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: jcoupe@orcasolutions.be

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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# Photo Credits

Credits