Take New Employee Onboarding Seriously

Stephen Robbins writes in Managing People: All new recruits in the Navy must complete a mandatory multi‑week onboarding program at a naval training camp.

🔹 The purpose of this onboarding period is to test the commitment and sense of responsibility of newly hired individuals. During this time, Navy instructors also make the specific conditions and rules of working in the force more tangible for newcomers.

🔹 Starbucks follows a similar—though simpler—approach by training all new employees through a 24‑hour onboarding program. This program is designed to familiarize them with the company’s goals, create a shared language among employees, and introduce the details of working at Starbucks.

🔹 Taking onboarding seriously is essential because no matter how well you conduct the hiring process or how carefully you select the right candidates, you cannot expect new employees to immediately understand your organizational culture or perform at their full potential from day one.

🔹 To design an effective onboarding program, you must make decisions about four key elements:

◽️ 1. Should the onboarding be formal or informal?

◽️ 2. Should it be conducted individually for each new hire, or as a group for all newly hired employees?

◽️ 3. Should onboarding be incidental—meaning the new hire simply joins existing employees and learns through exposure—or structured, meaning the new hire begins their job while you gradually introduce them to others and to the organization?

◽️ 4. Should the onboarding program include a final evaluation or not? In other words, do you want to assess the new employee at the end of the program?

🔹 In general, onboarding programs that are formal, group‑based, structured, and include a final evaluation tend to be more effective and reduce the likelihood of future misunderstandings between you and your new employee.

This post is also available in: Persian