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.