Four Positive Outcomes of Onboarding

Are people you know stressed because of a misunderstanding or conflict with others? Are they satisfied and committed because they believe and experience management cares about them and is willing to invest in them; in their success? Part 1 in this series focused on new and current staff onboarding and relationships.

Are you a professional coach, or a coach or mentor within an organization, trying to do the very best you can with your client or the person in your organization whom you are coaching or mentoring? How do

you connect quickly, understand the person you are coaching or mentoring quickly, or quickly have an impact on the relationship? Part 2 in this series focused on the value of a coach or mentor using one particular onboarding technique–our onboarding report.

Here are four positive outcomes of effective onboarding.

Outcome #1: People know what their job entails and ramp up their performance more quickly.

Job descriptions give people an idea of tasks they are supposed to perform. Effective onboarding includes discussions between two people regarding the tasks, specific performance expectations when performing those tasks, and the positive outcomes for the organization and the staff person when those tasks are effectively performed. Onboarding gives people the opportunity to discuss these things and set the record straight regarding expectations from the very beginning of the relationship.

Outcome #2: People are more effectively engaged with their job and the people they work with.

Onboarding allows for people to talk intensely about the job and truly engage with someone in the organization with 1) experience or 2) who are to supervise their performance. Onboarding promotes discussions before conflicts arise, and communication is more open and flows more freely. Two people learn each other’s language and their learning styles so they are both more receptive and open to comments and concerns from the other–they “get” each other. Onboarding, and the right onboarding assessment, promote open, more freely flowing, and timely information that allows the person to feel better about their role in the organization. These things lead to more engagement.

Outcome #3: Establish a culture where people feel respected and valued.

Effective communication contributes to greater respect, value, and appreciation for what each person brings to the relationship. Using the wrong term or communicating in the wrong way has the opposite effect, and people to stop listening. For example, some people like to talk just about their job and tasks, while others think it important to talk about family and
more personal things. When a task-oriented person has a supervisor who is more people-oriented, the task-oriented person may view the people-oriented person as intrusive. The people-oriented person may think the other person too disengaged. When there is a match between conversation topics and approach to discussing the requirements of the job, there is much greater respect, value, and appreciation for each other. True onboarding promotes this type of positive relationship.

Outcome #4: Establish true professional connectedness, bond, and understanding for co-workers.

Effective communication, motivating using rewards seen as appropriate, and having the appropriate level of empathy, all lead to a connectedness, bonding, and a feeling you understand the other person in the relationship. For example, some people like to have significant structure and guidance of tasks from their supervisor, while others prefer having more control and deciding on their own what they should do on the job and how they should do it. An analogy is some plants thrive best when receiving a great deal of water, while others thrive best when there is very little water. Knowing and delivering the right level of supervision, or supplying the right level of water differs across people. Effective onboarding creates the right type of communication, motivation and understanding. There is a greater feeling of connectiveness, bonding, and understanding.

Concluding Take-Aways

Effective onboarding has at least these four outcomes. Using our onboarding assessment tool and training on using the tools will result in greater satisfaction, commitment, performance, and retention.

Contact us if you would like to use our tools and videos for these outcomes, or to receive information about our onboarding programs.