Policy Options Brief

TO: Jim Phillips, Chief of Staff for the Mayor’s Office

FROM: Marlon Willie

RE: Proper Onboarding for New Staff

A 2012 Harvard Business Review article entitled “Why Top Young Managers Are in A Nonstop Job Hunt[i],” starts like this; “You might suspect that your best young managers are looking for a better gig—and you’re probably right. Research shows that today’s most-sought-after early-career professionals are constantly networking and thinking about the next step, even if they seem fully engaged. And employee-development programs aren’t making them happy enough to stay.” The article delves into the reasons many young professionals do not stay with their employers and sums it up in this poignant sentence, “Workers reported that companies generally satisfy their needs for on-the-job development and that they value these opportunities, which include high-visibility positions and significant increases in responsibility. But they’re not getting much in the way of formal development, such as training, mentoring, and coaching—things they also value highly.” These missing elements are key components of proper onboarding.

The Society for Human Resource Management describes onboarding as “the process by which new hires get adjusted to the social and performance aspects of their jobs quickly and smoothly, and learn the attitudes, knowledge, skills, and behaviors required to function effectively within an organization.” In its article “Onboarding Key to Retaining, Engaging Talent[ii],” SHRM states “Onboarding new hires at an organization should be a strategic process and last at least one year to ensure high retention…”

Over the last 3 years we have seen approximately50% of new hires leave theMayor’s Office each year. This excludesturnover of employees hired prior to therecent hires. This rate of departure is even higher than the 25% rate of new hires that leave their jobs within a year, according to a 2012 Allied Workforce Mobility Survey,[iii] because they were not properly onboarded. Considering that the Mayor’s Office is tasked with efficiently designing, building, implementing, managing and measuring some of the highest profile initiatives and programs for the Mayor, it makes sense to ensure that the most qualified team is hired and remains as long as possible.

The repercussions of inadequately or poorly qualified staffed,could have a detrimental effect on the management of the city. Failed projects can mean delay or denial of important services that would benefit the public. It also means a higher financial cost not only for replacing staff, but delays and errors in projects because of improperly trained or missing staff. It is estimated that $37 billion dollars are spent annually to keep unproductive employees who don’t understand their job in the US and UK.[iv] Additionally, in a politically sensitive, active, and divided state, the smooth and professional execution of services could mean the difference between a one term and a two term mayor.

This department isn’t unique in failing to appreciate the importance of proper onboarding and the impact that it has on the organization, the incoming and existing staff. 22% of companies have no formal onboarding program[v]; only 37% of companies extend their onboarding programs beyond the first month[vi]; and 60% of companies fail to set milestones or goals for new hires[vii].As a result low productivity and poor performance cost the organization significant sums; the retention rate is also low; and the high turnover incurs a replacement cost which 16 and 20% of that employee’s salary.[viii]

Onboarding programs were started because it is hard to hold onto new employees. Recent research by a software company, BambooHR, surveyed 1,005 U.S. employees over the age of 24 to find out what has made them quit jobs in the past and what could be done to improve employers’ onboarding programs. They found that 31% of people have quit a job within the first six months and listed the top five reasons that U.S workers gave for leaving the job shortly after being hired: changed mind on work type; the work was different than they expected; my boss was a jerk; didn’t receive enough training; and the job wasn’t fun. BambooHR asked the respondents, what advice did they have for improving onboarding programs? Their responses were very telling. They listed four things that they want most in the very first week on the job: on-the-job training; review of company policies; a tour of the company and to have their equipment set up and ready to go; and56% of respondents said that they wanted to be assigned a buddy or a mentor[ix].

This brings us to the question of whatdoes onboarding entail? How does it counteract the negatives discussed?Three of the most important elements of effective onboarding are orientation, training and mentorship. Combined, these three components minimize some of the common new hire challenges that organizations face.

First, orientation is aptly explained by business dictionary as “An introductory stage in the process of new employee assimilation, and a part of his or her continuous socialization process in an organization. Major objectives of orientation are to: (1) gain employee commitment; (2) reduce his or her anxiety; (3) help him or her to understand the organization's expectations; and (4), convey what he or she can expect from the job and the organization. It is commonly followed by training tailored to specific job positions.[x]” One of the mistakes many organizations make is to believe that this is a one-off, same-day event that is quickly completed so the staff member can get to work. Typically, much of the information passed on by Human Resources office regarding the way the organization works, staff benefits and a plethora of other information is crammed into a few hours. Successful orientations can actually last up to one year and involves exercises that gradually introduce staff to the culture and philosophy of the organization through consistent check-ins and discussion. Spreading it across a lengthier period allows more rudimentary digestion of the information being passed on. In fact, 90% of new hires make their decision whether or not to leave within the first 6 months[xi], so if orientation is scheduled over that period, there is a good chance that the concerns of the new hires will be identified and remedied (if possible) before they decide that they want to leave.

The second component is training. Training has been identified by new hires as perhaps one of the most important factors in deciding whether or not to stay with an organization. Training increases an employee’s confidence in their ability to do a good job—something that is of particular importance to new hires. It accelerates their adjustment to the organization and shortens the time it takes for them to get to full competence. It increases their level of production and performance as they become proficient with the systems, processes and procedures of the organization. Training ought to be ongoing and so continuous training alongside employees who’ve been around for a longer period, helps to integrate new hires not only into the organization, but more granularly, into the culture and processes that they perform together or separately, as a team.

Finally, the last component is mentorship. A vastly overlooked and undervalued task, mentorship is the glue that brings it all together. Mentorship is a mix of formal and informal guidance and support that new hires receive from more seasoned employees at the organization. As American businessman John Crosby stated, “mentoring is a brain to pick, an ear to listen, and a push in the right direction.”

Proper onboarding costs time and money—but so does improper, or no onboarding.However, some organizations have legitimately questioned whether or not investing in proper onboarding makes sense when there are no guarantees of a new hire staying. It is clear however, that the odds of a new hire staying increases with proper onboarding. It therefore depends on the philosophy and values of the department or organization. Richard Branson, CEO of the Virgin Group, famously said “Train your staff well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don’t want to.”

At the heart of the matter is the question: what kind of department does the Mayor’s Office want to be?

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