However, while a robust search and reference taking process is necessary for successful hiring, it is not sufficient to guarantee success of the new hire. It is a new hire's early experiences with a company that are key to determining whether they are successful in the new role. Surprisingly, many companies seems to leave executive on-boarding (settling the executive into his or her new role in the early months of their appointment) to chance, and as a result experience failure rates in excess of 50% when it comes to retaining new executive talent.
Where companies go wrong with executive on-boarding.
Our experience suggests that there are a few key areas where companies run into difficulties. Many organisations do not compile the information collected through the recruitment process in order to use it to identify likely development needs and to form the basis of a development plan for the new hire. Often a lot of the data collected through the recruitment process remains with human resources instead of going to the hiring manager. Another issues is that candidates often don't receive corrective feedback soon enough and ineffective patterns and behaviours become entrenched. There seems to be an absence of candour – particularly in relation to the more senior recruits. In addition, some managers expect new hires to own their own on-boarding, assuming that they can navigate and adapt to the new organisation alone. A further problem can be a poor understanding or misalignment of expectations. Finally, problems can arise when new hires fail to establish networks within the new company.
What best practice companies do to successfully on-board their executive talent.
Our research suggests that companies with robust on-boarding practices can experience a success rate of 95% or above in retaining new executive hires. It is clearly worth getting right, so here are some key principles:
1. Leverage information gathered during the search and selection process to create development programs.
Best practice companies apply a rigorous approach to interviewing and reference checking, going well beyond referees listed on CV to include current and former managers, subordinates, peers, suppliers and customers. This can provide a wealth of information which can become a valuable input into an early development plan for a new hire. It can identify both the new hire's areas of strength as well as their development areas. The best on-boarders ensure that information gathered through the recruiting process is transferred to the hiring manager.
2. Ensure new hires receive specific feedback early in their tenure
A number of a our clients have begun a process whereby they put new hires through a full appraisal process at the six-month mark in their tenure. Our approach combines a competency based interview with 360° feedback. The findings are then synthesised to create a report that describes strengths and areas for development. One-on-one feedback is then provided to the individual executive as well as to the hiring manager and this discussion forms the basis for a development plan. It is highly effective in quickly identifying any potential issues before they become entrenched.
At GE all new hires participate in a formal integration workshop after three months with the company. Someone from outside the business unit is brought in to assess the executive on how they are progressing. Feedback is collected from direct reports and is delivered to the executive with the direct reports in the room. This is done to reinforce early the importance of candour in the GE culture.
3. Manage the expectations of new hires to ensure they are realistic.
Best practice companies go to great lengths to ensure that new hires understand the “warts and all” aspects of the culture before they join and they ensure that the new hires have realistic expectations about what they can likely achieve within certain timeframes. By doing this they avoid the damaging peaks and troughs in attitudes new hires can experience. In a new role any experience of success or perceived failure can tend to be amplified in the minds of the new recruit. As a result it is important to ensure that they are fully informed before joining so that they know about any particular challenges a company culture may entail. Also, they need to keep some perspective about their own abilities and potential contribution in the shorter term. For example, at Shell they discovered that there was often a gap between new hire expectations and reality. Often new hires assumed that they would gain immediate global exposure and experience whereas in reality the experience could be that strong internal networks could be hard to enter.
4. Create a network across all new hires.
It is critical that in a new recruit's early days with a company they feel a sense of being part of the organisation. In a company that does a lot of hiring this can come through forming relationships with other new hires. For example, Shell runs on-boarding workshops six-months into a new hires appointment. The company brings all of the external hires together from around the world. The workshop agenda includes discussions about the company's global challenges and long-term agenda. It also includes sessions about expectations of leadership behaviours. The new hires make private pledges to each other regarding their individual development plans. These workshops result in greater global exposure and network building. They also broaden the individual's outlook and put into context any early successes or failures they might have experienced. In addition, over time it builds cooperation across the company as colleagues more easily collaborate with people that are familiar to them.
5.Provide early and meaningful exposure to the CEO and the CEO's direct report.
At American Express all new executives have a pre-booked series of meetings with the CEO and direct reports within 30 days of arrival. In addition at the annual New Leader Orientation Summit, which is attended by all new hires, they have an opportunity to interact both formally and informally with the CEO and the direct reports. All these interactions are to some extent guided in that the new hires are given an agenda to prepare before these interactions. This increases their confidence and the probability that they will be able to project themselves effectively with the senior management team. As a side benefit it enables senior executives to hear fresh perspectives from people new to the organisation.
Indeed none of the above practices outlined are rocket science, however, it is alarming to consider how many companies fail to do most, if not all, of these things. It is encouraging that companies are continuing to identify ways to improve the rigour in their recruiting processes and raising the bar in terms of their expectations of third party providers in this area. It is, however, intriguing that they tend to drop the ball once they have secured their ideal candidate. In our view it is not just a matter of making the right hiring decision but also ensuring that that hiring decision is made right by the subsequent successful on-boarding of the new recruit.
Our Global Talent Management Survey highlighted the key HR issues companies are currently grappling with. While executive on-boarding is clearly an important area, we were struck by the extent to which it seems to be overlooked. With so much at stake, and the relative simplicity associated with fixing the problem, it would appear to be an area of opportunity for many companies.
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