Many of our client conversations start by clients asking us for best practice activities to do with new hires in the first weeks or months of employment.  These are fair questions, but they also imply that the organization may be taking a very narrow approach to onboarding (e.g., focusing all available time and resources on only the new hires themselves).

We know that to be effective, you need to take a more systemic approach to onboarding – one that takes into account training and programming for all of the stakeholders and “actors” involved in the onboarding experience. Examples of these other stakeholders and actors involved in the experience include mentors, functional and business unit leaders, hiring managers, benefit administrators, IT, etc.

Programming for these various stakeholders should intend to support and enhance the overall onboarding experience for your new hires.   For example, you may want to consider hosting workshops for the mentors assigned to your new hires.   These mentor workshops should occur several times throughout the new hire class’ first year:  first to get the mentors excited about their role and later to introduce content, tools and frameworks for mentor conversations that you will want to architect to help achieve the specific objectives of your onboarding program.

Of course, you can also use these workshops as structured time for mentors to collaborate on objectives, share experiences regarding challenges and best practices, and for you to collect feedback pertaining to the new hire experience.  The aggregation of best practices and feedback during these sessions can also play a key role in informing continuous improvement efforts as part of your program’s management architecture.  Furthermore, this example of programming for mentors can and should be extrapolated to the other relevant stakeholders involved in the new hire onboarding experience.

Our key takeaway:  your program design needs to have proper support structures in place for all of the critical actors that are part of the onboarding experience. Without these support structures in place, you will not only find your actors ill-equipped to deliver a first-rate onboarding experience to your new hires, but these stakeholders will also be far less engaged and supportive of your overall program.

In a new book titled Flourish, Dr. Martin Seligman (University of Pennsylvania, Department of Psychology) outlines a set of thoughts associated with the Positive psychology movement and speaks to a model of well-being termed PERMA: positive emotion, engagement (the feeling of being lost in a task), relationships, meaning, and accomplishment.

To us, this sounds like a model that can serve as an effective frame for new hire onboarding.  Check out this recent article in the New York Times (http://nyti.ms/ljUVxe) describing Seligman’s latest work and let us know what you think.

Figure 1.1 Potential of Recruiting and Onboarding to Satisfy Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Legend:  Light Green = Recruiting’s Impact;  Dark Green = Onboarding’s Impact

Please join us for another interactive one hour session to learn how to establish and sustain an effective new hire onboarding program by which your organization can:

1. Drive increased performance from your new hires
2. Establish yourself as an “Employer of Choice”
3. Reduce attrition levels, and improve attrition mix (i.e., keep more of the ones that you deserve to keep)
4. Reduce time to productivity, and increase level of productivity for all of your new hire investments

You will come away from this webinar with an overall framework for driving onboarding excellence and helping make the most of your new hires with particular emphasis on readiness, productivity, and transparency, as well as guidance on how to build the business case internally for this powerful initiative.

We hope you can attend the free session and that you will invite others.

Click here to register

We look forward to your participation!

Mark Stein and Lilith Christiansen

Mark Stein
Co-Principal, Organization Development Practice
mstein@kaiserassociates.com

Lilith Christiansen
Co-Principal, Organization Development Practice
lchristiansen@kaiserassociates.com

We recommend that onboarding programs deliver information and resources to new hires over time, with the content distributed over the full course of year one but ideally with the greater majority of the content delivery and associated discussion occurring 3-4 months after entry, when the new hires have the context to absorb and truly understand the content.   The additional benefit of reserving rich content for closer to the end of the first year is that it provides you with a wonderful opportunity to re-engage your new hires and regain their energy and commitment during these exchanges.

Provocative business author Dan Pink (DRiVE, his most recent book) shares a similar sentiment.   He says in a recent article for The Telegraph: “It’s often difficult to do something well if we don’t know the reasons we’re doing it to begin with.  People at work are thirsting for context.”   Dan also calls for greater disclosure of the “why” piece when you provide direction to employees – an association that is central to our Strategy Immersion and Direction pillar.

Context allows new hires to properly interpret and ultimately act in concert with the strategy associated with the content they are receiving as part of the onboarding experience.   The focus on context before content is less about time to productivity and more about driving level of productivity. The context is the missing ingredient that allows the content to have far greater impact.

You can see the differences in impact on employee value contribution of varying content delivery approaches in the graphic below.    The column on the far left illustrates the less effective, “fire hose” early content delivery approach employed by many organizations today.   Meanwhile, the column on the right reveals the value of deferred content delivery.

We agree with Pink’s comments about context, particularly when it comes to new hire onboarding.   As such, we recommend giving hiring supervisors (as well as peers) at all levels, the tools and support to help new hires understand the value and importance of their role and how their role fits into the strategy and direction of the broader organization.

To read more on Dan Pink’s recent thoughts, click here.

Human Resources Executive Online (HREO) profiled IBM’s refreshed, 24-month new hire onboarding program, Succeeding@IBM, in a recent article: http://www.hreonline.com/HRE/story.jsp?storyId=533098421&sub=false.    The HREO article shares some of the highlights of IBM’s updated onboarding program, which incorporates many of the recommended practices and program elements discussed in our book, Successful Onboarding (McGraw Hill, July 2010).

Content with Context

First of all, we commend IBM for recognizing that the company’s legacy program “Your IBM”, a 30-day orientation experience, delivered too much content too soon (e.g., content delivery when new hires did not have sufficient context to fully appreciate and absorb the material, as illustrated in the far left column of the graphic below).

Understanding the value of delivering content to new hires once they have ample context, IBM re-designed its onboarding program to span 24 months, embracing a deferred content delivery model (see far right column of the graphic above).   While not all companies have the resources or business model needed to support a 24-month onboarding program, we fully agree with IBM’s decision to lengthen the onboarding experience so that it extends throughout a new hire’s first year.

Improved Employer-Employee Compact

By lengthening its onboarding program, IBM also improved the employer-employee compact.   As described in Successful Onboarding and on our Onboarding Margin website, the employer-employee compact is the relationship that you, as the employer, maintain with your new hires.   An improved employer-employee compact is what ultimately drives greater personal and enterprise performance.  Dave Ulrich, a professor at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business quoted in HREO’s article, agrees that the enhancements made to IBM’s onboarding program demonstrate the company’s commitment to its employees:  “The fact that they [IBM] spend two years on this, and offer all these great technology tools in the effort to orient their employees, says that they are committed to employee longevity and commitment.”

The Four Pillars

IBM’s new onboarding program brings to life many of the core concepts discussed in detail in Successful Onboarding, including representative program elements for each of the four pillars within the Kaiser Associates Onboarding Margin Activity Matrix (http://onboardingmargin.com/resources/).

In terms of Cultural Mastery, Succeeding@IBM incorporates learning simulation activities for new hires “intended to reinforce IBM’s philosophy regarding diversity; specifically, that [IBM] creates an innovative, globally integrated enterprise while encouraging diversity of thought.”   In addition to including activities that convey the diversity of thought aspect of the IBM culture, the refreshed onboarding program introduces new hires to the company’s networking and collaboration tools.   Given that technology is an integral part of the company culture (“technology at IBM is like breathing,” according to Michael Cannon, IBM’s manager of new employee experience), onboarding activities that reinforce IBM’s technology-focused culture help new hires to navigate the organization more easily.

Regarding the Interpersonal Network Development pillar, IBM’s onboarding program introduces and provides new hires with total access to the IBM global employee network via internal social-networking applications.    According to the HREO article, the technology enables new employees to “collaborate with each other and with experienced IBMers to build support networks and find career and technical guidance and expertise”.   Succeeding@IBM also offers a virtual cohort opportunity to new hires that provides them with a structured way to build a network of friends within the organization beyond a classroom setting.    Since IBM is an organization where a significant number of employees work remotely, we think that an onboarding program activity like this that sets a precedent with new hires  for establishing interpersonal relationships in virtual settings is a great idea.

Meanwhile, we believe that IBM deserves credit for recognizing that its legacy orientation program lacked career development elements that we bucket under the Early Career Support power pillar within the Kaiser Associates Onboarding Margin Activity Matrix.   In the “Grow My Career” module of the IBM onboarding program, new hires receive a dynamic roadmap that illustrates the different learning and career paths available to them from the moment they join the organization.    New hires at IBM are also encouraged to take advantage of their access to the company’s employee network to seek career development advice and mentoring.

For Strategy Immersion & Direction, the fourth pillar of Kaiser’s Onboarding Margin Activity Matrix, IBM offers work-based learning simulation activities designed to help new hires understand how their workgroup supports IBM’s business strategies at both the business-unit and enterprise-wide levels.    While this type of activity is a starting point for providing new hires with strategy immersion and direction, we would recommend that IBM incorporate additional strategy immersion program elements and best practices into the new hire onboarding experience.

Customization

We do give kudos to IBM for customizing its onboarding program to address the needs of different segments of its new hire population, including campus hires, experienced hires, hires with technical backgrounds vs. business consultants, etc.    The HREO article mention an alternative onboarding track created by IBM for its executive and senior management hires, indicating that IBM recognizes the distinct development needs of that particular segment of new employees.

Business Case for Onboarding

One additional point raised in the HREO article that attracted our attention included an anecdote about how IBM once claimed that each new hire was a “$9-million investment because – over the lifetime of the employee’s tenure – that was what the firm would spend on him or her, including salary, benefits, development facilities and other support services”.   While this particular employee investment estimate is no longer used at IBM, the sentiment persists that new employees are a significant long-term investment for the organization.   Furthermore, it is clear that IBM understands that an effective onboarding program is critical for increasing new hire productivity and improving the organization’s employer-employee compact.

We wholeheartedly agree with the notion that an effective onboarding program can help you increase new hire productivity as well as unlock hidden value from your talent base.   As such, we endorse many of the structural and programming changes that IBM has made to its new hire onboarding experience and hope that you found our review of these practices helpful as you consider enhancements to your organization’s onboarding program.

A Wall Street Journal article from September 2010, titled the “Ranks of Women on Wall Street Thin”, highlighted the fact that in the past 10 years, 141,000 women (2.6% of female workers in finance) left the finance industry, while the ranks of men increased by 9.6% during that period.    This trend runs counter to changes in the overall workforce, where the number of women in the U.S. labor market has increased by 4.1% relative to a 0.5% increase in male workers.

One way to combat the issue of declining representation of diverse employee populations within particular industries or organizations – or said differently, to increase attraction and retention of diverse employees –is to systemically integrate Diversity & Inclusion efforts with other talent management processes, including new hire onboarding.

From our experience working with clients facing these types of challenges, we have seen the value that organizations can derive from new hire onboarding initiatives that consider and address the needs of diverse employee populations.    Benefits include improved new hire productivity and reduced attrition among the targeted employee populations, as well as reinforcement of the organization’s commitment to Diversity & Inclusion.

Taking a systemic approach to Diversity & Inclusion and integrating efforts with the company’s new hire onboarding program can be as straightforward as matching diverse new hires with peer mentors from the same gender and/or ethnic background who can share tips on ways to be successful within the organization.   Another example activity is to host a diverse employee panel event where new hires have the opportunity to meet and receive advice from other diverse employees who have successfully transitioned the organization and navigated the company culture.

If you or someone in your organization is interested in reading more about this topic, we will be publishing a new white paper in the coming months that speaks to cross-industry trends and shares a recommended approach for developing and implementing systemic and effective Diversity & Inclusion initiatives.  In the meantime, please feel free to share questions or comments with us at od@kaiserassociates.com.

The popularity of this intern-to-full-time hiring strategy in several industries has stemmed from 2 primary factors.  First, several of the surveyed organization companies report significantly higher employee retention rates among former interns.  Second, the organizations also have observed stronger performance among former interns relative to other entry-level hires.  We are not surprised by either of these findings – for in fact, many intern programs themselves are really onboarding programs in disguise, as they reflect many of the principles advocated by the Onboarding Margin framework.

As you contemplate intern-to-full-time hiring strategies, you should consider at least two things:  First, assuming retention and performance success in your intern program, you should conduct a diagnostic to determine whether lessons learned from your intern program may be carried over to your general onboarding model.  Secondly, with regards to interns who return for full time positions post-graduation, you should evaluate whether they require any distinct onboarding elements relative to your general intake population.

We have found that organizations that do not tailor their onboarding programs (or offer differentiated services) for distinct employee segments are at a material disadvantage.  By customizing elements of your onboarding program to meet the specific needs of your interns and entry-level hires, you greatly increase the organization’s likelihood of achieving key benefits of onboarding, including increased new hire productivity and retention.   In other words, taking the time and effort to customize elements of your onboarding program for intern and entry-level hires can pay dividends.

Our recent article published in Human Resource Executive Online features an extended case study excerpt from Successful Onboarding and describes the merits of John Deere’s executive onboarding program.

Workshop Description

This workshop is led by subject matter thought leaders and business consultants Mark Stein and Lilith Christiansen (authors of Successful Onboarding: A Strategy to Unlock Hidden Value within Your Organization; McGraw-Hill). The workshop is designed to help you improve, design, plan for and implement an Onboarding program for your Government Organization.

Why You Should Attend

Federal executives, managers and staff attending this workshop will gain an understanding into how to establish an effective new hire onboarding program by which your government organization can:

• Drive increased performance from your new hires
• Prepare for increased hiring as a result of the insourcing focus
• Establish itself as the “Agency-of-Choice”
• Help new members of your organization integrate into the workforce and become effective team members
• Transfer knowledge from existing employees to new hires, addressing the projected retirement wave
• Establish the link between recruiting, hiring and onboarding
• Create transparency in the career development path
• Integrate political appointees with career civil service staff and foster effective relationships
• Demonstrate the strategic importance of onboarding to Agency leadership and each employee.

Participants will come away from this workshop with an overall framework for driving onboarding excellence and helping the Federal agencies absorb the projected increase in new hire intake with particular emphasis on readiness, productivity, and transparency.

What You Will Learn

• What is Strategic and World Class Onboarding
• The Business Case and Potential for Effective Onboarding
• The “New” New Hire Compact
• Essentials of Effective and Strategic Onboarding
• Essentials of determining Onboarding Objectives and Conducting a Proper Diagnostic
• Customizing a solution for your Workforce, Your Resources, Your Priorities
• A Framework for Success – 4 Pillar Framework and deep dive on each
• Implementation Requirements and Strategy
• Best Practices
• Pitfalls to Avoid
• Performance Management Framework
• Governance & Administration

Who Should Attend

Executives, managers, staff and leaders involved in organization new hire recruiting, new hire onboarding, personnel management, organization development, organization performance management, and program management.

• Chief Human Capital Officers (CHCOs) ; and office representatives
• HR Managers
• HR Staff
• Program Managers
• Training and Development Leaders and Managers
• Leaders and Managers involved in Organization Performance Improvement
• All Leaders interested in improving their organizations HR Program

Format

• Presentations by experts

• Panel discussions led by experienced government and industry experts in onboarding and federal hiring
• A hands-on workshop where attendees will learn how to create a successful onboarding program in their organization

Takeaways

• Workbook and Copy of McGraw-Hill Successful Onboarding: A Strategy to Unlock Hidden Value within Your Organization book
• Workshop Notebook with Presentation and Reference Materials

Agenda

New Hire Onboarding in the Federal Government Workshop:
Leverage the Onboarding Margin Framework and Learn from the Leading Onboarding Programs Worldwide

7:00 AM	Registration and Continental Breakfast
8:00	Welcome Art Chantker, President, Potomac Forum
8:15	Keynote:  Federal Workforce Requirements and an Inside View on the Need for Effective Onboarding
9:00	What is Strategic & World Class Onboarding? Defining onboarding, its core elements, common objectives, and the business case for it
10:00	Refreshment Break
10:15	How to Conduct an Onboarding Redesign Effort Five steps of a successful redesign effort, some common pitfalls, and a deep-dive on the diagnostic process
11:00	Breakout: Onboarding Diagnostic Review Participants break into small groups to complete exercise on the Diagnostic Process
11:30	Interpersonal Network Development – Creating Connections that Count Understanding the four crucial networks, stakeholder maps, and other best practices
12:00 PM	Hosted Luncheon at the Willard
1:00	Cultural Mastery – Teaching Culture so that New Hires Get It Culture and Performance Value Framework, communicating culture, and other best practices
1:30	Breakout Session: Cultural Audit Participants will complete an exercise to characterize culture at their agencies and other discussion
2:00	Early Career Support – Setting New Hires up for Success Structural requirements, career development tools, and other best practices
2:30	Refreshment Break
2:45	Strategy Immersion & Direction – Getting New Hires Immersed in the Agency Mission Why teaching strategy is important, what to include, and other best practices
3:15	Performance Management & Governance Performance management philosophy, recommended measures, and performance dashboards Establishing effective governance structures for program development and ongoing administration Challenges in the Federal Government and How to Overcome Them
4:00	Change Management Keys to success in thinking about change management, the business case, and communications model
4:30	Panel Discussion A mix of public and private sector (government contractors) panelist share their insights and experiences with designing and operating effective onboarding programs
5:00	Workshop Adjourns

Your Instructors

Mark A. Stein
Managing Director and SVP Kaiser Associates, Inc.
Co-lead of Kaiser Associates’ Organization Development Practice
Author, Successful Onboarding: A Strategy to Unlock Hidden Value Within Your Organization

Mark Stein entered the management consulting business, when he first joined Kaiser Associates in 1995. He has led hundreds of performance improvement engagements for leading US-based enterprises over the years. He has consulted to Lockheed Martin, Booz Allen Hamilton, Microsoft, Boston Scientific, Capital One, Commonwealth of Nova Scotia, Assurant, American Express, the International Finance Corporation, Deloitte, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, GE, among others. Mr. Stein was a founder of Kaiser’s Organization development practice. Mr. Stein has been studying onboarding since 2002, has developed and deployed a number of leading frameworks on the topic at leading enterprises, and has helped many large-scale organizations tackle the opportunity represented by the new hire process. Today Mr. Stein is considered a leading thought leader on the topic of onboarding, and is a co-author of McGraw-Hill’s Successful Onboarding: A Strategy to Unlock Hidden Value Within Your Organization, and is a speaker on the topic on the radio and at conference, including last year’s Human Capital Institute’s Government Summit. His client projects (and their underlying design) have won key awards from Bersin and ASTD.

Lilith Christiansen
Vice President, Kaiser Associates
Co-lead of Kaiser Associates’ Organization Development Practice
Author, Successful Onboarding: A Strategy to Unlock Hidden Value Within Your Organization

Lilith Christiansen has 15 years of organization development consulting experience with Kaiser Associates and Booz Allen Hamilton. Mrs. Christiansen has led numerous organizational strategy, process improvement and employee programs redesign projects for clients in both public and private sectors including U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services, U.S. Army Materiel Command, Food & Drug Administration, Federal Aviation Administration, Sprint, Caterpillar, Washington Gas, Lucent Booz Allen Hamilton, and Capital One. Currently, Mrs. Christiansen co-leads Kaiser Associates’ Organization Development Practice and is a thought leader behind their recently published book Successful Onboarding: A Strategy to Unlock Hidden Value Within Your Organization.

Registration

Government Only: $895

Send a Government Team Rate: To Encourage Your Government Team to Learn Together.
Register two persons from the same government office at the same time and the third registers at 50% of the registration fee.

Cancellation Policy

Confirmed registrations who cancel within 3 business days of the program will be subject to a $250 cancellation fee. Registrations cancelled after the program starts are subject to the full registration fee. Substitutions can be made at any time. In the event a particular training workshop is cancelled, the liability of Potomac Forum, Ltd is limited to refund of any prepaid registration fee.

Location

Willard InterContinental Hotel
1401 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W.
Washington D.C. 20004
202-628-9100