What happens when a new employee joins your company?
In many organizations, surprisingly little thought is given to the way onboarding can contribute (or undermine) a sense of connection between team members. When I joined a New York City consulting group after graduate school, my onboarding process consisted of me showing up on the first day and my manager removing a few boxes from a desk and saying, “You can sit here for now.” He was a brilliant guy working at a highly successful company. But he was far too busy to give onboarding much attention.
On the other end of the spectrum is a process that overcompensates, exposing newcomers to the corporate equivalent of speed dating. Meetings are stacked back-to-back at breakneck speed so new employees can introduce themselves to important leaders in their company. While well intentioned, it’s an approach that forces employees to pinball from office to office, answering the same superficial background questions and leaving them little room to absorb information. By the end of the day, faces have blended together and any meaningful connection that might have developed is squandered.
Both extremes miss the mark for the same reason: They design onboarding from the perspective of the organization and not the employee. And in so doing, they miss a key opportunity for fostering close friendships.
Remember how you felt on your first day on the job? Proud, excited, perhaps a little anxious . . . You didn’t want to be ignored, but you certainly didn’t want to feel overwhelmed. What you really wanted was to find a way to show your coworkers—and especially your manager—what a shrewd decision they had made by hiring you.
Intelligent onboarding reflects the needs of both employees as well as those of their companies, by addressing two concerns that often weigh heavily on the mind of new hires: demonstrating their competence and connecting with their colleagues.
Entering an organization is like joining a party that has been going on without you for years. Some people are naturally drawn to mingling, but many struggle over what to do. The first few minutes are especially critical for guests, because the longer they feel isolated, the more they need to rationalize their experience with negative thoughts such as, “Everyone here is so boring” (defensive) or, worse still, “These people must not like me” (self-critical).
A considerate host plans ahead, finding ways to maximize people’s chances of interacting, strategically placing food in different locations, carefully positioning the bar, and occasionally enlisting the help of a few guests to introduce newcomers, highlighting what they have in common. Smart workplaces use a similar approach. They recognize that it is the responsibility of the “host” to establish subtle techniques for integrating coworkers from the moment of their arrival.
One key to getting onboarding right is stretching out the process, allowing new employees the space they need to find their bearings, organize their thoughts, and get more out of their time with coworkers. Onboarding doesn’t have to begin with an employee’s first day of work. It can start the moment they accept a job, when their enthusiasm for a position is at an all-time high. Instead of asking HR to set the process into motion, assign a teammate or two to introduce themselves via e-mail and offer to go out for coffee. Encourage them to share information about past projects and help their new colleague learn about the significance of their role. The more context a new employee has before starting, the easier it is for them to feel competent on their first day, as well as appreciative of their teammates.
Another technique for helping colleagues connect: Introduce new hires by revealing more than just their professional background: Talk about their hobbies, their favorite TV shows, and an unusual talent of which they’re particularly proud. Remember, similarity sparks friendships. What might first appear like a trivial detail can provide the springboard for two colleagues hitting it off and finding common ground.
Snagajob, a Virginia-based recruitment company and winner of the Fortune magazine’s Best Companies to Work For award in 2011, has made personal interests a key feature of its onboarding practices. Every Snagajob employee fills out a survey called Snagger Confessions, which includes a series of questions about their personal interests. Managers at the company then use the responses to provide a colorful introduction, making it easy for teammates to have non-workplace topics to talk about the first time they meet.
When employees first arrive on the job, it’s tempting to get introductory meetings out of the way as quickly as possible. Resist this urge. It’s far better to scatter them over a few days or weeks. That may feel inefficient at first, but not if you want new hires to be mentally present and primed to make connections.
It also pays to think carefully about a new hire’s first assignment. You can use it to do more than simply get a new employee up to speed; you can use it as a tool for deepening relationships. Start new hires with a series of modest, collaborative projects that discourage isolation and allow them to collect early wins. The shared accomplishment will bolster connections while fostering a sense of team pride.
If stretching out and customizing the onboarding process sounds complex, that’s because it is. And it should be. Building lasting relationships takes time. At parties, a well-handled introduction can mean the difference between guests remaining late into the night or using any excuse to leave. The same is true of the workplace. How employees feel when they first arrive shapes every impression they develop thereafter.
Reprinted from “The Best Place to Work: The Art and Science of Creating an Extraordinary Workplace” by Ron Friedman, Ph.D., by arrangement with Perigee, a member of Penguin Group (USA) LLC, a Penguin Random House Company, Copyright © 2014 by Ron Friedman. For more information, visit http://thebestplacetoworkbook.com
Ron Friedman, Ph.D., is a social psychologist and Harvard Business contributor.
