In a previous blog, I addressed the front end/pre-hiring phase of the onboarding process and in this blog, I would like to share some of my thoughts regarding three additional aspects that are essential to a successful onboarding experience.

Although often not considered part of onboarding, the “job offering” process is, from our perspective, a very important phase of the onboarding experience. All elements of the job offer provide the new employee with a set of impressions regarding the ways of the organization that make an impression and have a lasting effect. Some key questions and activities to reflect upon, which require answers and strategy, are—who communicates to the candidate that he or she has been selected for the job? What is the message that needs to be conveyed? How long after the final interview with the candidate should a call be made? Who makes the offer—is it the CEO, the CPO, or the SVP of Talent Acquisition? Who negotiates the compensation package? Who writes the offer letter and what is its content and tone? Each one of these decisions and subsequent actions convey an implicit message. Many companies fail to recognize this and what impression that leaves or is thought about from the perspective of the candidate/future executive. And, at times, the message that the organization is sending may not be consistent with the organization’s brand, image, values, and culture—both explicit and implicit. Read More

Hiring senior level executives can be a difficult and labor-intensive undertaking. However, there are some actions you can take to guide you in the decision-making process. One course of action is to conduct a pre-hire assessment and another is to have a pre-hire discussion.

How can hiring executives determine a candidate’s strengths and potential growth opportunities? How can they come to an informed and sound decision about a candidate if all the interviewers don’t sit down together and discuss the interviews? A meeting or conference call of all the interviewers to discuss the candidates can help hiring executives make a more confident decision about who to hire—and this pre-hire discussion can be divided into two different but equally important parts. Read More

Hiring executives, whether they are HR managers or senior level leaders, have the responsibility to “hire responsibly.” What do I mean by “hiring responsibly?” Hiring executives tend to focus more upon the effort of finding candidates and then selecting the one that best meets the company’s success criteria. Most often, the criteria is based upon six factors; job experience, experience within the industry, role competency, diversity, cultural fit, and leadership potential. The first four of these factors are easy to assess but not so for the last two—cultural fitness and leadership.

First, let’s take a look at cultural fitness. Most often, it is assumed that the company has a monolithic culture with a set of defined values, shared vision, common goals, and rituals. This assumption is based upon a very broad and macro view of the organization. However, as we take a more granular view, we start to discover subcultures that are quite different from each other and where people behave differently and have very different beliefs. This invites the questions: What subculture is the candidate being hired into? What is its texture? What is its cadence? What are the appropriate and inappropriate behaviors within this subculture? What rituals do they have? What is its history? What is being expected from new employees in order for them be accepted and embraced? What are the sensitivities of the group’s dynamic? As we can see, there is more than a broad definition of the organization’s culture that contributes in a more determinate way to the success and longevity of new employees. Read More