Onboarding: the first culture test

When I boarded a plane for Sydney last week, the captain told the passengers that it was their ‘absolute pleasure’ to have us on board. This was then followed by a truly exemplary service from the crew (kudos @Emirates). It wasn’t just a pre-prepared script from the cockpit, it was a promise that was followed-through and it got me thinking about how organisations onboard new people.

Gallup’s research found that only one in ten employees strongly agree their organisation does a good job of onboarding people. Most companies treat it as a checklist for the first month, rather than a 3–12-month process of follow-up, building relationships and understanding how things really get done. Employees who call their onboarding exceptional are nearly twice as likely to feel prepared for the role, which increases the chances of success.

I always tell clients that the gap between what you say at an interview and what a new hire experiences in week one is where trust is won or lost. It’s also the cheapest culture fix available. Putting it right costs far less than untangling an exit interview at the end of probation.

A new starter’s first fortnight tells them more about your culture and how you treat the promises that you make, more than any intranet page or induction deck ever will.

If there’s a gap once they’re ‘on-board’, they’ll notice it long before you do, they’ll remember it, then they’ll tell others about it - for years to come.