Acculturation Onboarding for Executives

Are you bringing in a new addition to your C-suite? Onboarding an executive can be a pretty involved process. These are often the only individuals in a company who are hired under contractual instead of at-will employment terms. Hammering out the fine print and ensuring all agreements are clear is an important part of the transactional portion of onboarding. Then, there is the acculturation side of things.

An executive is actually responsible for helping create the company culture - as well as upholding the norms and expectations that are already in place. Here are some ways to use the acculturation process to set your new executive up for success as a leader in your organization:

Networking at the Top

An executive needs to be integrated into the company hierarchy starting at the top. Arranging a conference with the newly hired executive's peers can help start things off on the right foot. Department directors should be included in discussions about the role of the new executive to ensure that the importance of interdepartmental collaboration is emphasized early on.

Connecting with Middle Management

Arranging for an in-person group introductory meeting with managers and supervisors sets an example for good communication. This is especially effective if one or more helpful suggestions from the managerial staff are implemented by the new executive within his or her first 2 months on the job. Creating a reputation for taking advice from those who have been around long enough to "know the ropes" is a good precursor to making other changes that the executive may feel are necessary for improving operations.

Getting to Know the Troops

The exec should also be introduced to your rank and file employees. At a large company (or one with multiple locations), this can be done online. A podcast, a video introduction, a guest post on the corporate blog, and other social networking tools can be used to make the executive approachable. With the AllegroHR Acculturation Portal, uploading fresh content is a simple process that can be carried out whenever a change at the leadership level requires updated messaging. Having your executive go through the same process of online tutorials and orientation as your entry level employees can also be helpful in making sure the new exec fully understands your HR branding and how workers perceive the company.

Organizational Personality and Acculturation

The way your company goes about acculturating new hires has a lot to do with what type of "personality" your organization has. Author Vincent Natoli wrote an interesting whitepaper titled "The Organizational Personality & Organizational Performance" that offers a brief overview of workplace outcomes that are linked to different types of corporate cultures. Here's a look at each one and how acculturation onboarding could be improved in each situation.

Coercive

This type of organization is highly authoritarian and gains compliance from employees through punitive action. A new hire is likely to be called out publicly and berated for making mistakes instead of receiving constructive criticism in private to improve performance. Absenteeism, high turnover, bullying, and litigation are some of the negative outcomes that correlate to a coercive work environment. Using positive reinforcement instead of punishment based incentives and giving new hires more agency in decision making is one way to improve the onboarding process for this type of organization.

Normative

Non-profit businesses and religious organizations that rely heavily on volunteers tend to seek compliance by appealing to values that the members hold in common. Employees are encouraged to participate in decision making. There are a number of positive outcomes that are associated with this "personality" including job satisfaction and commitment. Oddly, this type of organization is also noted for retaliating against whistle blowers - perhaps because the high level of socialization leads to management feeling betrayed if someone is "disloyal" and goes outside the group to resolve a problem. Onboarding for new hires should ensure that rights and expectations are fully explained so the work environment remains professional while still being productive.

Utilitarian/Remunerative

According to Natoli, this in-between category is where most businesses fall. This type of organization promotes compliance by rewarding employees for performance. This practical approach may be supplemented by disciplinary action under the punitive model or enhanced by socialization under the normative model. New hires need to receive detailed orientation information on how their performance will be measured and what types of incentives they can take advantage of for career advancement.

No matter what organizational personality your company is aligned with, you can use the AllegroHR Acculturation Program to help new hires understand both the written and unwritten behavioral expectations in your corporate culture.

Acculturation Onboarding For Moms (Or Dads) Returning To The Workforce

If you've been keeping up with the latest from Workforce.com, you may have read the recent article on stay-at-home parents who are transitioning back into the world of work. Women who have been sidelined for several years (or a couple of decades) by motherhood are a particularly sizeable group about 5 million strong. Many are looking for jobs now because their household income has fallen due to a spouse being laid off. Other moms are looking to get out of the house and land a career that offers payment and recognition - perks that are often sadly lacking in the endless job of being "mom".

If you are tapping into this talent pool of parents who are returning to the workforce, it's important to ensure their acculturation onboarding is a top priority. These highly motivated new hires are looking for a sense of connection with their coworkers and your organization as a whole. They also generally have a desire to excel as soon as possible and will be eager to access the tools to make this happen.

Connect On Values

Parents want to leave this world a better place for their kids and grandkids. This means they resonate with company values that stress community responsibility, sound planning for the future, and environmental sustainability. Make sure your HR branding and onboarding put these concepts front and center starting with the welcome letter and/or introductory video. Take advantage of the customizability of AllegroHR products to add links, text, and images to data panels that send a consistent message about your mission statement throughout the acculturation onboarding process.

Provide Pertinent Tools

Individuals who have been out of touch with the work world for a long time may have to get up to speed before becoming fully productive. They need access to plenty of information and in-depth learning modules. Make sure appropriate skill testing is performed early on to identify areas that could use improvement. The stay-at-home parent demographic is eager to get back into the groove and jumpstart their careers. The more readily available self-paced learning materials are the better. With Emerald Software Group's single sign-on approach, new hires can instantly access both in-house and third party training starting on their first day.