Summary
Onboarding new employees to your team is all too often treated as an afterthought, or best case, as an at-the-moment-thought. Employees deserve a well-thought out experience that includes them from the very beginning–from the creation of the position description—to that time after they’ve become integrated into our teams and organizations. We can trace some of these imperfect scenarios all the way back to the creation our performance profiles or position descriptions, and how they were created. When we understand the entire journey from candidate to employee we see the value of treating onboarding as an ending of a particular process instead of a solitary event in time.
Key Insights
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Performance profiles focus on outcomes and success metrics instead of generic job descriptions.
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Involving the team in crafting performance profiles reveals culture and expectations.
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Structured interview guides aligned with performance profiles improve consistency and fairness.
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Random or trick interview questions harm candidate experience and should be replaced.
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The period between offer acceptance and start date ('post offer staying in touch') is often neglected and needs proactive communication.
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First day at work should be treated as a 'commencement' and not a paper-heavy, confusing ordeal.
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Buddy systems facilitate smoother onboarding by providing personalized support and social integration.
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Internal projects early in onboarding provide safe opportunities to learn the organization without high stakes.
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Hiring managers often ‘hand off’ new hires too early, missing opportunities to support onboarding.
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Onboarding is an ecosystem spanning pre-hire, day one, and beyond, not just a single event.
Notable Quotes
"I think that maybe that reasonable process for people is kind of like this: lots of waiting, vague communication, and stressful guessing games."
"If you really want to hire superior people, first define superior performance."
"Resumes are boring AF. Tell me your story and how you got here."
"Manhole covers being round is not a relevant interview question for designers."
"We have to slow down to speed up when onboarding new people."
"Don’t just send a welcome email form letter. Be personal, give clear expectations and points of contact."
"Onboarding is not a process nor an event, it’s an ecosystem."
"Structured interviews, not trick questions and stumbling through it."
"Treat your first day as commencement: graduate your candidate and welcome them on board."
"Buddy systems create communication and support systems that don’t need org chart billets."
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