
Is your NEW Hire onboarding π?
I really wasnβt surprised to find out that manyΒ new hires feel their employers did a poor jobΒ onboarding them in their new positionβ¦
But I was shocked to read a whopping 88%* felt that way!Β
Just think about that for a minute.
Weβve talked at length about the necessity ofΒ intensely screening, qualifying, culture-fitΒ evaluating, and skill set testing a candidateΒ BEFORE hiring.Β
But what we havenβt talked about is what happens AFTER you hire a new team member (a point that obviously needs to be addressed seeing how onlyΒ 12% of new hires feel their onboarding experience met their expectations).Β
Imagine you live in Atlanta and your favorite cousinΒ resides in Paris. You havenβt seen each other in years. First due to the pandemic, but these days due to yourΒ tight schedules.Β
You keep in touch frequently and enjoy face-timingΒ her and her kids. The kids keep asking when youβllΒ come out to see them so they can finally try yourΒ famous chocolate chip cookies that their mom hasΒ raved about since they could remember.Β
You finally set a date to go visit over the summerΒ and you decide to take two weeks off work. EveryoneΒ is excited and you canβt wait to finally get out thereΒ to spend some real quality time with your cousin andΒ her kids.Β
Summer finally arrives, youβve got your tickets bookedΒ and you confirm your time off work. Everything is set.Β Youβre so excited about this trip, (so much so, thatΒ youβve spent months researching all the βmust-seeβ places you can visit with your cousin).Β Β
Finally, the day to make the trip comes. You made sure to get to the airport WAY early.Β The flight was a long one, just shy of nine hours, but the excitement of arriving to see your cousin surprisingly didnβt make it feel that long.Β

The plane lands and after you get your luggage, youΒ look around in baggage claim but donβt seem to seeΒ your cousin or her kids anywhere. You check yourΒ phone to see if sheβs left a message. No message.Β You get a bottled water and park it for a bit on aΒ bench thinking she just must be running late.Β
Thirty minutes later, you check your phone again, and scroll up to check the message thread, and confirm her last response was βI canβt wait to see you! Have a great flight, Iβll be there to pick you up with bells on!β
You decide to send her a quick message to let herΒ know you arrived. After an hour of no response,Β and looking around the airport for her, you startΒ looking for her address in your contacts as a lastΒ resort.Β
After another hour with no word, you muster theΒ courage to leave the airport and take a cab to theΒ address you have for her. You donβt speak French,Β so trying to communicate with the driver is hard. ItΒ was only after you showed him the address in yourΒ phone that got you moving and βhopefullyβ in the rightΒ direction.Β
You finally arrive, walk up to the house, and pressΒ the bell. Youβre met with a face you donβt recognize,Β a middle-aged woman holding a napkin with a blank expression asking who you were. You say yourΒ cousinβs name and she responds by waving youΒ inside the house.
She leads you to the living room, motions to theΒ couch, and walks away. You sit down (for what feels like an hour) occasionally looking towards the door the woman walked through wondering if sheβd coming back (at least to offer you a glass of water,Β or show you to your roomβ¦anything, really!)
Eventually, the front door opens, and in walks your cousin with the kids. She barely greets you, as she points across the room and says, βYouβll be staying in the room to the left.βΒ The kids were running around as you walked towards the room you were pointed to. The woman who sat you in the living room comesΒ walking in and starts tending to the kids. You can only assume this was their nanny.Β
You canβt help but feel a bit uncomfortable. At dinner, you mention to your cousin the ordeal you had withΒ the taxi driver and she says, βSorry, I should haveΒ messaged youβ¦one of the moms in our carpoolΒ couldnβt pick up the kids because something came up, so I had to.βΒ Β Β
You spend the next few days figuring things outΒ yourself. The kids do not seem too impressed withΒ you like you had envisioned. You feel pretty out of place, out of sorts, and eventually like an imposition.Β You offer to make the cookies and your cousin says, βWeβve got plenty of time to do that!β
You get tired of the experience after five days andΒ you book an early ticket back home. The day beforeΒ your departure, you tell your cousin you will be leavingΒ the next day and she seems surprised and asks whyΒ you arenβt staying the two weeks as planned. You canβt bear to tell her how disappointed you are, so you lie and tell her you need to sort some things out at home.Β
So, think about this, how often do you feel like yourΒ expectations arenβt met?Β
Now think about how someone might feel thatΒ you just hire, that joined your team, excited by theΒ futureβ¦
The excitement someone feels when starting a new position at a brand-new company is undeniable.Β
That feeling of endless possibilities and the hope that this could be βthe oneβ…Β
The company they can finally call βhomeβ for the nextΒ decade or for the rest of their career.Β Β
Now imagine their first day. No plan or process in place to onboard them, or show them around, or introduceΒ them to the team, or walk them through what they willΒ be responsible for.Β Β
What a letdown.Β
Disappointment sets in and in some cases, regret.
Maybe they feel empty promises have been made.Β
Or maybe the connection they felt in the hiring process has now fallen to the way-side.Β
Maybe they feel how they are being onboarded is a direct reflection of what their entire experienceΒ will be with your company.Β
Or maybe this new hire will cut their βParis tripβ short and end up leaving earlier than planned.Β
Far stretch?Β Β
According to the Society for Human ResourceΒ Management (SHRM), βEmployee turnover can be asΒ much as 50% in the first 18 months ofΒ employmentβ**. Β
The consequences of not properly onboarding can be detrimental to the growth of the new hireΒ and the company.Β
Hereβs what to expect:Β
- Low Team Engagement: Team members who feel out of touch with each other will slow down their performance as a whole. The growth of an Entrepreneurial company depends heavily on the performance of a high-performing team.
- Lack of Trust: New team members are often afraid to ask questions, point out observations or give suggestions in fear of looking incompetent or stepping on someoneβs toes. Not making them feel comfortable hinders their ability to give you their βallβ.
- Poor Culture: Lack of comfort and trust can cause a dent in a team memberβs confidence. When an onboarding process is weak or non-existent, the company culture might seem negative to them and affect their performance.
- Missed Revenue Targets: Many times this is a direct result of low performance and lack of positive motivation from leadership. The bar keeps getting lower and lower to survive until it canβt sustain itself any longer.
Hereβs the mind shift I want you to make right now.Β
Start thinking about your onboarding process as theΒ stepping stone to setting your new team membersΒ up for success instead of dreading it or ignoring it.Β
What does your onboarding process look like rightΒ now? Are there systems and a process in place?Β
What gaps can you identify right now that you can easily bridge today?Β
In the next issue, Iβll reveal some common mistakes made in the onboarding process, how to avoid them, and also some actionable steps to successfully on boarding a new hire (some are super simple and easy and youβll wonder why you didnβt think of them yourself)!
Talk soon,Β
DavidΒ
Referenced Articles:Β