Taking a job in 2010? Now is the time to prepare during PreStart

Maybe you are one of the lucky ones who is starting a new job in January?

Congratulations!

Now, it's time to work! The preparation for starting a new role is as important as finding your way to the office on the first day. During the onboarding process, this period between the time you accepted the job and your actual first day, is called "PreStart".

As onboarding consultants, we see this PreStart time becoming more and more important for a smooth transition. This is the time when you are becoming less engaged at your old job and more excited about the new one.

How can you take advantage of this energy and focus? Here are a few tips:

1. Read everything you can about your new organization. This may seem painfully obvious, but you would be surprised how few people actually do it. Use not only the organization's website, but other sources to get a more balanced perspective.

2. Talk to your recruiter or HR partner. Ask what has changed since you last met with someone in the organization. Continue to probe for any information that will help you better understand why they hired you, and what your focus should be.

3. Talk with your hiring manager. It's important to stay connected and start to build your relationship very early. You will begin to learn how she communicates, where her strengths lie, and how you can support her.

4. Identify and meet with key stakeholders. Who are the people that are absolutely essential to your success? Was there an internal candidate who didn't get the job? Are there important board members, clients, or team members who could "make or break" your success? Find them and meet with them, preferably in a casual, conversational setting.

5. Start a plan. What did you hear during the recruiting process? Does the organization want change or stability? What specifically were you hired to do? How can you strategically build relationships to support your goals? You can start to lay out a 90 Day Onboarding Plan with what you already know, but realize that it will need to be adapted as you learn more.

Searching for a job and finally landing one is hard work, but don't think it's over once the offer letter is signed! But your time and effort during the PreStart period will pay off exponentially with a smooth transition.

Follow these 5 simple steps during PreStart, and you will blow them away in your first 90 days!

Hiring in the new year? 4 critical steps for making your team successful

I was talking with a client last week and he mentioned that he was planning to add several new associates to his team in early first quarter. I asked him how he was planning on integrating them to the existing team. He answered that he hadn't really thought about it, but wanted to know what I had in mind.

I told him that adding one person certainly affects the team, but adding three people will significantly impact the team, and without preparation and intentional onboarding, he may not get the results that he hoped for.

This is a pretty common event. Hiring managers get so caught up in the "selling", budgeting, and recruiting of their new staff, that they forget to plan for their smooth onboarding. By the time they get the positions approved, it gets through HR and they then finally get the people hired, they are "done". The new associates and the team are supposed to integrate seamlessley and figure out how to work together on that huge backlog of work that accumulated during the last weeks and months.

Well, that smooth transition doesn't usually happen and the new people may not be able to make the "positive cultural changes" that the hiring manager had in mind. Why? Because a formal onboarding plan was not created and the right communication was not shared with the existing team.

Hiring managers who are thoughtful and prepared for their new hires will be the ones with the most successful teams. It is not an option in most very lean organizations for the team members, even the new ones, to not be able to pull their weight. However, in order to hit the ground running, the organization must set up the new hires for success.

Here are the four critical steps to making your new team successful:

First, have a plan. Clearly identify the roles and responsibilities of each new position, as well as any changes to the existing ones. Restate the team's purpose and how it supports the overall organization.

Secondly, put objectives in writing. This leaves nothing to assumption or interpretation.

Thirdly, communicate both the above to everyone on the team. This includes existing staff and new hires.

Lastly, allow for discussion, questions and input of the team members. They just might have some ideas that you didn't think of--and they are probably right.

Interviewing? Ask for Onboarding

Are you one of the many job-seekers out there interviewing for those precious-few positions? Do you want to stand out from the crowd of candidates vying for the same position?

Try this. Next time you are blessed with an interview, (yes, blessed, even interviews are hard to come by these days) ask about the organization's onboarding program. Is there one and what's it like?

This will not only suggest that you are well-informed on the latest talent management practices, but it will also tell you a lot about your prospective employer.

From this one question you will learn--

-how well do they value their new hires?
-how much do the invest in the development of their people?
-is there culture supportive and open?
-do they plan to contribute resources to your success?

This information can be extremely helpful in making your decision whether or not this organization is a match for your values and objectives. It may also provide you some leverage when discussing an offer on the table. You will have a chance to ask for support and resources that may have been missing.

Onboarding may not be an intergrated part of every organization's talent management but every new hire deserves support from the organization to make a smooth transition and to be set up for success.

It's better to know what's in store for you sooner rather than later.

Back to Basics: Leadership Onboarding Unplugged

I guess it's the rising unemployment rate, the still unsure banking and financial industries and the general "wait and see" mode that everyone seems to be in now. But what we are hearing from our clients is pretty much the same thing--it's "back to basics" as the approach to their talent management strategies.

We thought this would be a great opportunity to again define and position leadership onboarding in the scope of the talent management cycle.

We wrote a white paper, titled, "Back to Basics: Leadership Onboarding Unplugged" to do just that. We also have quoted some recent stats about the "failure rates" of the current talent management practices and how a well-aligned onboarding experience can address these gaps.

To read the white paper, click on "articles" in the navigation bar above.

Let us know what you are doing to get back to basics with your talent management strategy.

Downsizing and Expanding Roles: Use Onboarding to Smooth the Transition

I recently posted a question on Linked In to one of the onboarding groups that I belong and got some interesting responses.

The question was "Is anyone doing onboarding of leaders whose roles have grown/changed during the recent downsizing?"

One of the first responses that I got was "No, we are not, but what a great idea!" The writer went on to say that her organization's leaders had experienced quite a bit of increase in "span of control" due to staff reductions.

Several other contributors mentioned that they too, had experienced this in their organizations. Some of these leaders had been successfully led through thier transitions, while others had struggled due to a few keys barriers.

These barriers were things like--

no role clarity
not building key relationships
not understanding or making assumptions about the culture
doing too much too fast

Other things that trip up these leaders with expanded roles are that their bosses, their peers and their teams often expect them to perform without a learning curve. Research has shown that an internal move can take the same amount of transition time, or more than an external hire. And, according to an Alexcel Group study, 21% of these internally transitioned leaders are still not performing up to expectations after 2 years!

Your current leadership onboarding process can be adapted and used effectively to assist these leaders with expanded roles. Rely on the same resources that you would to help them understand their new roles, their teams, and the organization's expectations, just as you would for an external hire.

The pay-off to the time invested is significant and it will start to take hold in your culture. All your "new" leaders will come to expect this formal support and will give the organization an opportunity to reinforce behaviors and leadership messages deep into the organization.

Onboarding and the Current Job Market

The job market continues to lag behind the other economic indicators, so it’s more important than ever to focus on a successful search and onboarding process.


The National Employment Report published and released last week by ADP, Automated Data Processing, a business services firm, provided an improving, but still declining job market from the month of June to July 2009. They found that the employment decline in this timeframe was the smallest since October of 2008.

Good news? It could be worse, but according to ADP, jobs are a “lagging indicator” of the health of the economy and they expect to see further decline before the labor market actually starts adding jobs.


However, this does not mean that hiring has stopped. Organizations in certain sectors are growing and hiring while others are just trying to keep up with attrition. According to Forbes.com, during their last fiscal years, Wal-mart, the retail giant, hired 100,000 new associates, while Randstad, the international temporary staffing company, hired 59,000, and IBM hired 31,000 new people to fill existing and growth-related positions.

So in this type of climate, how can the job seeker be successful and what role does the organization have in his or her success? Because the selection process is now longer and there are more candidates in the pool, it is more important than ever for these new associates to “hit the ground running” in their new positions. The primary responsibility is on the new hire to manage his or her own transition, but the organization must also step-up to support the onboarding process.

What an Individual Can Do to “Jump-start” the Onboarding Process?

Even though it may seem like it, the “work” is not done once a candidate has accepted the job. Time and attention to the transition is critical because so many people, particularly the ones in the managerial positions tend to have difficulty in the first few months on the job and can derail, costing the individual and the organization time and money.

Here are some key things that all new hires must do to cement success in a new role:
• Create a plan
• Identify key stakeholders; build relationships
• Be clear about the role and what is expected
• Be patient
• Ask questions
• Listen, observe

So again, the work is not over when the job is accepted--it's just beginning.

Next blog--What can organizations do to support onboarding in this climate?

Organizations and Onboarding: The 5 Biggest Mistakes

(Our story continues with Alex still trying to navigate her new organization and role, without much support from her manager or Human Resources. If you missed the first 2 installments, see blog entries below.)

As Alex begins to have more meetings with the key stakeholders in the organizations, it is clear that they were not prepared to talk with her. Most are polite and ask about her “former life” and work, how she likes the organization, her team, etc. Some have a few complaints and issues that have carried over from Alex’s predecessor, and want quick resolution. Others do not have much information to share and are very unclear as to why Alex would have them on her list as a “meet and greet” because they have very little interaction with each other. The meetings are scheduled in the first few weeks, and Alex knows very little about the organization and cannot ask meaningful questions. It is difficult for her to discern which of these stakeholders may be the ones with whom she needs to build strong relationships.

Frustrated, Alex meets with her manager to get some sense of how she is doing and what her priorities should be for the coming weeks and months. Her manager is late for their meeting and distracted by his email and other messages. He tells her that she is doing fine and that everyone “takes awhile to figure things out here”. Alex asks him for some additional clarification on her role and the objectives for her next 3-6 months. He tells her to “keep doing what she’s been doing” and “keep the customers and the employees happy”.
He says that he will be talking with his boss in the next couple of weeks to get a better picture of what the whole function is going to look like and he will get back to her.

He doesn’t, and Alex is gone after only 7 months on the job.

Did Alex fail or did the organization fail her?

What often happens in situations such as our case study is that the organization blames the turnover of the position on a “bad hire” or a “non-fit” to the organization and takes little or no responsibility for the failure of the individual. The assumption is that the full responsibility is on the individual for her transition and that part of a new leader’s job is to “figure it out”. Our experience and work with clients has proven that a more holistic approach which blends the responsibility of the new leader and the organization yields the best results. Both must have clear roles and actively participate in the new leader’s onboarding process for maximum results.

Summary

Organizations that avoid these 5 biggest onboarding mistakes are the ones which will have new leaders who integrate better and experience smoother transitions. Even if other parts of the onboarding process are not executed properly or activities are not timely, if these 5 critical areas are addressed, the new leader will still experience a higher level of success than he/she would have if they had been ignored.

As a result, organizations can still experience some level of onboarding success if they pay attention to a few critical details,the "5 biggest onboarding mistakes" even if they are lacking a complete and consistent process.

Organizations and Onboarding: The 5 Biggest Mistakes (continued)

(When we last left Alex, our new leader, she was excited and a bit anxious to start her new position--if you missed this, read the blog entry below...)

On her first day, Alex reported early to the office to get her space set up and organized. She is greeted at the front desk by the security officer who doesn’t have her “in the system” so she must wait in the lobby for her manager’s assistant to come and escort her to the work area.

Once there, she discovers that the assistant thought that Alex was starting the next week, so her computer, phone and office supplies are not there and have not yet been ordered. Alex also needs a Blackberry and Amex card, so the assistant has to fill out extra forms to get those items in process. Alex asks the assistant when she will be able to meet with her manager to start her onboarding process. The assistant tells her that the manager is out of the country for the next 2 weeks, but she will put her on his calendar the first day that he is back in the office. Alex would be spending the next day and a half in orientation and has a few “meet and greet” meetings set-up.

Alex begins to try to piece together what she believes her onboarding plan is and what the deliverables should be for her first few weeks and months on the job. She does her best to meet with her team members, peers and other stakeholders. She also uses the information that she obtained during the selection process to make decisions and process information, but she makes mistakes without the context and feedback of her manager.

People are starting to wonder why she is making changes in her department and her team, and are forming perceptions about her not really “fitting in” to this culture.

She starts to think that maybe taking this job wasn't such a great idea after all.

(to be continued)

Organizations and Onboarding: The 5 Biggest Mistakes

What are the 5 biggest mistakes that organizations make when they onboard their new hires? And why do they make these mistakes repeatedly?

The interviews went smoothly. Alex felt great about the company, her new role and team, and she wasn’t relocating, so how tough could it be? But after she accepted the offer, her new organization let Alex down, in a big way—actually, 5 big ways.

Organizations start out with the best of intentions. They don’t usually set out to fail. But when it comes to onboarding their new employees, they unfortunately, are making the 5 same mistakes over and over again, and it is costing them time, money, productivity and some really good people.

The following are the worst (and the most common) mistakes that organizations make when onboarding their new hires:
1. No contact between the acceptance and start dates
2. Not providing the basic set-up and resources
3. Lack of a structured onboarding plan with clear expectations
4. Key stakeholder meetings lack preparation and focus
5. Hiring manager does not give feedback nor role clarity

Alex (our case study) received her offer and accepted within a week. However, after she had officially accepted and the recruiter faxed back a signed offered, no one else contacted her. She had several questions, and wanted to contact the recruiter or her new manager but didn’t want to be perceived as “high-maintenance” so she decided to wait. She called her hiring manager, left a voice mail and received a brief email in return that said he was looking forward to her starting and that he would answer all her questions on her first day.

Find out what happens to Alex in our next blog....

Onboarding Feedback: Why Don't New Leaders Get It?

We all say that we want feedback and most of us believe that we are good at giving feedback.

However, a recent informal poll tells us that most leaders want more feedback from their own boss and admit that they have not given specific, constructive feedback to a team member in the past 30 days.

Feedback is especially important during the onboarding period for a new leader.

Key areas the new leader should be getting feedback around are:

-How are they integrating into the culture?
-Are they meeting expectations of their boss and team members?
-Do they listen and gather input before making decisions?
-Do they respect the culture?

What often happens is that new leaders do not get direct feedback. Bosses and HR partners ask them how they are doing and if they need anything; however, they do not gather and share feedback in a meaningful way. At the same time, impressions are being formed and everyone around the new leader has made decisions about his/her effectiveness, whether or not he/she will “make-it” in the organization and role. They are also deciding whether or not they will support this new leader.

Without this feedback, the new leader is truly “hamstrung”. He/she is working in the dark and is moving forward based on his/her own understanding of how things are going.

Providing feedback to new leaders is not difficult if you have the right tool. Once you give key stakeholders a structured and straight-forward way to provide the feedback, they appreciate the opportunity and gladly share their perspectives. By providing feedback to new leaders you give them the opportunity to understand where they truly stand and make any course corrections needed.

Visit the feedback section of our website to learn more about providing early feedback to your transitioning leaders.

www.connectthedotsconsulting.com/feedback.htm

The First 100 Days: Onboarding for all new leaders

As we mark the first 100 days of the Obama administration, we have the opportunity to compare the publicity of this event to that of new leaders in an organization. The origin of marking of the first 100 days goes back to the Eisenhower administration.

Although the recognition of this milestone has been termed a “Hallmark holiday” by those trying to down-play the event, we not only measure early success of a new president, we use the 100-day mark as a measuring stick, of sorts, for all new leaders in our organizations.

So, whether or not a new leader wants this type of attention and pressure or not—--it is there and it is real.

Here are 5 tips for new leaders to use to manage the expectations of the first 100 days and make sure it is a “celebration” and not a “failure”.

1.) Build a foundation of knowledge base about the organization,your business, unit, function and role.

2.) Identify your key stakeholders and build relationships with these individuals.

3.) Gather feedback from your boss and a few key stakeholders regarding how well you are integrating into the organization’s culture—-“What’s the word on the street” about you?

4.) Identify “early wins” and accomplish a couple visible objectives.

5.) Observe and learn the culture—what are the “unwritten rules of the road”.


It’s all about making, implementing a plan, and managing expectations.

Don’t be a victim of the marking of your first 100 days!

Using Onboarding to Close the Deal

A family member of mine has recently completed a long, and rather challenging job search. He was laid off in July from a director-level position at a large, internationally-owned company with whom he had worked for 12 years. The "happy" ending is that he did find a position and is now working.

However, this new position has not started out as well as it could have. Unfortunately, this organization has not used onboarding to close the deal for him. As matter of fact, it hasn't done much onboarding at all.

Because of the current economic climate and job market, employers may think that they can skimp on the investment of time and resources in the selection and onboarding processes. They are in the driver's seat, after all, but this is temporary. The best talent will always be in demand and will still need to be wooed, engaged and retained. The onboarding process is a key way to do this.

My partner and I were at a conference recently and heard an author speak about how customers are at their most loyal right before they become actual customers. It occured to us that that is exactly what happens with new hires. They are energized and engaged during selection, and often become disillusioned after the "honeymoon" period ends. For my family member, the honeymoon ended during the first week!

Organizations that want to keep their competitive edge and attract and retain top talent, even in this economy, would be wise to tune up their onboarding processes.

A warm welcome and a well-delivered onboarding process will not only get the new hires up to speed faster and more productive, but also get them engaged and retained.

Isn't that that how you want to close the deal?

Onboarding Takes Too Long

We recently met with some HR leaders at a large organization (which is still hiring new leaders) and they told us that several of their new hires who were onboarding said that it took too long. There were too many "meet and greet" meetings, introductory receptions and lots of information about the organization to absorb.

These new leaders were anxious to get to their "real jobs" and saw the onboarding process as getting in the way.

So, one of the HR leaders had a bit of a revelation as we talked and said, "But isn't onboarding what they are really supposed to be doing?!" We continued to talk about how new leaders cannot be effective at all at their "real jobs" until they have learned the culture, built the relationships and understand the processes of their new organizations. And then throw in, how do they know where they are hitting or missing the mark? (getting feedback!)

The challenge for HR is to present onboarding to new leaders in such a way that it doesn't feel like "extra" or "instead" of the real work at hand. They need to be able to effectively communicate to the new leaders that the process is essential for their success and really non-negotiable. If presented in a coaching model between 2 business leaders, this should be fairly seamless.

New leaders will not only actively engage in the onboarding, they will be asking for more.

"Re-board" Your People During Tough Times

As organizations are experiencing lay-offs and restructuring, it is important for human resource leaders to pay close attention to their high performers and high potentials. A new trend is to leverage the key components of the existing leadership onboarding process to “re-board” this key population of employees. Re-boarding is defined as connecting with the key employees in an effort to engage and retain them.

Elements of your leadership onboarding process that can be applied to “re-boarding” are:
(a) Providing knowledge regarding the current strategy of the organization, impact of changes on the leader’s role and team
(b) Coaching leaders about who their key stakeholders are in the “new” and how to build and develop relationships with the key stakeholders
(c) Give the high performers and potentials actionable feedback regarding what they need to: start doing, stop doing and keep doing to be successful and move forward

By leveraging these key elements you will increase the engagement level and likelihood of retaining your high performers and high potentials.

Even in a recessed economy, the star performers have a choice as to where they work. Make sure that they choose your organization.

President Obama, Financial Fatcats and Feedback

So far, the president has figured out what the financial institutions' leaders have not. Feedback, whether solicited or unsolicited must be heeded. President has done a fairly good job of using his feedback (called in the political world, mandates, approval ratings and poll responses) and converting it into action that is supported by a vast majority of the country.

The financial fatcats, on the other hand, cry for aid, then hand out bonuses and buy jets. The feedback, or in this case, backlash, from the American people did not dissuade them much from business as usual. In fact, some even suggested that cancelling elaborate recognition events "punished" the hard-working people of their organizations.

What?

I am all for reward and recognition, but only in the context of what is appropriate for the work results and the economic environment--or for any unsubsidized company that is celebrating success and profit.

But back to feedback. The president and these financial leaders' current state is a glaring contrast of how feedback can, and should be, used and the result of what happens when it is ignored.

What can the leaders of your organizations take-away from this current situation?

Hopefully, they will recognize that it's always better to ask for feedback, then wait until it catches up with you. By that time, it may be much more negative than positive and hard to swallow.

Next, when it's given--acknowledge it! Nothing can back-fire more than candid feedback that a leader tries to "defend" or "explain away". Accept it, you don't have to agree with it, but it is extremely important to understand the source and why that feedback was given.

Then, make a plan. Identify the most compelling or most reoccurring feedback that has been given and figure out how to change the behaviors associated with it.

Lastly, communicate and ask others to hold you accountable. This is an important step in the proces because it keeps you honest, and it helps the people who gave you the feedback have "some skin in the game".

Let's hope for our country and its economy that the financial leaders start to "get" this and the president continues his example.

I'm good! (yeah, right) Getting Feedback to New Leaders

Yes, there still are some companies who are bringing on new leaders. Whether they are filling open positions, promoting or transitioning people within a company, new leaders are still in need of help. This help should be in the form of a formal onboarding process.

By now, most organizations "get" that new leaders need access to critical information and also need help identifying with whom they need to forge relationships. BUT--do these new leaders really know how they are being perceived and experienced in the first few weeks and months on the job?

Probably not.

Most HR professionals agree that they need feedback, but they do not gather and provide it during the onboarding period. Of course, most HR partners ask the typical questions like, "How are things going?" or "Do you have everything you need?" or "Do you have any questions that I can answer?" The new leaders typically respond with "Great!", "Yes, everything is coming together." and "I will let you know if I have any questions. Thanks."

This type of surface exchange does not give the HR partner the information that he/she needs to understand how the new leader is really doing. Nor does it give the new leader a real opportunity to ask for specific help.

Often, the new leader does not receive structured feedback until a 360 process is offered--usually around the 12-month mark. This is TOO late and does not provide the leader with feedback about how he/she is fitting into the culture of the organization or managing his/her onboarding process.

We have identified a set of key indicators that predict a new leader's onboarding success. If you gather feedback from the new leader's key stakeholders: the boss, direct reports, peers, the HR partner and him/herself around these key indicators, the new leader has a "snap-shot" of how his/her network views those ever-critical early behaviors in a new role.

How early? We recommend gathering this feedback at about 45 to 60 days, then again at 90 to 120 days. This feedback is invaluable and allows the new leader to understand what he/she should--
--stop doing
--start doing
--change
to successfully onboard and integrate into the role and organization.

The easiest way to gather and analyze this data is by using web-based tool that provides anonimity for the stakeholders and gives qualitative and quantitative feedback. The Return on Investment for this type of exercise is almost immediate and highly impactful.

Leaders can actually do something about their behaviors before it's too late.

How Long Will Obama's Onboarding Honeymoon Last?

I was having a conversation about the impending inauguration (who isn't, right?) and the question came up, "Just how long do you think that Obama will have for his onboarding honeymoon period?" Typically, new US presidents are given the 100-day grace time to get up-to-speed on the pressing issues, make staffing appointments, get briefed on national security and figure out what needs attention and its priority.



Well, things aren't typical these days, as we all know. President-elect Obama has appropriately been managing expectations since he won the election, but as he continues to learn the current state of our country's affairs, he could still be suprised.



How much time will the American people give him to deliver some sort of results? How will his team come together and work toward common goals? What circumstances will present themselves that will test his resolve and/or his decision-making ability?



These are all yet to be seen, but one thing is pretty clear--Obama's first 100 days probably started on November 5, 2208, not January 21, 2009.

What about your organization? How long is a new leader "new"? How long is he or she given to listen and learn before being expected to deliver? And probably more, importantly, how is the organization supporting those individuals during this time?

No one will understand this better than our new president--how important that support can be. Let's all hope that his support is in place and he has the tools to make the right decisions at the right time for our country.