How to successfully onboard and induct your new leadership hires

You wouldn’t intentionally throw someone in the deep end and watch them splash about until they drowned, wondering whether or not they were going to make it would you?

But career wise, that's exactly what happens to hundreds of new hires every single day across the UK. It happens when people are promoted or hired into leadership roles and not supported properly in their first six months.   Not only is it demoralising and damaging to the new hires confidence (and career) it's costly and damaging for the organisation who hired them.  The importance of onboarding (and integrating) new managers effectively cannot be overstated - just getting them onboard safely and leaving them to it is not enough.

“Nearly all large companies are competent at the administrative basics of signing leaders up, but that level of onboarding does little to prevent the problems that can arise when these people start working with new colleagues and grappling with unfamiliar cultural norms and expectations. Companies vary widely when it comes to how much effort they put into integration, with major consequences in terms of time to performance, derailment (through termination or resignation), and talent retention.” Onboarding Isn’t Enough, Mark Byford, Michael D Watkins and Lena Triantogiannis

I know that you don’t hire to watch people fail. You want your people to do well.  You want them to feel happy at work and have everything they need to perform well at their job.  I also know how hard it is for managers to performance manage people and to have those difficult conversations when people are struggling. 

We can avoid those situations and those difficult conversations by onboarding them in a holistic and well considered way. And if you need to sell a change in process to those higher up, think of it this way; a team and all its individuals, if set up and supported well right from the outset give your organisation an immeasurable competitive advantage. In today's business and economic climate can you really afford not to invest in this? 

Studies show that effective onboarding can lead to higher retention rates, improved team performance, and quicker transitions. You don't want to waste time and money recruiting staff only to see them disappear just as quickly. There has to be more than a basic approach. So, not only is there a people case, there's a pretty compelling business case too.

Onboarding versus Integrating

“After HR and IT set him up in their systems and his boss introduced him to the team and gave a brief overview of the role, Jacobsen was expected to figure out how things “really worked” on his own. That was a struggle. His hard-driving style—combined with some misconceptions that others had about his mandate—led to difficulties with his new peers and ultimately to his departure” Onboarding Isn’t Enough, Mark Byford, Michael D Watkins and Lena Triantogiannis

Take the time to explain your organisation's ethos and values and how these translate into day to day behaviours and decision making.  Hoping for the best or  leaving them to just get on with it is risky. A good understanding of how your business thinks, feels and behaves (it’s culture) far outweighs the importance of knowing where the printer paper is kept.  We have an blog on the importance of living and breathing your company culture so you can avoid the ‘values gap’

The Key Elements of effective onboarding/induction for new management hires

1. Clear Communication of organisational values and leadership culture

In their  book, Corporate Cultures: The Rites and Rituals of Corporate Life, Terrence Deal and Allan Kennedy noted “If employees know what their company stands for, if they know what standards they are to uphold, then they are much more likely to make decisions that will support those standards. They are also more likely to feel as if they are an important part of the organisation. They are motivated because life in the company has meaning for them.” 

Traditional thinking says that it takes the average new hire between 6-9 months to get the feet properly under the table.  Do you have the best part of a year until they feel at home and like they know the lay of the land?  Understanding your company's culture and values can accelerate this integration and speed up their impact by up to two months……. “Our studies show that the average amount of time to reach full performance (making critical decisions with the right information in hand and having the right people in place to help execute) can be reduced by a third, from six months to four” Onboarding Isn’t Enough, Mark Byford, Michael D Watkins and Lena Triantogiannis

2. Set specific short and long-term goals, along with clear expectations for their role in team performance.

Does your new hire have a clear understanding of what is expected of them? Have they got explicit goals or key targets?  Be clear about what your expectations are. Uncertainty, misunderstanding or doubt are confidence killers.  What do you want them to focus on and achieve in their initial days and weeks?  Unless mind reading was on the job description no person should be expected to “just know” what they’re meant to be doing. Defined goals and key milestones boost motivation, confidence and build trust.  Show them where the goal posts are and build trust by not moving them around. 

Starting a new job is already overwhelming so do what you can to reduce anxiety by providing a roadmap for success and reducing uncertainty about their responsibilities.

3. Coaching and Mentorship Support

There are few situations in which having a coach or mentor isn’t beneficial and research shows that coaching accelerates leadership effectiveness. Having a dedicated leadership coach or mentor who can give personalised feedback can help new managers navigate those early challenges with confidence. It also reduces feelings of isolation and by investing in them you’re showing that you really do have their back and want them to succeed.

There's already enough data out there to support the commonly held belief that coaching accelerates leadership effectiveness but if you need further convincing (and more data never hurt anyone) we recently conducted our own research around the effectiveness of coaching and mentoring. We gathered feedback from over 150 new and established leaders across the education and not for profit sector about their experiences of leading people and the training and support they had received to deliver in their roles. When we asked “Do you believe the training you received adequately prepared you for your leadership role” 83% of respondents said that they did not believe they’d had the right level of training or support to prepare them for their current  leadership role.

The results from an Annual Research Study Reporting on the Impact of Leadership Coaching conducted by Dion Leadership further support this view.  Their 2023 report found that;

• 64% felt that leadership positively impacted their desire to stay within the business

• 84% of coachees said that coaching improved their confidence

• 58% of respondents used leadership coaching to help them be more effective working and leading in a newly remote/hybrid work environment.

Ongoing coaching and mentoring helps new hires hit the ground running and get support with strategic thinking, communication and building relationships across the business as they “find their feet”.

 4. Feedback and development

 Regular feedback loops and continuous development plans, even beyond the first 90 days, can set new managers up for growth and success. If your new manager is doing a great job, tell them.  If you’ve got useful feedback, tell them.  A little bit of feedback can go a long way and in those early days reassurance can mean a lot.

Give new managers opportunities to build rapport with their teams, cross-functional peers, and senior leadership. There are also practical strategies you can use, such as regular check-ins with their teams and shadowing opportunities with senior leaders to observe company-wide decision-making processes. Observing company-wide decision-making processes not only enhances understanding but also builds a sense of belonging and authority in their new role.

Leadership development programs and targeted coaching initiatives are helpful here too.  You may have spotted an area of performance that needs to be developed or they may have spotted it themselves.

How can we measure the success of our induction/onboarding initiatives? 

Once you've invested time and resources into creating your successful onboarding program, the next step is assessing whether it actually works.  Is it having the desired effect, is it making the difference you wanted it to? There are a number of different ways you can measure the success and return on investment (ROI) of your onboarding initiatives, including:

• Employee Satisfaction Surveys: Regularly collecting feedback from new managers regarding their onboarding experience can highlight areas of strength and opportunities for improvement.

• Manager Performance Evaluations: Reviewing new managers’ performance against predetermined success metrics can provide insights into the effectiveness of the onboarding process.

• Retention Rates: Analysing the retention rates of management hires over time can reveal the long-term success of the onboarding program. A reduction in turnover is often indicative of a well-structured onboarding experience.

• Leadership Assessments: Using assessments to identify potential gaps and areas for future development can help organisations refine their onboarding process and ensure continuous improvement.

We know that a capable leader has the ability to transform what a team is able to deliver so the importance of effectively onboarding new leadership hires cannot be overstated. If I was going to leave you with one message it would be this; great onboarding isn’t rocket science but most organisations don’t do it well.  They don’t think about it enough and they don’t prepare well enough.  Most onboarding is a tick box exercise in sign posting and making sure people know how to log in and can send an email.  It’s not enough. 

Investing in comprehensive and structured onboarding programs gives your organisation a strategic advantage in an increasingly competitive business landscape. When decision-makers finally recognise the significance of nurturing their new managerial talent, they can unlock huge potential and it makes a long term difference.

If you’re a decision-makers and this is your area of responsibility we invite you to look at your current onboarding measures and consider whether it’s robust and effective.

If you’re open to enhancing your onboarding strategy and are excited about providing meaningful leadership development and coaching opportunities, get in touch for an audit of your current practices or a consultation on designing an enhanced management onboarding program. Together, we can build a stronger foundation for your future leaders and ensure they’re equipped to drive your organisation’s success.