Employee onboarding in the
21st century
About?
Jeroen Coupé
Manager at Orca Solutions.
- Started (onboarded) on several different
allready existing projects.
- Gebcai
- Fortis
- Oracle on demand
- Mentored different employees into the
Kwandoo project
Twitter : @jecoupe
Email: [email protected]
Onboarding
“Onboarding is also known as organizational
socialization” ― Wikipedia
Onboarding
The mechanism through which new employees
acquire the necessary knowledge, skills, and
behaviors to become effective organizational
members and insiders. ― Wikipedia
Meet new hire: David
David starts in an office in desperate
need of a new employee
But without an onboarding process…
… even mundaine practices canappear strange.
Without sufficient support and on-the-job training David ends up frustrated, confused and…
…unproductive
How can we help David?
1. Introduce a buddy system
A good mentor…
…provides a safe place toask questions.
…is a close colleaguebut not a manager.
…gives early feedback andsets clear expectations.
Make sure…
…the role is explicit.
…follow-up happens over
an extended time frame.
There are two things people want more than sex
and money… recognition and praise.― Mary Kay Ash
2. Document key processes
IDEA
Identify
E
D
A
Identify the processes that are interesting for a new arrival…
What steps are needed tobe able to contribute
Which processes happen very frequently?
How do i fill in my time sheet?
I
E
Describe
A
Define the optimal/current way of doing things
Try to explain why certain non-obvious choices were made.
Keep every topic as short as possible (1 page is ideal)
Create a standard operating procedure per topic
Call it process documentation
and no one will read it.― Ian Gotts
I
Execute
D
A
Execute the defined processand gather feedback
Onboarding should be aniterative process
Boy-scout principal: Each new team-member should try to make the docs better for the next one.
Every team member shouldbe able to contribute
Much learning does not teach
understanding.― Heraclitus
I
E
D
Automate
When the process is wel enoughunderstood it might be possible toautomate it.
Automation takes awaycomplexity
Don’t optimize
prematurely
Click the button vs 3 pages of procedures.
Credit: xkcd
Identify
Execute
Describe
Automate
Onboarding is an indispensable tool in enabling an
employee to be productive as soon as possible.― Jeroen Coupé
Onboarding is not only usefull for new
hires, but also for new consultancy
engagements or change of function
within the organisation
Slow at work?
Instead of doing inemuri…
…or watching adorable kittens
Everybody get onboard
Questions?
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Credits
