“Having worked in talent management for many years I have been at the front end of designing employee experience processes to ensure that we hire, onboard, engage, performance manage and reward the RIGHT employees”.

On-boarding is by far, in my opinion, one of the most important processes in the employee life cycle.

Reason being is that Organisations invest significantly in recruiting and training new hires to ensure speed to productivity where new hires positively impact bottom lines, increase revenues and add value. It’s a highly resource intensive process and takes time fo a new hire to perform.

The most anxious time for new hires is between accepting a new job offer and their first month of their new employee experience. It’s that question that usually plays in their minds in continuous loop mode or like a broken record – I hope I have made the right decision TO have I made the right decision TO please God let me have made the right decision TO I wonder if my old boss would take me back TO am I going to regret this???


I have worked in corporate for most of my career where the emphasis was placed on the organisation to deliver on a best in class onboarding experience with checklists, buddies and high touch HR resourcing to support new hires during their on-boarding experience.

I have reached a stage where I truly believe that this is all for naught if the new employee does not invest the time and effort to take accountability and adapt to their new organisations culture that they have opted into.

The sense of new hire entitlement should change to one where a new hire takes the time to consciously observe / read the signs and symbols of “how we do things around here” when they enter into their new environment.


I have observed highly qualified and experienced recruits fail miserably to fit in within their first 90 days. The big takeaway for me was:

New Hires fail to read the cultural do’s & don’ts HR / Hiring Managers don’t explain cultural norms to new hires resulting in them focusing on the what they have been hired to do instead of how to effectively communicate, build relationships, influence decision making and generally fit it. Companies have not taken the time to define their employee value proposition, values, competencies and culture codes.


So if you are a new hire reading this blog, please keep the following in mind when you join a new company: “Your previous achievements don’t allow you to act outside of the norms of the culture you’re in now. Most organizations will hire you for past experiences, but your future success there will be determined by your impact in your new environment — and depending on how well you understand and work within your new culture, your impact can be amplified or derailed.” Allan H. Church & Jay A. Conger


If you are a People Manager reading this blog, please take the time to reflect on the on-boarding experience you deliver to your new hires. Bolt Talent Solutions are here to help with simple ideas on how to create and implement best in class on-boarding processes.

 

Vanessa Flynn
A special thanks to Allan H. Church & Jay A. Conger for their recent article in HBR that inspired me to share my thoughts and experience in how important it is for new hires to be conscious of the corporate culture when joining a new company.

sandton1 | Bolt Talent Solutions

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