Maintaining Momentum After Onboarding

DON’T JUST INCLUDE YOUR NEW HIRE—EMBED THEM

After you onboard your customers to your product or service, you don’t ignore them until it’s time to renew. You connect with them periodically, help troubleshoot issues as they arise, and give them information on the latest enhancements. The same should be true regarding how you treat your new hires after they’ve completed onboarding. They are your customers as well. They’re customers of your company’s mission, vision, and values. They’re customers of your company’s culture.

Last week we shared ways to evolve your current onboarding experience to focus on your new hire. But what happens after they’ve been onboarded?

Once your new employee is handed off to their hiring manager, they gain a better grasp of their business area and the work they will be doing. They also get to know their team. Including new hires on standing team meetings, deep dives, and networking opportunities are all great opportunities for new hires to acclimate to their new work environment. But don’t just include them, embed them.

What is job embeddedness?

Job embeddedness is the idea that individuals are more or less likely to leave based on how embedded they are in their jobs. It centers on three main areas:

1. Links: How strong are the connections they have with people and groups inside and outside the organization?
2. Fit: Does the job meet their current and future career goals? Do the company values, environment, and culture align with theirs?
3. Sacrifice: What would they lose if they were to leave?

The more you do to help individuals embed in their jobs, the less likely they will be to leave.

MAKE ROOM FOR THEM AT THE WATERCOOLER

While most companies are still operating in a virtual environment, this statement still holds true. Creating virtual happy hours, team-building exercises, and networking events are good ways to connect. However, if those are the only ways new hires have time to connect with others, they may not be getting to know their coworkers in a meaningful way.

When employees are co-located, there are more opportunities to spontaneously connect with others. Think about the impromptu conversations you’ve had at an actual watercooler, in the breakroom, or at the café down the street. In a virtual environment, it’s difficult to duplicate the spontaneous connection so that new hires can feel linked to others at the company.

Last week we discussed using a peer to help answer new hires’ questions. Use this peer to also help your new hire create connections. Much like a matchmaker, the onboarding peer can use their knowledge of different individuals who work at the company to help connect a new employee with others who have similar interests.  For this to be successful, you have to be deliberate in who you select to be the onboarding peer. Pick those who have an established and wide network at the company.

Give your new hire the time to make connections across the organization. If they onboarded with other new hires from different areas in the company, consider ways to have them continue to connect as a cohort. They have a shared experience of going through onboarding together and can build on that experience as they navigate the company. 

Follow up with the new hire to see who they have connected with and what their next steps are to build those relationships. If it’s someone you haven’t met before, ask them to connect you with them as well. This is an opportunity to reinforce that connection for them. 

If your company has employee resource groups for common interests or experiences, make sure you share this information with new hires. Such groups are great ways for new employees to create connections with others around a common activity.

DON’T JUST GIVE THEM THE PIECES—HELP NEW HIRES COMPLETE THE PUZZLE

When you have one-on-ones with your team members, how do you prioritize what gets covered in those meetings? Are you primarily focused on discussing metrics and goals?

This may work for team members who have been part of your company for some time and have a good understanding of how their work ties into the bigger picture. For new hires, that won’t be the case.

Think about working on a new 500-piece puzzle. When you start working on it, you take out all the pieces and organize them. Then you focus on connecting the pieces that make up the outside frame. When that’s done, you work on filling in the rest.

Helping new hires create the outside frame will make it easier for them to connect to their metrics and goals and understand why what they do matters (i.e., fill in the rest of the puzzle). In fact, they may not even know what puzzle pieces are missing before your one-on-ones. You can jumpstart that discovery by covering these questions:

• What do they know about what their typical day should look like after onboarding?
• How does their day-to-day align to the company’s strategy?
• How does the work they do contribute to the company’s culture?
• How will the work they do help them achieve their career goals and aspirations, whatever they may be?

Helping them connect these pieces will help them see the bigger picture and fill in the rest of the puzzle.

Lean on others to help connect those pieces as well. This will also help the new hire create connections. One way to do this is by having your new hires shadow others across the company. This allows them to see how others’ work fits into the bigger picture.

BE THE COMPANY THEY WON’T WANT TO LEAVE

Last week we mentioned that the US is currently going through the Great Resignation, with nearly two-thirds of workers looking for a new job. In fact, perhaps your new hire is one of those who left their position as part of this trend.

Understanding what motivated your new hire to leave their last job and join your company may help you prevent them from doing the same to you. Also, understand what aspects of their previous job they valued the most and ultimately had to sacrifice when making the decision to leave. If your company has a similar benefit or approach that addresses your new hire’s priorities, be sure your new hire knows about it and takes advantage of it. If your company doesn’t have a similar benefit or approach, what are creative ways to meet the needs of your new employee?

Focusing on the different aspects of helping your new hire embed in their new job will not only help you give them a rewarding experience, but also keep them committed to your company for the long term.

Are you looking for help with recruiting, hiring, onboarding, and training? Get in touch at mastery@maestrogroup.co.