The onboarding process shouldn’t be overwhelming | Managers at Work

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“We recently ‘onboarded’ a new group of employees and we received some feedback from one of them who complained that we packed too much in, that he was completely overwhelmed with information between the in-person and virtual sessions. Yes there is a lot, including information on roles and responsibilities, compliance issues, processes and procedures. We do have a lot to cover, but how do you do it in a way that makes sense and is thorough?”

Yes, if you’ve ever been through onboarding, the amount of information you have to sift through can feel completely overwhelming. By the time you’ve gotten through a couple of hours, your head is spinning, you’ve got more questions than answers, you’re hungry and you’re wondering if this was worth it. It’s all TMI – too much information.

Indeed, I have known of new hires who have left jobs before they ever started because they were too overwhelmed with information during the onboarding process.

Companies become concerned, though, about being thorough and potentially leaving out information that might be critical, either now or down the road.

Ricci Masero, a marketing communications specialist and marketing manager at Intellek, a learning technology company, compares starting a new job to “drinking from a fire hose.” The goal should be to turn the “overwhelming flood of new information into a manageable stream,” he says.

“Think about what your new hires really need to know from the get-go. Start with the stuff they can’t do their job without. Then you can introduce other things bit by bit. It’s like coaxing them in from the pool’s shallow end instead of dropping them in the deep end and hoping they can swim. That way, they won’t be drowning in information on day one.”

An article by Matthew Kosinski last year in the Society of Human Resource Management’s Executive Network pointed to several reasons why onboarding programs can be ineffective or weak, including lack of resources, lack of support by leaders and the ongoing pressure to put people to work immediately. If leaders in human resources struggle to get enough investment to modernize the onboarding experience, they should remember that poor onboarding can result in higher turnover and higher recruiting costs, said one executive. “You just spent how much money to recruit this great talent, and now you’re losing it?”

Another study released last year by Paychex, discussed the fallout that can occur from “undertraining” new employees.

In the Paychex survey of over 1,000 employed U.S. workers, some 52 percent reported feeling “undertrained,” noting that those working for small companies were most likely to feel that way. “This is likely a byproduct of small businesses not having the same HR resources as larger companies,” the report said, adding that outsourced HR can help smaller businesses compete with larger competitors.

The Paychex report noted that while some 50 percent of newly hired employees plan to leave their jobs soon, that number jumps to 80 percent for those who feel undertrained from poor onboarding. The numbers are much lower for those who feel well-trained.

In developing effective onboarding programs, keep in mind several key things, experts say, including the pace, the timing and segmentation of the information to be presented, as well as an understanding of learning styles and challenges.

“When someone starts a new job, they have to process many new things, which uses a larger amount of energy than learned auto-pilot tasks and causes the brain to reach a point of fatigue quickly. Additionally, when performing mentally draining tasks, the average person is most productive for two to three hours each day,” says Emily Walton, a leadership development coach and founder at Alo Coaching, an executive development firm in Ashville, NC.

“When designing an onboarding process for new hires, factor in the mental load of learning so many new things and structure their onboarding so that they have opportunities to review and apply the new material they have learned, ensuring that they understand and remember it.”

Alex Suggs, co-founder of the consulting firm Different DEI, suggests that organizations learn what they can about different learning styles within their workforce. Some employees may learn best through meetings while others will prefer self-paced learning materials.

He suggests using a two-part framework to “bucket” onboarding topics into two main categories: important to know and need to know right now; important to know but don’t need to know right now. “An organization should prioritize the first category in its initial onboarding roll-out and consider staggering the topics that fall into the second category over the first three months of work.”

Also, it can be very helpful to provide new employees with an online intranet or onboarding packet that allows them to “co-lead” their own onboarding process. “Not everything needs to be shared in the first week,” he says.

Tammy Harper, chief human resources officer at the global IT services firm, CAI, took it a step further and suggested categorizing content by business areas and practices and utilizing various media, including video, audio, written content, to explain different pieces. “Interactivity is also key for new hires who prefer more hands-on approaches to processing this information – either live presentations with Q&A or employee mentors who have a thorough understanding of the business model,” she says. “This creates less one-sided content and more engaging participation.”

Be sure that your onboarding program also provides accommodation for neurodivergent individuals and those with disabilities. “You want your employees to consume the content easily and enjoyably, so ask them what they need to make that happen.”

Several experts have pointed to the need to ensure that onboarding includes opportunities to make friends and build connections in the company. Indeed, having one designated support person for new hires can “create a lifeline” during onboarding, says Alison Hunter, co-leader of the Leadership Advisory practice at the executive search firm, Raines International.

“It gives them clarity on who they can go to and jumpstarts the community connections that are so important in setting the tone for their experience and engagement.”

Alexandra Suchman, co-founder and chief executive officer at Barometer XP, a company that uses games to build stronger workplace cultures, agreed that connections can make all the difference. Numerous studies show that having a friend at work is a “top predictor of high retention and performance,” she says.

So, it makes sense during onboarding to schedule times for new hires to form relationships not only with people from their own teams, but also with colleagues in other departments that new hires would want or need to interact with. These can be one-on-one meetings, a small group lunch or coffee break, she says.

“My company brings games into the workplace because playing games together is a great way to understand different problem-solving and communication styles.”

In many cases, onboarding time is taken up by procedures around managing paperwork and learning company policies. And as a result, it might be a week or more before new hires actually get to talk with their new colleagues, Suchman says. “This sends a message to the new employee that compliance is more valued than culture, and that’s not a great first impression to make.”

Managers at Work is a monthly column exploring the issues and challenges facing managers. Contact Kathleen Driscoll with questions or comments by email at [email protected]