in order to increase retention and shorten time to productivity for new hires, they need to monitor performance early in the process and help newly acquired talent set career development plans. The growth in technology adoption among the best in class is focused on improving accuracy, timeliness and awareness of new hire or internal job transfer data, as well as the proactive pursuit and management of career development. Source: Aberdeen Group ETM Consulting Group, LLC 18 9
SilkRoad s onboarding and life events solution, RedCarpet, helps bothemployees and HR professionals effectively manage changefor all critical employee transitions by providing: Customized portals for socialization and efficient delivery of all relevant information Task management functionality to clarify the onboarding process and track where all employees are in the process Electronic forms capability to eliminate errors and speed time to completion Reduced administrative burden of paperwork and managing tasks Consistency and accountability of processes ETM Consulting Group, LLC 19 SelectMinds offers relational onboarding to help newcomers establish a broadnetwork of relationships immediately, forming bondswith their class entering the enterprise, as well as with key contacts throughout the organization. With NewHireConnect, the new hire network, newcomers quickly locate centers of knowledge and key constituents, and feel welcomed by the organization. NewHireConnect also integrates easily with existing administrative onboardingsolutions to create a seamless onboardingexperience for your new hires ETM Consulting Group, LLC 20 10
Several organizations now offer New Hire Orientation Packages in Second Life, that includes any / all of the following components: Virtual corporate office environments Teamwork Simulation for facilitating interaction between new hires and current employees, as well as testing how well new hire fits into a particular group Robotic Instructors who can log in Second Life on demand, provide a guided tour or a lesson for the new hire, and log out when the session is completed. During the session robotic instructors can ask trainee to repeat specific steps and provide trainee with a feedback. Communication simulations where new hires are often paired with a mentor who can provide guidance, resources and answer questions during the introductory period. Simulations for working under pressure to asses how new employees can handle job stress and how much their performance degrades under pressure. ETM Consulting Group, LLC 21 New hires at IBM are encouraged to create an avatar for themselves a graphic depiction of how they would like to appear and to attend virtual meetings with other new recruits and IBM managers. IBM s onboarding project is being run as part of its Virtual Business Center, launched in 2007 in collaboration with NMC Virtual Worlds. NMC (New Media Consortium) itself is an international not for profit consortium of 250 colleges, universities, museums, research centers and companies. Since it was launched in 2007, Second Life onboarding has now started to be extended to international new hires. The company is also using it to measure its own effectiveness in people management. Using a virtual world application, for example, it s collecting information from employees who were recruited in 2007 and have since left, trying to find out what their reasons were for quitting. So far, metrics gathered by IBM indicate a number of interesting results Lecture based instruction of complex subjects results in a retention rate of between 5% and 10%, while discussion based activities improve the retention rate to between 40% and 50%. Simulation using avatars in a virtual world improves the information retention rate to between 70% and 90%, increases time to productivity by 25%, and reduces time required by product specialists to travel and train new hires by up to 20%. ETM Consulting Group, LLC 22 11
Assessing the Business and Organizational Impact of Onboarding ETM Consulting Group, LLC 23 Executive s Scorecard Learning Relationship-Building Performing Performance Scorecard Leadership Organization Operations Business Understand the Organization Communicate and Network Set Clear Expectations Identify Key Stakeholders Build the Organization and Team Monitor Performance Strategic Focus Presence & Credibility Cross- Functional Effectiveness Market Share Relationship Broker Customer Focus Innovation Market Differentiation Corporate Scorecard Manager Human Resources Execution Focus Rigorous Execution Operational Excellence Thought Leadership Communicate Communicate Engagement Leadership Capability Growth Orientation Business Growth Support Support 24 12
Low 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 High Overall Understanding Understanding of the strategy and the business Understanding of the organization structure and Understanding of the values and norms in the Overall Building Relationship Knowledge of key external stakeholders Knowledge of key Internal stakeholders Breadth of network inside the organization Degree of trust achieved Overall Performing Clarity of vision Adequacy of strategic plan Effectiveness to execute Effectiveness to engage others Overall quality of Integration Self Leader Busines Partners 25 Analytical tools like Social Network Analysis and Personal Network Analysis bear great potential in helping assess the onboarding success of new hires. Before employment 30 days 60 days 60-180 days Social Network prior to Onboarding Social Network 9 months into the new executive s tenure Onboarding Process New HIre New Hire 26 13
Successes Challenges Clarify roles, responsibilities, i and process early and often Create positive open climate Onboarding and transition tools very successful at operational level Use technology to accelerate new executive integration Early warning and support system for new employees Benefit integration of both external and internal hires Lessons Learned Keep tools simple and practical Systematic holistic approach Alignment with HR strategy and integration with other processes Good tools but also disciplined implementation Need for shared commitment and responsibility Short term definition of onboarding Often affected by budget cuts and short-term pressure to produce in new role IT and systems constraints Process inconsistency Deployment of onboarding across geographies 27 Strive for greater automation or outsourcing to low cost vendors of non value adding components of onboarding Continue to equip stakeholders with customized tools and provide continuous feedback Integrate onboarding with other aspects of talent management (e.g., Succession Planning) Use metrics and dashboards to evaluate the impact and ROI of onboarding programs Focus and customization for target talent pools (diversity, functional experience and expertise, etc. ) Leverage social networking and web 2.0 applications 28 14
29 3 Tall Timbers Drive Princeton, NJ 08540 Main: +1 609 688 0111 mbuffet@etmcg.com www.etmcg.com 30 15