Onboarding Excellence For Executives: 5 Ways To Empower Your Power Players

Effective onboarding can be a critical factor in driving senior level retention and job satisfaction

I know what you’re probably thinking. Executives, as far as workers go, are inherently the savviest, most sophisticated and seasoned employees in any organization; given their acumen and experience, not to mention their scope of work and functional responsibilities, it seems specious - if not a waste of time and bandwidth -  to provide them with the same sort of onboarding experience as other hires, right?

That is the conventional thinking anyways, the thing is, the prevailing wisdom is, in fact, dead wrong.

Here’s the thing: onboarding provides future workers with an essential, and foundational, experience that sets the tone for their tenure, establishes employer expectations and equips them with the insights, information and tools they need to become successful, engaged and productive contributors to your organization’s business and bottom line results. 

And the thing is, while it is job level agnostic, given these outcomes, onboarding might actually be even more important for executives and senior leaders than most other employees. Yet at far too many companies, executive onboarding is overlooked, if not completely ignored.

A recent study from executive consulting firm Bluesteps found that in the U.S., executives were 35% less likely to undergo a formal onboarding program than other workers. This is a missed opportunity. 

While a lot goes into an executive’s performance and staying power in an organization, effective onboarding not only significantly enhances their chances to succeed in their new roles, becoming more productive performers and more engaged employees, but it also can be a critical factor in driving senior level retention and job satisfaction, too.

Any way you look at it, executive onboarding programs are a win-win for both new hires and the organizations they will be helping to lead. Here are some of the key ways your company can get the most out of executive onboarding, and what every people leader needs to know about maximizing the new hire experience for their new executive hires. 

Mission Control

Just as ground control guides interstellar expeditions, your onboarding program lays out the trajectory and the tools for new executives to stay on course. Onboarding is when new executives can learn about and align with your company’s mission, vision, and values, and dive into key business goals and metrics—not to mention, learning about their individual responsibilities and goals.

While each organization is different, you will want to make sure to cover some basics—for example, you will want to introduce new leaders to key operations, the ins and outs of your company culture, and important details regarding how their equity compensation ties to any performance metrics. 

Onboarding works best when it is personalized to each role—but no matter what, your new executives will benefit if you include these core components:

 

• Pre-boarding: Engage as many of your company’s current roster of leaders as you can to meet with the new executive. Hearing multiple perspectives from across business functions can give new leaders a deeper sense of your company’s culture, how teams collaborate, and critical areas of focus. It can also help set clear expectations on immediate goals once they join the team, as well as give them a leg-up on relationship building and aligning with stakeholders. They will need that connectivity to be effective.

 

• 6-9 months roadmap: In the first week, fill a new executive’s calendar with purposeful one-on-ones and introductions so they can learn the lay of the land. Hand them a clear plan for their first three, six, or nine months (then coordinate with their department assistant to add education and regular check-ins to their schedule. Include systems training, transition tasks, and both digital and in-person learning. Consider leveraging technology like web-based or online collaboration tools to provide an innovative scorecard experience of required activities, including reminders for key actions.

 

• Equity education: Our recent Equity Plan Management Report found that 80% of equity leaders believe equity compensation programs will grow in importance over the next five years.2. No matter an executive’s experience level, equity comp is a complex but central part of their employee experience. Help them out by codifying an education and communications program with targeted, personalized education modules, notifications of key dates, and clearly delineated resources for any additional questions they may have or specialized support they may need. Check in with your stock plan administrator regularly, and work with a financial advisor who really understands the ins and outs of equity compensation. The executive needs to understand how business metrics connect to their award payouts, as well as the when and why. You can go the extra mile by booking 1:1s for your new executives with benefits administrators, plan advisors, or HR as they approach key equity milestones. 

 

• Highlight additional support and advice: Executives are short on time, so offering them access to tax professionals, legal advisors, and financial advisors through your workplace benefits can make for a more seamless employee experience. For example, a financial coach or tax and legal advisor experienced in deferred compensation can help them navigate the potential tradeoffs as they make decisions around their tax deferrals and retirement. A good financial wellness program or advisors offered through your equity plan administrator can also add value and reduce any personal stress around finances, freeing up their energy for work.

 

• Clarify the connection between goals, metrics, and KPIs + compensation: If you set out to run a race but don’t know the route or the location of the finish line, how can you win? Similarly, if your new executives walk away from onboarding without knowing how their performance is measured and what to deliver, they will be running blind. Infuse your communications and benefits protocols with concrete data that link equity awards and dates to real-world company metrics and timetables to make sure your company and your new executives are on the same page. 

Making it Happen

There is a lot to cover as you bring new executives up to speed, so you may want to develop an “Onboarding Playbook” or a purpose-built internal site that walks new hires through their personal onboarding timeline and to-dos. Follow it up with a diagnostic plan or leadership stakeholder team and working group to keep tabs on the process, and partner with your stock plan provider along the way to make the most of any additional support or education they can offer for your new executives. 

The great news is that Gallup found that when employees strongly agree their "onboarding process was exceptional," they are almost twice as likely to feel fully prepared to excel in their new role and 2.3 times more likely to say their job is as good or better than they expected it to be.3 So, onboarding isn’t just a blip on the calendar. Rather, think of transitioning a new executive onto your team as the first step in a long race—one in which their ultimate success and satisfaction will depend on your ongoing support, guidance, and help.

Source:
1. Survey: New Executives Receive Little or No Onboarding - HR Executive
2. Morgan Stanley at Work, Equity Plan Management: 2022 Report | Morgan Stanley at Work 
3. Gallup, Essential Ingredients for an Effective Onboarding Program (gallup.com), 2019

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Craig Rubino is Head of Global Learning and Development at Morgan Stanley at Work. Visit www.morganstanley.com  Connect Craig Rubino