CAUSES AND PREVENTION OF FAILURE IN ONBOARDING
The essence of onboarding or induction exercise is to get the new employee fully integrated into the organization culturally; in which what makes the company tick and successful are taught to the new hire thereby stimulating his or her passion, interest and positive feelings in the organization.
It has been said that a new staff could be oriented but not integrated and this is a mark of an onboarding process goes wrong. A wrong process of integration could lead to frustration, inability to give one’s best to the organization and ultimately employee exit or high rate of turnover.
When the new hire is loaded with too many information on the first day at work
The standard time frame set for onboarding is usually first one week to six months, hence, the new hire should not be loaded with too many information on the first day at work. It should be a continuous process of learning and re-evaluate the extent of learning acquired.
1.Failure to balance the interest of the organization with that of the new employee
One reason for the failure of onboarding exercise is the inability of the organization to balance the needs and expectation of the organization with that of the employee. It is important to note that the employee also has interest and expectation that must be met; hence, attention should also be paid to his or her needs.
Lack or unclear definition of roles and ownership of responsibility in the onboarding process
The best onboarding process is that, which gives the employee ownership of the process. The employee must be seen to show great interest in the process, he or she must be willing to learning and acquire information or knowledge that will help him excel on the job rather when it is seen as a process that is forced down his or her throat. When a sense of ownership is absent in most cases the process might turn out to be a mere formality.
When an inductor who is unhappy with the organization transfer wrong emotion to the inductee
It can be very unfortunate when an inductor who is complete dissatisfied with the system is asked to train or onboard a new staff. It is the opinion of this writer that careful attention must be paid to the selection of instructor even within the organization. In order to prevent the transfer of toxic emotion to the new staff, in some cases, it is recommended that an external resource is brought in to facilitate the process. An example of such company in Nigeria is Darach Associate and Marketing Consulting Nigeria Limited (www.darachassociate.com)
An absence of proper follow-up or feedback mechanism.
The onboarding process must be followed through to ensure its success and assess its deliverables. It must be continuous until full integration is achieved. It process must be tested to ensure its suitability and appropriateness. If the adopted method is not achieving the desired aim then it should be changed or remodeled.
Failure to install measuring tools to gauge and determine the extent of integration achieved.
Until integration is achieved the system must continually be refined and adjusted to suit both the requirements of the organization and cover the skill gap that exit in the staff and the job demand. The system must be measured for success.
Conclusion
In summary for an onboarding program to achieve its objectives, it must be planned, it must communicate appropriately with relevant information about the organization, work processes and every detail that would help the new employee unnerved, ease the tension and possible fear. An onboarding process must be flexible and inspiring; it must essentially make the employee feel at home.
Modern workplace requirements demand that we take cognizance of changes in the work requirement, customer demands, and technology. To achieve the success of full integration, we must necessarily adopt a combination of traditional learning and training method. Experts opinions, internal resourcing, and offshoring are sometimes in the best interest of the organization. Read my article on OUTSOURCING NOT CASUALIZATION A GLOBAL MANAGEMENT PRACTICE ITS LEGALITY AND THE NIGERIAN LAW
Onboarding, when properly carried out has been observed to stimulate the interest of the new hire in the organization, it helps him or her to quickly settle-in and be fully integrated into the organization. Mind you, a fully integrated staff is a good asset to the organization in terms of engagement and productivity.
Happy onboarding and integration
For deeper insight please read:
ONBOARDING: STRATEGIC EMPLOYEES INDUCTION AND INTEGRATION
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