While data analytics and machine learning are transforming business operations, executive search practitioner, Brian McFadden, says that companies need to also look at trends on how to build effective leadership teams to drive businesses forward.
One such trend is availing of professional onboarding services when hiring a new senior executive or indeed promoting someone internally. "Companies should take advantage of this model to make sure their new executive navigates their way through the all-important first 90 days in the new job to guide them toward success and build confidence. This, in turn, helps build a cohesive leadership team that drives lasting success for the business", according to McFadden.
Bringing in the right leaders is critical for any organisation as they become the steward of the culture, embody a company’s core values, set and drive strategies and therefore have a dramatic effect on organizational effectiveness than any other hires.
Senior executive hire turnover has the biggest impact, its effects reverberate across the whole organisation and causing great unsettlement when someone suddenly departs. It raises a lot of questions throughout the organisation about viability, quality of the workplace and leadership. Effective onboarding of new senior hires reduces the chances of new hires leaving.
Organisations can spend several months (and significant resources) searching for a new senior executive. Yet, after the offer is accepted and the individual joins the company, the onboarding process often does not receive the same level of effort and energy as the hiring process did. Most organizations fully acknowledge that onboarding is important, especially with the well-documented high cost of failure which can be anywhere up to 20 times the base salary of leaders.
According to Fortune magazine, about 40% of executives who change roles or get promoted fail in the first 18 months, many of these in the first 6 months. Onboarding senior executives can reduce the chances of this happening.
In short, it's preparing your new leader to adjust to the social, cultural and professional components of the role through a structured approach to settling into the organisation. There is a schedule to meet and spend time with key stakeholders, learning new processes and systems and ways of doing things as well as the practical elements of receiving necessary equipment and access to systems to do the job.
Executive Search Onboarding provides a model where an external professional coach is made available to the new executive who acts as the executive's personal counsellor, for want of a better word. The coach is a sounding board to work through problems or issues the new executive might encounter in what is a stressful transition to a new organisation or role.
Through this process of being coached, both company and the newly headhunted leader maximise the chances of settling in, getting some early wins and navigating their way successfully through the crucial first 90 days in the new job. The coach assigned to them for this period acts as a sounding board and a counselor to aid them in solving problems, overcome obstacles and deal with issues before they become problems.
An external professional coach during the onboarding provides new leaders with a safer environment for the new executive to navigate any internal company politics. They focus on the person's key strengths, help them to see things in different ways, and assist their problem-solving in a democratic way. They will also work with the company to help create an effective onboarding process.
First impressions last and bad news spreads fast. Your senior people will let their peers know about their onboarding experience to attract others. A bad onboarding experience results in new hires jumping to early conclusions that your organisation is poorly managed, and that’s not an impression you want to make when searching for your next business leader.
The obvious benefit of a good onboarding process is to get the new senior hire ramped up quickly so they can start making a contribution as soon as possible. Positive experiences promote positive attitudes, so if new senior employees feel a high level of support from the company, they are more likely to be more engaged in their work, and you will see increases in efficiency and productivity.
It’s a no-brainer that senior hires who suddenly leave your company not only negatively affect the culture but also have a negative impact on your costs. A good onboarding process overall greatly increases the likelihood that a new employee will stay over the first 90 days, and become a long-term leader for your organisation.
As part of RECRUITERS' Executive Search Services – we provide expert leadership onboarding coaches to your new hire for the first 90 days to accelerate the performance of your new executive hire, help them onboard effectively and get ROI on the overall process. Our panel of coaches specialise in different types of executives and increase the chances of your new hire working out dramatically.
The results of a well-planned and carefully managed onboarding program speak for themselves:
Find out more about our Executive Search Service, LeaderBoard, and how it delivers better value and results for your new executive hires.
