Episode 72. I Was Formally Onboarded to Team Tye… Here are 3 Things That Surprised Me
Onboarding is vital to the success of your company. Point, blank, PERIOD. And yet too often new team members are left confused about what they need to do, who to contact if they have questions, and about their role in general. Why is this happening? Well, in our experience companies want the easiest approach possible: to regurgitate their mission and values, give them their company login, and send them on their way. That’s where things go wrong. Talking AT your new hire rather than WITH them is the #1 mistake you can make.
I get it, you hired someone because you have a need for them to do a certain important job for your business that will increase productivity, fill in a gaping hole, or put your mind at ease. Completely valid! But if you want them to do it well and to do it for a while you need to take a step back, have a discussion, and be present. Slow down to speed up!
My Background with Team Tye
I recently had my orientation with Tianna in my new role as a Team Dynamics Associate Consultant. (Yay, promotion!) I worked for Tianna previously as a Team Dynamics Intern since October 2020. Never would I have thought that our initial IG conversations would lead to me not only getting an internship but eventually leading to becoming an official part of the team almost a year later. Funny how full-circle that is! Since we had already covered the mission, vision, and other fundamentals previously, like the core values, we focused exclusively on operational onboarding. We reviewed platforms that we use at Team Tye and planned out how I’d be spending the next few weeks as I transitioned into my new role.
By having our onboarding online later in the day, I was able to fully appreciate my new circumstances before meeting with Tianna. I was able to stroll into my office with a coffee in hand and still in my Star War pajamas with my hair disheveled and get down to work. I enjoyed this work-from-home thing greatly. I knew that I would, but what I did not know was how different Tianna’s onboarding experience would be. I have attended a lot of orientations before, 7 to be exact, but this one was different.
As you know, virtual onboarding is imperative for your company in the remote workforce but making the experience superb and seamless is challenging, especially the first time around. Be sure to check out “5 Onboarding Myths That Are Holding You Back from Having a High-Performing Team”.
3 Things That Surprised Me About Our Onboarding:
IT WAS NOT MONOTONOUS!
I have attended far too many onboardings that were really just orientations: they lasted one day, and they read from a PowerPoint presentation to go over policies, procedures, PTO, benefits, etc. These were experiences where I was talked “at” but not “with.”
Here are a few reasons why I’d recommend you ditch that approach completely:
It’s boring to be lectured. Plain and simple.
One-way onboarding leaves little room for engagement or discussion, and while in the past I would be able to ask clarifying questions.
There aren’t built-in opportunities to make suggestions for improvement.
Your onboarding will be the foundation of your new team member’s introduction to your company, establishing relationships with their peers, and helping them have a voice within the company. Onboarding should never be a “one-and-done” day-long experience, which is why our onboarding process has been so different.
WE GOT DOWN TO THE NITTY-GRITTY!
Many companies want to go over the most vital information and then throw their new hire in the deep end with little-to-no support, but in many ways, this is actually setting them up for failure. Why? Because it takes on average 90-days before you fully grasp any role and company. So what happens during these 90-days? A lot actually. During our orientation meeting, I learned that our first 90-days would include:
Daily engagement
Check-ins
Check-outs
Prerecorded Trainings
There are a ton of moving pieces, which is why it is imperative to get down to the nitty-gritty from the get-go about what they need to, what they will be doing, and what is to be expected. By having this plan established in advance, not only are you setting them up for success, but you are also establishing systems where you will be able to see the value that they bring visually. Win-win!
WE ESTABLISHED TRUST QUICKLY
The most important factor that stood out to me was trust. While Tianna had already established a plan of different tasks that she wanted me to finish with a deadline, there was trust that I could handle and set my own schedule to finish less time-sensitive tasks on my own accord. While this is not a crazy concept to trust your team, in my experience, it does not happen often.
Micromanagers are a detriment to teams, and in the past, not only would I have to report my every move, but they planned out my entire day for what task I would work on and when. It did not give me the autonomy I wanted as a professional to make my own choices. For example, I am not a morning person and will do the more tedious tasks in the morning that does not require me to think of ideas until later on in the afternoon once the coffee has hit and I am fully awake. If I had to create content early in the morning, I can assure you it would not be at my best and would take me longer to accomplish.
While these orientation and onboarding concepts are not crazy, they were surprising because in my experience, it is not something I have been exposed to. And I’ve got to say: I’m a fan! Try applying these onboarding principles to your own business. It may have lasting effects on your new team member and how confidently they contribute to your business.
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