Aftercare, Onboarding & Leadership Success

I started my career in recruitment in 2005 working for an international firm with a quality training programme that I believe set the foundations for success.

Recruitment for some may sound like a lovely career; placing people into jobs sounds fun and rewarding, which it absolutely can be. It’s also a highly competitive, cutthroat sales business.

One of biggest challenges is that you're selling an opportunity of future potential to one person and a human solution or asset to another; there are few guarantees for either side.

Amongst this, certain factors need to be agreed, such as compensation, location, expectations etc. Potentially challenged further by spouses' opinions, counter-offers, sickness, social environmental changes and all of a sudden, you realise it's a miracle anyone ever makes a move!

Processes that have been ongoing for 6 even 12 months where there's a signed contract, can fall apart at the last minute.

Candidates may even start with a company only to leave within a month, 6 months, 11 months.

And this is a disaster.

It’s a disaster for the recruiter because for leadership hires, if the candidate leaves within 12 months, they will typically have to re-do the search for free.

It’s a disaster for the candidate because they’ve made a public move that did not work out and are likely feeling bruised and somewhat insecure about the future.

It’s a disaster for the company because they waited a long time to hire this person and now need to go through the whole process again, not to mention a significant financial cost, opportunity cost, cultural cost and reputational cost.

When I think about these situations, it reminds me of that sales training many years ago and the importance that was put on ‘Aftercare’.

Yes, making the placement was important; but protecting that placement was just as critical.

This meant checking in on how the person was doing, asking what’s going well, what’s not going well; learning early about any potential issues that could uproot the deal.

But what about the organisation? If it's that hard to hire people, wouldn't an emphasis on helping them integrate and accelerate be a priority?

What is called Aftercare for the recruiter, is classified as Onboarding within the employer and in my experience, the quality of it varies wildly between organisations.

With leadership recruitment fees costing 6 figures, I see huge value in an organisation having a clear plan to accelerate a leaders' integration, provide a return on investment and ensure the person not only makes it to 12 months, but can thrive beyond.

Surprisingly, this is often a blind spot. In the last couple of years, the senior, high profile leaders I have seen leave organisations within the first 18 months, have quoted either lack of support, or inability to effectively integrate or make their desired impact.

It’s tempting to believe that once the person has joined, that the hard work has been done.

The first 6-12 months however are the riskiest, as leaders need to assimilate to new systems, processes and culture, work to deliver on their day job and build relationships, reputational respect and credibility from the ground up.

How companies support their leaders effectively during this onboarding transition period, could mean the difference between a culture of leadership retention or attrition.

Investing in coaching as a part of a leadership onboarding and success programme, not only supports the wellbeing and performance of the individual but protects the financial investment of the hire.

How does your organisation onboard and support new leaders?