Onboarding Program for New Consultants

This paper is my own work that I created specifically for this course and this section. All research or material I used in preparing this paper has been properly acknowledged within the assignment in accordance with academic standards for complete and accurate citation of sources.

COVER MEMO

TO: Mr. Anderson Green, Director of Human Resources

FROM: (Name), Manager of Training

DATE: October 26, 2023

SUBJECT: An Effective Onboarding Program for New Hires

Retaining top talent is crucial for any organization that wishes to maintain a competitive edge in the marketplace today. Failure to devise innovative ways to retain top talent places the organization at risk of incurring unnecessarily high costs in employee turnover. Available data from the Institute of Corporate Productivity shows that the cost of replacing a single employee in the US is between 90 and 200 percent of the employees annual pay (Walker-Schmidt et al., 2022). Fortunately, studies have shown that effective onboarding is beneficial in increasing new employees productivity, engagement, and retention (Walker-Schmidt, 2021). Guided by these findings, I believe that an onboarding program would effectively address the problem of high turnover among new business consultants reported in the recent past. The high turnover among consultants has continued to deny the company the opportunity to benefit fully from available talent. This cover memo provides a brief description of this problem and the potential benefits of an onboarding program.

The Problem

The problem is that turnover rates among new business consultants at the company are at an all-time high. Reviewed data shows that 90 percent of business consultants hired over the past three years did not reach their seven-month anniversary. This happens despite the company offering competitive salaries and bonuses, effective promotional opportunities, and high-visibility consulting assignments. Customers are complaining about having to adjust to a new consultant every six months, and some have threatened to withdraw their business from the company. At the same time, the cost of replacing exiting consultants is beginning to affect the companys net income and competitiveness. For instance, it costs the company approximately $50,000 in training and recruitment of a new consultant each time one leaves. In light of this, the company president requested the department to investigate the high turnover among consultants and develop recommendations to address the problem.

A needs- assessment exercise conducted jointly by myself and the staffing manager revealed that current and former consultants did not feel supported in their first six months of work. They spent a substantial amount of time trying to get accustomed to the company systems, policies, and operations, with little support forthcoming from managers and the rest of the employees. For this reason, they ended up missing deadlines, making mistakes, and producing reports that did not conform to the companys guidelines. At the same time, the consultants are under constant pressure from their managers to reach high productivity levels. However, six months into their hire, most consultants are still struggling to understand their jobs performance expectations, the companys consulting methods, and the corporate culture. On their part, the managers admit that they do not know how to help the new hires know what they need to know about the company.

The Proposed Solution

The proposed solution is an onboarding program for new consultants at the company. Onboarding is a strategic process that organizations use to attract new employees, engage them, accustom them to the organizational culture, and assimilate them into the organization (Lamb, 2011). During onboarding, the new hire will be educated about their job and related expectations, and about the companys processes, procedures, policies, values, and goals (Walker-Schmidt, 2021). Ultimately, this will make it easier for them to socialize into the corporate culture.

Primarily, it turns out that the reason why consultants leave within a short time is that they are unable to assimilate into the companys corporate culture, systems, and processes. In their 2016 book, Naff et al. (2016) point out that 16 percent of senior executives in the US who leave their jobs within the first year of hire do so because they do not understand performance expectations, owing to the lack of a strategy to help them assimilate quickly. As Walker-Schmidt et al. (2021) points out, onboarding would help new hires build an emotional connection with the company, transforming them from outsiders to insiders. Studies have shown that ultimately, onboarding would improve retention among new hires. In one study, Walker-Schmidt et al. (2022) found that onboarded employees in the information technology sector stayed one year longer than their control group counterparts. Another study (as cited in Bell, 2021) found that an effective onboarding program increased retention rates by 52 percent, while increasing organizational commitment and job satisfaction.

Studies have additionally shown that onboarding programs result in higher levels of employee productivity by reducing the risk of guesswork and stress for newly-hired employees (Bell, 2021). A study by Texas Instruments (as cited in Bell, 2021) found that onboarded employees took two months less to be fully productive relative to their counterparts who did not go through an onboarding program. In their survey of the worlds top performing companies, the Aberdeen Group also found that onboarding improved time-to-productivity for new employees by 62 percent (Bell, 2021). For these reasons, an onboarding program would be a fundamental requirement for increased performance, organizational commitment, job performance, and retention among new business consultants.

Onboarding Program Overview

Program Objectives

Traditionally, the company has used an informal onboarding system that is not guided by a standard organizational plan. However, the proposed system is a formal onboarding program. It is guided by a documented set of coordinated procedures and policies and geared at providing the new hire with information about their job and helping them adjust in terms of both socialization and tasks (Bel, 2021). The onboarding program pursues four primary objectives:

i) To increase first-year retention among new business consultants by 50 percent by the end of the second year of implementation (Bell, 2021). This will be achieved through providing on-the-job training, as well as tools and information that will provide clarity on job-related expectations and responsibilities, thus reducing the risk of errors and guesswork.

ii) To increase engagement levels of new consultants by 35 percent by the end of their first year. This will be achieved through increasing the new hires knowledge about the companys environment, policies, and culture, and assigning mentors to offer extra support and help them get acclimated (Bell, 2021).

iii) To reduce time-to-productivity among newly-hired consultants from one year to six months (Sims, 2013). This will be achieved through providing the needed tools and information during orientation and onboarding to develop job knowledge and hence, reduce the risk of guesswork, which results in stress among new hires (Bell, 2021).

iv) To increase socialization among newly-hired consultants by 40 percent by the end of their first year of work (Bell, 2021). This will be achieved through providing tools, information, and supports for the new hire to receive feedback and build strong networks with subordinates and peers (Bell, 2021).

Program Length

The traditional onboarding program adopts a one-time, one-stop approach, where, over the first few days or weeks of work, the employee is given loads of data and information on the company procedures and policies, and then left to find their way around (Sims, 2013). However, there are those who contend that this approach often results in problems related to information overload among new hires (Sims, 2013; Bell, 2021). A more effective onboarding program takes on a phased approach, enabling the new hire to socialize and build networks with those who mentor, coach, and teach them, as well as with other new employees (Sims, 2013). According to Bell (2021), effective onboarding programs are adapted and designed to connect with new hires before they report, extending over the first day at work, to well over their first year. Thus, the onboarding program for the new consultants will run for one year and will be subdivided into five phases. The first phase will cover activities prior to their physical reporting, the second will cover activities for the first day, the third will cover activities for their first month, the fourth will cover activities for the first quarter or 90 days on the job, and the final phase will cover activities for their first year (Sims, 2013).

Program Location

The onboarding program will take place at the company premises. Onboarding employees within the company premises is advantageous as it provides an opportunity to interact with their colleagues and to experience what they learn firsthand (Bell, 2021). For instance, they are able to observe aspects of the organizational culture, such as how employees relate with each other, during the onboarding exercise, which makes learning more practical. At the same time, holding the onboarding program at the company helps minimize costs as it eliminates the need to hire conference facilities elsewhere. The first week will be dominated by the orientation workshop, which will take place at the companys conference hall (Cordiner, 2017). The manager in charge of training will take steps to ensure that the room has comfortable chairs, with swivels and wheels, that the air conditioning systems are working, and there is sufficient lighting to intensify the learning atmosphere. According to Cordiner (2017), learning is more effective if the training venue fosters a learning atmosphere and is conducive to learners needs.

Onboarding Program Description

Program Elements

An onboarding program is made up of several elements that lead up to the new hires full integration into the company. Lauby (2018) advises that integration should not just begin on the day a new hire reports. In their view, effective integration processes begin way before the company advises a vacant position for suitable candidates to apply (Lauby, 2018). The author posits that, thus, an effective onboarding program comprises of four elements: Recruitment, Pre-boarding, Orientation, and Onboarding (Lauby, 2018). A complete visual representation of the onboarding program summarizing the activities in each element and the persons responsible, is attached as an appendix to this text.

Recruitment is the first element of the onboarding process. The company expresses its new hire expectations in the way it designs its career website and the way it describes the specific role and organizational culture (Lauby, 2018). During the recruitment,...…organizations group behavior and norms (Bell, 2021). Finally, as part of the connection component, the new hire will be guided in developing proper information networks and interpersonal relationships with external stakeholders as well as with peers and managers inside the organization (Bell, 2021). The HR department will offer guides and employee handbooks to help the new hire understand the rules and culture of the organization. At the same time, the mentor or buddy assigned to the new hire will serve as a coach, educating them on the unwritten company rules and guiding them to develop strong networks with other employees.

Strategies for Enhancing Transfer of Learning

Malcolm Knowles andragogy theory outlines five fundamental characteristics of adult learners: self-concept, adult learner experience, motivation to learn, readiness to learn, and orientation to learning (Knowles et al., 2020). Adult learners are more self-directed, use their years of experience as a basis for learning, are more inclined towards problem-solving rather than subject-centeredness, and have an internal motivation to learn (Knowles et al., 2020). Adult learners transfer learning more effectively if the trainer integrates the above features of andragogy into their delivery (Knowles et al., 2020).

To ensure transfer, Knowles at al. (2020) suggest that trainers involve their adult learners in evaluation and planning, enure that their content addresses an immediate problem in the learners lives or jobs, and provide room for mistakes when one applies their experience as part of learning. In line with these principles, the company will ensure that new hires are effectively involved in the onboarding exercise by providing a copy of the onboarding road map and room for them to give their input on its implementation (Lauby, 2018). Further, new hires will be engaged in evaluating the onboarding program through the feedback that they will give to the HR department every three months for continuous improvement of the process. Mentors or buddies will be used to offer additional support to the new hires in their attempt to transfer what they learn during orientation to their jobs. The new hires direct managers will also visit and check on the new hires periodically throughout the onboarding process to offer feedback and address challenges that may hinder effective transfer. According to Knowles et al. (2020), proper follow up increases the likelihood that trainees will transfer learning to their jobs.

Onboarding Program Evaluation

The onboarding program will be evaluated using the Kirkpatricks four-level evaluation model. The Kirkpatrick model evaluates the effectiveness of learning programs using four criteria: Reaction, Learning, Behavior, and Results (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). The Reaction level is the most basic level of evaluation. It assesses the extent to which the learner found the program relevant, favorable, and engaging (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). At the Reaction level, the onboarding program will be evaluated using relevance and level of engagement as the outcome measures. The programs relevance and engagement will be assessed informally through interactions with new hires and formally through feedback forms that will be distributed to new hires every three months to rate the program and give ideas for continuous improvement.

The learning level assesses effectiveness by how well the training helps learners acquire the confidence, attitudes, knowledge, and skills the trainer intended to achieve (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). At the learning level, the evaluation will measure how well the onboarding program improves new hires knowledge of the corporate culture, rules, and policies, and attitudes towards their job and performance expectations. These outcomes will be measured using a pre and post-test that will be administered on the first day and every three months thereafter throughout the first year. An improvement in the test scores will indicate that the new hire acquired the intended knowledge and attitudes and hence, the program was a success.

The behavior level measures the extent to which trainees are applying the knowledge and skills acquired in the training to their jobs (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). At the behavior level, the onboarding program will be evaluated based on three behavioral outcomes: socializing ability, employee engagement, and labor productivity. The three measures will be assessed by the employees direct supervisor through formal performance appraisals that will be carried out biannually in the presence of the HR staffing manager.

The results level measures how well the training helps in realizing intended business outcomes (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). Here, the onboarding programs effectiveness will be assessed using two key performance indicators: time-to-productivity and first-year retention rates among newly-hired business consultants. These will be measured using end-year surveys that will be carried out annually. The survey will look at the proportion of consultants hired in a given year who celebrated their one-year anniversary at the company and the calculated time-to-productivity ratio, which measures the time a consultant takes to reach full productivity. Survey findings will be compared to those of past years to determine whether there has been improvement as a result of the onboarding program.

Estimated Cost of Program Development and Implementation

The total cost of developing and implementing the program is estimated at $41,500, detailed as follows. The company would first need to replace the existing HRIS system to enhance convenience for new hires…