How important is the onboarding program?

The pandemic has changed the way we work. Twitter has announced that their employees do not have to come back to the office - ever, other companies have said that their people can continue to work remotely for another 6 months. Others are giving the employees options to only come into the office when needed, for presentations, meetings, and trainings. I am not going into what this may mean to the commercial real-estate sector, or to the demand for formal business attire businesses, or the prices of small studio apartments in major metropolises such a New York, London, Singapore or Tokyo. This is about corporate culture. 

Despite the challenging times, there are people leaving their current employers, leaving a gap that sometimes need to be filled. More and more people are being interviewed through MS Teams and Zoom, and some even hired without physically meeting a representative from the organization they will work for. And as they join, they may not be expected or allowed to go in to the office, they will be working remotely from day one.

Many companies have virtualized their “onboarding” process of new hires. But how does this affect the individual and the company?   

Some may say, after reflecting on their own experiences, that the do not remember much from the first couple of days, that there was an information overload. But what most people remember was the atmosphere and how it felt. “Everyone was so professional and friendly”, or “the presenters were disorganized and late”, “We were shuffled back and forth between various meeting rooms like a herd of cattle”. Are these reflections of the corporate culture? I would like to think so, at least to a certain degree.

Someone has said that the first impression lasts, and that it is hard to change that first impression. I remember the days before the pandemic and travel bans, when we used to fly to various parts of the world. Being greeted welcome onboard seems like a process that cannot be subject to that many variations, however the experiences from Singapore Airlines or All Nippon Airways vs. Continental or US Airways were vastly different. I believe that the onboarding program is the equivalent to “Welcome onboard Mr. Ling”.

It can make me feel welcome, as they actually mean what they say, that I matter, that they are genuinely happy that I joined this organization. Or it can also be perceived as empty words, flawed, like theater. But it is not all about what I feel or what I sense, this first interaction also tells me a lot of what is expected from me. If the organization strongly believes that its values are important, that a solid understanding of the Code of Conduct is important, that this program is, not an opportunity, but rather THE opportunity to ensure that I will be an ambassador of the organization and the opportunity to communicate their expectations.  

For better or worse, that first impression lasts.  

How should we deal with contractors or temporary staff?

Some professional services firms requires contractors, sub-contractors and other temporary staff to complete mandatory trainings when the duration of such arrangement is longer than 2 months. This to ensure that pertinent information is shared and that they understands the Code of Conduct, values and expectations (and to meet some regulatory requirements). But this may not be the normal approach in other sectors or markets.

Organizations spends a lot of time and effort to create, communicate and reinforce its Vision, Code of Conduct and Values, to ensure their corporate culture is sustained. To exclude contractors and temporary staff from the onboarding process may have a significant impact, not only to the individual but also to the organizations ability to sustain its corporate culture and its reputation.

Contractors and temporary staff may in many regards be perceived as permanent employees in the eyes of a co-worker, customer or client, and therefore expected to act and behave as such. Without the onboarding process, the communication of its vision, values and Code of Conduct, the organization may be putting the culture and reputation at risk.

If the onboarding program in your organization has not taken into consideration the “new normal” with a virtual hiring process, people working remotely, or how to deal with temporary staff, and evaluated how this may affect the organizations ability to communicate its vision, values, and expectations, to reinforce its corporate culture it is about time to reflect and act. The “new normal” is here to stay.