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Weekly UpdatesTwo dollars and 85 cents. That's how much change a brand-new government employee found in his desk on his first day on the job. How do we know this? Because this civil servant didn't have a computer at his desk and had nothing better to do than count loose change. Maybe the $2.85 was a hiring bonus.
While he may have been lonely that morning, he is unfortunately not alone. Too often, new employees have bad experiences when they start their jobs. The new hire is ready for the job, but the job isn't ready for the new hire. Here's what two other new government hires had to say:
"My first week was terrible. I didn't have any equipment, I wasn't given any assignments, there was nothing on my desk, and my supervisor did not even come see me for the first three days."
"I was sent to a conference room where someone from HR helped me complete a bunch of forms. I was not introduced to anyone, and no one had set up my computer access so I sat there and stared at the wall. By the end of the day I felt like I had made a terrible mistake in leaving my old job."
While many government agencies understand that a good first impression is important in recruiting, this image is often not reinforced during a new hire's first year on the job. That's where onboarding--integrating new employees into an organization and equipping them to succeed--comes in. The private sector uses onboarding to engage new employees, accelerate their path to productivity, and retain them. Government needs to share this focus.
Right now, interest in government jobs is high, in large part because of the economic crisis. And governments across the country are hiring talent in financial management and many other areas. Effective onboarding is critical to help new hires become productive and make long-term contributions. The hiring surge, plus the looming retirement wave, offers a rare opportunity for government to invest in comprehensive onboarding programs to engage this large new cohort. To determine how agencies onboard new employees and to identify best practices, the nonprofit, nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service teamed with a consulting firm on research that produced Getting on Board: A Model for Integrating and Engaging New Employees, which includes a comprehensive and strategic onboarding model. (The report can be downloaded at www.ourpublicservice.org.)
ONBOARDING AND ITS IMPORTANCE
Many organizations focus on orientation during the new employee's first day or two. In contrast, high-performing organizations, particularly in the private sector, use the more comprehensive and strategic onboarding approach -the process of integrating new employees into the organization and providing them with the tools, resources, and knowledge they need to become successful and productive. Exhibit 1 shows key ways in which onboarding differs from orientation.
Research shows that effective onboarding makes a difference. It is important for a number of reasons.
Improved Performance. Good onboarding can improve employee performance by up to 11.3 percent by clearly communicating performance expectations, providing feedback, involving co-workers and peers and providing training. (1) Onboarding also helps assess a new hire's strengths and weaknesses, and whether he or she is the right person for the job.
Enhances Employee Engagement. Companies that invested in onboarding enjoyed the highest levels of employee engagement, according to one study. (2)
Increases Retention. Another study found that 90 percent of employees decide whether to stay with the organization during their first six months. (3) Other research shows that effective onboarding programs can improve employee retention by 25 percent. (4) This can reduce the cost of turnover, which ranges from 50 percent of the annual salary of entry-level employees to 400 percent for specialized, high-level employees. And when a new employee quits, the time it takes recruit and train a replacement can create productivity and morale problems.
Improves Time-to-Productivity Ratio. New employees who go through comprehensive, structured onboarding become productive faster. One study found that a strong onboarding program helped employees reach full productivity an average of two months earlier than colleagues who did not receive similar onboarding attention. (5) This is especially true for jobs that require high levels of knowledge and expertise.
But onboarding is no silver bullet. A well-structured and comprehensive onboarding program must be integrated with other HR programs and with strategic goals. Good onboarding will not compensate for a bad hiring process, weak managers, or poor human resource practices. Onboarding also will not work unless managers and supervisors are actively involved. The good news, however, is that a carefully planned and successful onboarding program can be inexpensive, yet generate short- and long-term benefits.
ONBOARDING STRATEGICALLY
The strategic onboarding model is a foundation for agencies to develop or refine their onboarding programs. It is not a one-size-fits-all approach. The model in Exhibit 2 depicts the key aspects of a comprehensive onboarding program that apply to any organization and any new employee in that organization. Agencies can customize the model to meet their own needs, for specific groups of employees (e.g., employees new to government, transfers, and even contractors) or for specific employee needs (e.g., different generational learning styles).
GUIDING ONBOARDING PRINCIPLES
Four fundamental principles ensure that onboarding is comprehensive, integrated, reflects the organization's needs and, most importantly, leads to positive outcomes. These principles are:
* Align to Mission and Vision. Onboarding should highlight how new hires' jobs contribute to the organization's mission.
* Connect to Culture, Mission, and Strategic Priorities. Onboarding must paint a realistic picture of culture so that employees understand what they're getting into. And onboarding goals should be built around organizational priorities. If a goal is to reduce turnover, for example, the onboarding program should reflect this--in a measurable way
* Integrate Activities. While HR is traditionally the key onboarding process owner, other key players include security;, information technology (IT), and facilities--and managers and supervisors. All must be accountable for performance and for meeting shared onboarding goals.
* Apply to All Employees, regardless of location and level, and also tailor to specific types of employees. New hires entering the world of work for the first time have different needs than experienced professionals who are switching jobs.
ROLES
The three key roles in onboarding are process owners, process champions, and the new employee. "Process champions" (senior leaders, managers, and sponsors); along with the new employee, all have critical roles:
* Senior leaders communicate and reinforce the mission and values of the organization by speaking to new hires, stopping by their desks, or sending signed welcome letters.
* The importance of the manager or supervisor can't be overstated.
All managers need to:
* Welcome new employees and meet with them as early as possible
* Cleary communicate job responsibilities
* Explain and set cultural expectations (e.g., when to copy the manager on e-mails, decisions that can be made without manager approval, communication styles)
* Develop individual performance plans with performance expectations
* Assign meaningful work as soon as possible
* Discuss career development
* Monitor performance and provide frequent formal and informal feed
back throughout the employee's first year
* New employees should have a sponsor (or "buddy"), a peer who can help integrate and understand the organizational culture by helping the new hire:
* Understand the written and unwritten elements of the organizational culture
* Learn how to navigate the organization
* Meet colleagues
* Answer questions
Onboarding is a two-way process that requires new employees to actively participate. The organization provides information, resources, and equipment, and the new employee needs to be engaged and ready to contribute. New employees also need to complete all required paperwork and attend training, as well as develop relationships and seek the resources and information they need to do their jobs.
ONBOARDING ACTIVITIES
Onboarding is not just the first day or two of orientation. Good onboarding has five phases, beginning when the employee accepts the job offer and continuing through the end of the first year.
Phase I: Before the Employee Starts the Job. HR notifies other areas such as IT, sends paperwork to the new employee, and communicates logistical information. Employers can use this time to complete a series of activities before a new employee's first day:
* Send a welcome letter or packet that is signed by a senior official, and maybe a small token welcoming them to the agency.
* Provide information about the agency and the job.
* Arrange for paperwork to be completed (ideally electronically and before the first day).
* Contact the new employee to answer questions and set expectations.
* Assign a sponsor.
* Ensure that the new employee's workspace and office essentials (e.g., computer, telephone, and e-mail) are in place.
Phase 2: The First Day. You only get one chance to make a first impression. During orientation, an employer needs to:
* Personalize the experience by using labeled tent cards in the orientation, providing small agency-related gifts, etc.
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