Why Your Organization Needs A Transboarding Strategy?
Internal transfers need same level of attention as external hires
Posted on 07-17-2018, Read Time: Min
Share:
More and more, employers are beginning to recognize the importance of comprehensive onboarding programs for new employees. In fact, a recent research from Kronos Incorporated, conducted with the Human Capital Institute, finds that nearly a third of organizations (30 percent) intend to increase their onboarding budget in 2018, with most planning to invest in program consistency and software solutions.
This is good news for new hires. But what about that category of “new-ish” hires that are often forgotten about?
Internal hires -- employees at an organization who are taking on a new role within their current area or transferring to a different department -- are often ignored when it comes to a process known as trans-boarding, or the onboarding of company transfers.
In fact, our research shows that nearly a quarter (24 percent) of organizations have no onboarding strategy or process for internal hires, and organizations are more than twice as likely to offer consistent, standardized onboarding for their external hires than for internal ones.
A Missed Opportunity
Talent mobility and promoting from within are hallmarks of a strong company culture full of growth, learning, and development opportunities. But failing to implement a proper transboarding strategy means you are making an assumption that these internal candidates have what they need to be successful in their new role.
Not having a proper transboarding strategy may leave this group of employees feeling lost, confused, and struggling to understand how their new role fits into the organization’s larger goals. This creates a missed opportunity to harness that contagious excitement, and instead threatens to disengage internal hires at what may be the most exciting moment of their career.
Internal transfers need to be given the same level of attention as external new hires and well-structured transboarding programs should maximize the energy and excitement of these employees and set them up for long-term success in their new roles.
Here are three points to keep in mind when designing your organization’s transboarding process:
Not having a proper transboarding strategy may leave this group of employees feeling lost, confused, and struggling to understand how their new role fits into the organization’s larger goals. This creates a missed opportunity to harness that contagious excitement, and instead threatens to disengage internal hires at what may be the most exciting moment of their career.
Internal transfers need to be given the same level of attention as external new hires and well-structured transboarding programs should maximize the energy and excitement of these employees and set them up for long-term success in their new roles.
Here are three points to keep in mind when designing your organization’s transboarding process:
- Culture is key - Our research found that nearly two-thirds (60 percent) of survey respondents said the purpose of onboarding for external or internal hires is to integrate employees into the organization’s culture. Despite this, culture-focused activities and programming make up an average of just 30 percent of onboarding programs. Especially when it comes to transboarding, a focus on culture is critically important. How can a first-time manager be expected to build an engaged team if they’re not well-versed in organizational culture? For other employees, it’s a prime opportunity to remind them of the goals and values that likely attracted them to the organization in the first place.
- Enabling managers - Another critical finding in our research was that more than half (57 percent) of survey respondents believe that the lack of bandwidth for people managers is a significant barrier to improving the onboarding process. While general company policies may be the same, every unit within an organization may have different processes for common daily activities. If these folks aren’t being put through a formal transboarding program, they are going to need lots of individual attention from their new manager in order to be successful. Organizations should recognize this fact, inform managers of it, and give them the time and support they need to be able to get their new employees up-to-speed.
- Measure success – It may seem obvious that the only way to really know if your transboarding efforts are successful is to ask folks who have gone through the process for their feedback and track the turnover of employees who transfer within the organization. However, our research found that more than half (55 percent) of companies do not measure the effectiveness of their onboarding programs, leaving them in the dark about what is working and what needs to be improved. To maximize transboarding and onboarding programs, it’s critical for organizations to seek feedback from both internal and external hires on their experience and track it over time.
Maximizing Excitement, Enthusiasm
Promoting and transferring high-achievers within your company is an excellent strategy for retaining the best of the best, ensuring institutional knowledge doesn’t get lost along the way, and creating an engaging workplace culture. But just promoting and transferring top talent isn’t enough - you must put the work in to make sure their transition goes well, that they feel supported in their new roles, and ultimately are given the tools they need to succeed.A transboarding strategy that focuses on culture, provides ample manager guidance, and measures its own success will maximize the excitement and enthusiasm these individuals bring to their new teams, fostering higher levels of engagement and productivity that propel the organization forward.
Author Bio
| Stacey Kervin is the Human Resource Practice Group Manager at Kronos and a featured contributor to the What Works blog focusing on HR topics and trends. Stacey has spent her career positioning solutions for leadership development, career management, outplacement, recruiting, performance management and strategic workforce consulting to provide employees the best possible employment experience. Visit www.kronos.com Connect Stacey Kervin |
Error: No such template "/CustomCode/topleader/category"!
