Employee implementation as the key to its effectiveness?

The goal of most enterprises is to ensure safe operation and dynamic development by having a competitive advantage over other entities offering the same or similar products / services on the market in which the company operates. For years, theorists and business practitioners have been writing about the factors that constitute the source of the true effectiveness of the organization. In the last few years, considering what distinguishes successful organizations from those that fail in the marketplace has become even more significant due to the existence of a more turbulent business environment, known as the ‘Era of Chaos or New Normal’. The reasons for such a situation are manifold; however, the most fundamental ones are the increasing pace and unpredictability of economic changes in the world caused by the progressing process of globalization, capital mobility, rapid technological development, galloping changes in customer requirements and socio-political changes.

For most business experts, the answer to the question, “What is the factor enabling the organization to develop safely and dynamically nowadays?” is unambiguous now. It is the human factor, and more precisely, the quality of human resources of the organization measured by two factors: the level of knowledge and professional skills of the company's employees and the level of their commitment to work. Why? Well, having even the best machines, devices, lines of trucks or other fixed assets in a company is not in itself sufficient to achieve the effectiveness of the company's operation, if the employees who manage these resources do not have the competence and willingness to use them well. Thanks to the higher competences and greater motivation of the staff the company becomes more creative and dynamic in its activities, which allows it to proactively react to changes taking place on the market.

The process of building a valuable team, in any company, obviously begins with effective recruitment. More and more companies are already aware of the importance of this element in their strategy. The level of competence in conducting the recruitment processes is increasing, although there is still a lot to be done. This applies especially to the complementary process concerning the recruitment activities - introducing a newly employed person to work. This area is actually left to chance in many companies, and yet the business value for the company with even the best person selected in the recruitment process is much lower without an effective method of implementation.

Benefits of a systemic, i.e. planned and well-organized implementation process.

The benefits are manifold and include:

? Faster expenses reimbursement for the employer, which is the cost of the recruitment process and the employee's remuneration. It is possible by achieving a good level of work efficiency of the newly hired person in a short time.

? Reduced stress level of the introduced employee and their colleagues.

? Increased job satisfaction and thus higher motivation and commitment.

? Higher loyalty and fewer chances of leaving.

Plan for introducing a person to work in the company.

For most newly hired employees, the most difficult thing is usually the feeling of alienation during the first days or weeks in a new company. If there is no organized plan of the implementation activities for new recruits, they often feel "lost", embarrassed or even demotivated, because, for example, they do not know how to go to work, what and where to find, where to get the necessary information, who is who in the company and how to address the people. They do not understand certain behaviour, they are also afraid to propose ways of behaving so as not to be misunderstood, etc.

In many companies, the implementation process takes only a few days. For example, the person is shown around the company and introduced to the work position and tasks by discussing and showing the work-related activities. However, the average time of the implementation activities should be longer for an employee to be implemented efficiently and reliably. On average, a solid implementation process takes around three months.

The process of system implementation should actually start during the recruitment process. An indispensable part of an effective recruitment process is the so-called realistic job description which includes a presentation to the candidate before the acceptance about  both the strengths of the company and the positive aspects of  working in the position, as well as the weaknesses of the organization and difficult aspects of the job that they will meet sooner or later. Already at this stage, many companies make a mistake of consciously or unconsciously not passing the full and real image of the company and the negative aspects related to the position so as not to "scare" the candidate. This mistake can be made by recruiters especially in the current situation of a relatively small supply of good candidates on the labour market. Such action often results in dissatisfaction, demotivation and even quitting the job.

4C system.

Below, I am presenting a very practical, four-element process of successful onboarding of a newly hired person. It was developed by Professor Taly N. Bauer of the Department of Management at Washington State University in Portland, The United States. The four elements (the so-called 4C) that make up the effective process of introducing a new employee are:

1. Compliance

2. Clarification – role clarity

3. Connection – social integration

4. Culture – knowledge of organizational culture

To sum up, a systemic approach to the onboarding process is an inseparable element that must be implemented along with the recruitment process in order to obtain high efficiency of the process of building a valuable team.

Dawid Bultrowicz | CEO/Advisor