Avoiding Onboarding Trauma

It’s a new year, so let’s talk about trauma.

I have been through enough trauma in my life to know that causing trauma to others because I have experienced it doesn’t make my trauma better.?

It only creates a vicious cycle of more trauma in the world. ?

A few years ago, my good friend Ben got a new job as Communications Manager of a major transportation hub, and I was pretty taken aback by how his team “welcomed” him.?

Knowing in advance that two members of his new team were on PTO the following week, Ben asked for talking points and framing ideas in case interviews or media requests came in.?

And, just like clockwork, the media requests came in.

But his team didn’t provide the talking points before the interviews. They didn’t send anything to Ben in advance.??

???So Ben had to do the work without help or context. .?

As a consummate professional, he performed the on-air interviews without concern and did fine.?

Here’s what his team didn’t know. Before the interviews, Ben called every single division director of the transportation hub and asked questions. He wrote his own talking points and even spoke to the head of the organization in a short briefing before going live.?

???You see, Ben did the work. He did the thing.?

When Ben asked his team members about it, they responded by saying, “Dude, with all due respect, I got thrown into the fire here too, so welcome to the team.”?

Ben prepares for meetings, calls, and projects. He takes time to think about the services he provides and tries to make them better on a daily basis. He also expects that of his team.?

It is time to break the cycle of workplace trauma.?

Just because our experience was bad doesn’t give us the right to make another person’s experience worse. Just because we had a rough go at it doesn’t mean we have to make others have a rough go at it.??

Time to break the cycle.?

The idea of leaving things better than we found them.?

Creating a better atmosphere for the next group behind us. Making our jobs a little easier for the next person, so they don’t have to experience what we experienced.?

Does this sound familiar??

You’re a new employee and you can’t find the right person to call for help your first week.?

Or you don’t know how to use the eight different computer systems and the training manager is out on leave so you’re just going to have to wait.????

Or instead of a training and development program, the team has a shadow training program. But it isn’t really a program at all; it's just to go watch Lesley for the week, read this budget document and then go ahead and do your job.?

A new employee should be able to come into work and feel safe. They should be able to come into work and have a fun and exciting day.?

They shouldn’t have to shadow someone for three weeks to get the hang of it. It’s ineffective and self-defeating for the organization.?

The onboarding documentation, the desk aides, the job aides, and the talking points should all be ready before they step in on their first day.???

We can do this by creating these reference materials with every new hire. Then, ask our new hires to make the materials better when they start. “Each one improves one.”

Ben shouldn’t be left high and dry because of his last onboarding experience.?

Passing down bad services and bad processes to the next employee is generational work trauma. And it leaves everyone worse off.?

We can do better.?

Interested in making your organization better than you found it? Drop me a line here for a free consultation.?

-Brian Elms