The doctor is in and he has diagnosed 15 errors that can kill an acculturation onboarding program dead. Dr. John Sullivan shares his view on common mistakes employers make and how to avoid them in this article from 2008. At #4 on this list, Sullivan points out that many companies lack appropriate customization of onboarding for each of the following levels:
- Companywide
- Location
- Department
- Team/Function
- Individual
One of the most critical levels is team and job function onboarding. This is where organizations may fail to put processes in place to effectively integrate a new hire with his/her team members. Depending on the nature of the employee's assignment or job functions, these teammates may not actually be departmental coworkers.
For example, a staff member in Sales might be collaborating with counterparts at satellite locations nationwide to develop and roll out an innovative sales program. In these cases, onboarding should involve introducing new hires to individuals fulfilling similar functions at other sites. This ensures that these teams are fully connected and new members are encouraged to add their creative opinions to cross-location discussions.
Prescription for Efficiency
Dr. Sullivan also reveals his opinion on the "face to face" approach to acculturation in error #8. Although in-person meetings may be important for establishing rapport, Ross holds firmly to the viewpoint that as much orientation as possible should be delivered to new hires online. This reserves valuable face time for situations where personal interaction is required and will have the most positive impact.
At Emerald Software Group, we agree that new hires benefit greatly from access to online acculturation onboarding. It not only streamlines the socialization process, but actually ensures that employees can get more individual attention when necessary since resources aren't stretched too thin.
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