Operational design components, program metrics, and how onboarding differs from orientation
This checklist continues last week’s article about comparing your onboarding program against the design components of a “world-class” onboarding program.
Part 3: Operational Design Components
The last level of components for world-class onboarding programs is still important, even though they are more operational in nature. They include the following:
A written and integrated plan. World-class onboarding programs have a short written plan that is integrated with the overall business plan, the HR plan, and the recruiting plan. In addition, hiring managers and those impacted by the onboarding program should be involved upfront in the program design and planning process.
A compelling business case. The program design must include the development of a compelling business case that convinces the chief financial officer, as well as line managers, that the onboarding program will directly improve their individual business results.
Prioritized jobs. Because there is never enough budget, world-class onboarding programs prioritize and focus their talent, time, and resources toward onboarding individuals in mission-critical jobs, critical business units, and in jobs with a significant revenue impact.
Continuous improvement and testing of system effectiveness. The onboarding program should have a formal process for continuously assessing and improving its processes and output results by assessing each onboarding success and failure and then feeding back the information to process managers. In addition, World-class onboarding programs periodically use “mystery shoppers” to identify system problems.
Ownership by management. The onboarding program design should make it clear that onboarding problems and processes are owned by hiring managers. Managers must realize that they suffer the most when poor onboarding takes place.
Individual accountability. Responsible individuals must also be rewarded or punished based primarily on program performance.
Best practice sharing. The onboarding program must have a formal design component for the rapid identification, sharing between business units, and the adoption of best practices related to onboarding.
Risk-taking for improvement. The onboarding program must have design features that encourage periodic experimentation, pilot tests, split samples, and reasonable risk-taking, as long as rapid learning occurs after a failure.
Data-based decision-making. Major onboarding program design and resource decisions must be made based primarily on data, rather than just on emotion or historical practice.
Uses the latest technology. The onboarding process should be paperless and offer additional information on an exclusive onboarding website.
External recognition. Although world-class programs maintain their competitive advantage by keeping their critical design components relatively secret, world-class onboarding programs eventually do receive some external recognition. This includes winning ERE Recruiting Excellence Awards or Optimas awards; being highlighted in major HR, recruiting, and general business publications; being included in benchmark studies; and/or being featured in academic case studies.
The program avoids common onboarding program killers. Some examples that keep your program from reaching world-class status or may cause it to fail:
Letting the program be run 100% by the benefits function, which almost guarantees “death by form” (i.e., boredom and loss of enthusiasm as a result of filling out forms all day).
Over-reliance on videotapes and slideshows, with little time for interaction.
Not having a “local component” of onboarding at the departmental level in addition to the corporate component.
Failing to make effective onboarding as part of a manager’s performance appraisal and bonus process.
Failing to reward the onboarding program manager and the manager of each independent HR and non-HR component of the process, based on program performance.