January 7, 2025 • 28 mins
"Companies that provided a good onboarding experience had 82% improved retention."
Great onboarding isn’t about one-off actions. It’s a series of well thought out steps that make new employees feel welcome, engaged, and ready to contribute. Read the blog for more from this episode.
Noteable Moments
04:12 Good onboarding boosts employee retention.
09:12 Clarify purpose and values by aligning them with daily behaviors.
13:28 Offer guidance on company norms as well as job expectations.
16:32 Ongoing check-ins empower and integrate new hires.
21:08 Irregular hiring processes cause confusion and turnover.
24:52 Overwhelm with information, but make sure to follow up later.
26:39 Reflect on feedback for opportunities to improve onboarding.
Connect with Tim and his team:
Website: https://bestculturesolutions.ca/
LinkedIn: Best Culture Solutions, Inc
Instagram: @best.culture.solutions
Email: tim@bestculturesolutions.ca
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:07):
Welcome to the World at Work podcast where business leaders and job
seekers come together to create winning cultures and fulfilling careers.
I'm your host, Katie Kearns, and I am here with Tim Ditt,
founder of Best Culture Solutions. Tim, it has been a
while. How is it going? It has been a while, and it's minus
15 Fahrenheit where I am for our listeners in the United States.
(00:28):
Yeah. For listeners in Canada, Europe, or pretty much anywhere but the United
States, it's minus 26 Celsius. Right. We're amping up
for some polar vortex weather here, actually, where
I was reading that even as far south as Florida could see
temperatures in the twenties thirties in the next week and a half. Yeah. So
Really? We'll see how this goes. It's gonna be an interesting one. We're
(00:51):
looking at some snow this weekend, but, yeah, I think they said about
2 thirds of the country could see some frigid temperatures.
So thank you for the holiday gift. We're sending it down
south. We try. And you know what's funny? The year I lived in Florida,
when it got to the thirties, it honestly felt as
cold as it does up here in minus 15. This is different. Like, where I
(01:13):
live, it's very dry. And down there, the humidity made it colder and damper, and
I would wear a winter coat down there. And a lot of my Canadian friends,
like, what? Why? And it's like, well, it's just different. You get acclimatized
differently. And I actually had an easier time getting sick in
those environments than I do here when it's colder. So It is always
interesting in that coastal breeze. I mean, that anytime. Even in the
(01:33):
summer, that'll cause a slight chill in the air. So, yeah, we'll
see how this goes. We'll have to check-in as I sit here with heaters
and parkas and warm gloves on. And And and wait.
How warm is it there right now? Well, to be fair, this morning, I think
it was right around 28 Fahrenheit. So Okay. It's a
little cooler than what we've been used to. Probably a little bit more humid,
(01:56):
though, too. A little bit. Yeah. Especially with we've had
some on and off snow, so there's just there's some moisture out there.
We'll see. We'll check and let you know. Yeah. I will.
Careful, Wishburn. I know. In the meantime,
happy 100. 101 episodes now. I mean,
I could not have been more excited for you.
(02:19):
Just the work that you've done with this podcast with Best Culture Solutions and
then having Lee with you for that milestone episode
felt so right. I mean, selfishly, I love it because Lee and
Jody are very much a reason that we've been able to connect. But I think
Lee has been such a great foundation for many
organizations in that creating magic space. So congratulations,
(02:41):
Tim. Yeah. No. Thanks. I mean and you've been a huge part of getting us
to a 100 in many different ways. I mean, what people see above the
surface is you're hosting shows, and we're on
together, and you do a great, great, great job of that. What people don't see
underneath the surface is you driving the show forward and saying, hey, Tim. We gotta
record. We're still on keeping me accountable. So, frankly, this
(03:04):
show does not happen without you and without Jody,
keeping things on track, and I'm really grateful for you guys. We love doing it.
It's just been fun. It's fun. It's a great conversation to have, and I think
it's one that we all have our own unique reasons for being so passionate
about it. So I'm glad to be part of the team that's making it
happen. You know, with that, we do probably need to share some new
(03:26):
insights and ideas with people. We could just talk and catch up. I would love
to do that. But I think as we onboard into the new year, maybe
we talk a little bit more about onboarding. What do you think? Good one. Good
one. You can turn this thing. Yeah. We should talk about onboarding because it's something
that has actually it's something that's been coming across my
desk a lot lately because it I mean,
(03:48):
I've been hosting workshops on it. Lots of people are gonna ask me questions about
it. And I mean, the reality and I can't remember where I saw this
study, Katie, but I saw a study not long ago, or a survey
that said the companies that provided a good onboarding experience,
they also had 82% improved retention.
Right? And, I mean, I've talked before about how we don't necessarily wanna
(04:11):
retain everybody. We wanna retain the right people and have
good, strong retention. The reality is that by having a good onboarding
program, not only do you increase your retention, but you also increase your
probability of being of having the right people because you've a lot of times
when you have to part ways with people, you know, because it's not
working out and that's a retention figure that you're willing to eat, it's because
(04:33):
you haven't set the table properly for them. And onboarding, you know, it
increases your retention by 82% for two reasons. The first is
that because you've engaged people and they want to stay and they want to work
for you and they understand you. But the second is that
you have decreased the likelihood that they're gonna go off
track because you've set the table properly with clarity. And onboarding
(04:54):
next to hiring right, in my opinion, is easily the most
important thing that you do as a leader, is onboarding people the right
way. And so it's something that I'm very passionate about, but we get a lot
of questions about it because it's a massive underused weapon, for
lack of a better term, in the realm of hiring the right people
and being able to retain the right people. It's one that I see so many
(05:17):
companies, they well, maybe we'll save this because we're gonna talk a little bit about
good experiences and bad experiences in the onboarding process. But I see so many
companies that's gonna list a specific thing that they do that they shouldn't, but we're
gonna get there. They they don't put a lot of deliberation into how they're
gonna onboard people. They they don't get me wrong. They do enough to say we're
gonna tell them this, this and this, but they don't think anything more about it
(05:37):
apart from that. And And we're gonna talk a little bit about that today, about
about experiences that we have had that have been positive onboarding
experiences and experiences that we have had that have been, you know, the don'ts of
an onboarding experience, the do's and the don't. Mhmm. You said
something I think is really powerful in this about the retention
impact with onboarding and the notion that you haven't set
(06:00):
the table for them. If you're you have high turnover Mhmm. There is some
accountability there on an organizational side, and it's so
easy. I feel like this will tier more to those negative
experiences, but there's something to be said about organizations
that just gripe about high turnover without the
accountability of, well, what have you done to hire
(06:22):
right, onboard right? You know, you gotta train them. You gotta treat them right. All
of that is something that organizations need to be held
accountable to, and, thankfully, I certainly have some
incredible experiences to share.
On the flip side, I think we've all had those moments where it's like, is
this really happening right, or is this really not happening right now?
(06:44):
So I love it. I'm excited about this. And, well, Tim, do you wanna start
with a positive? Because I think, you know, we we could
jump right into the negative, but I have a feeling we'll get there.
Yeah. Well, and then let's let's set the table for that. So one of the
things that Katie and I talked about before we started the show is that we
would each come up with 3 experiences or 3 practices that we've
(07:05):
seen in our travels that have been positive for the onboarding experience
and three things that are, like, not recommend. Do not do that.
So here's the first thing. Right? The first thing is is I think
that and, look, Katie, you and I are both Disney alumni, so we know that
this helps. But I think the most important thing, the best thing that
I have ever seen in an onboarding experience is not
(07:28):
just saying here's our rules, but it's what's our
purpose? Why are we here? Why what are our values? And then
how does this all you know, before we tell you what the expectations
are, you know, why are we here? And then how those
expectations tie into why we're here. And so
here's what I kind of see in that is that and I've seen companies do
(07:49):
this do this, and I've seen companies that don't. And the companies that do this
definitely reap the benefits. Right? So if I think about it, every company is
selling something other than their product. Right? I mean, your people are your competitive advantage.
Right? And so if you don't there's more than one company that'll ever
sell what you sell. And if you don't take care of making sure that people
are your brand, it's not gonna happen. Right? And so you need to think as
(08:10):
a company, what are you really selling here? And here's what I mean by that.
You know, I've often heard people say that Apple doesn't necessarily sell phones
or whatever their gadgets are. They're selling trends. Right? So you can be on top
of trends. McDonald's, both literally and figuratively,
doesn't really sell food. They sell you convenience. Right? When
we worked at Disney, we didn't sell people theme park rides. Anybody can go anywhere
(08:32):
for that. We sell people memories that are gonna last forever, the best vacation of
your life. Right? When I worked in the transportation industry, I used to tell people
that that I worked with that we don't sell people a bus that shows
up. We sell them peace of mind, right? Because they're getting a ride to work
and it's reliable and it's safe. And so as a company, you need to
figure out what is it that you're really selling people
(08:54):
here. It's not and it's not your physical product. It's something that goes
with it. And and you need to make that clear in your onboarding process.
And if you don't do that, then you've missed your best opportunity to set the
table right for your team that way. So my number one thing, number one of
my three things to do, right, is that. Make sure you
communicate perfectly. I I love that because it is very
(09:15):
similar to something I recently experienced where
with we went through this organization's you
know, they've really actually strayed away from mission and vision. Most selfishly,
I love because that became such just that wall poster, but
really dove into what their purpose is, what
their values are, and and they took it that next step to do
(09:37):
exactly what you're saying. Okay. Well, these might be our values, but what are the
behaviors that exude that? What showcases what
we mean by that? You know, we could say that we serve with care or
that we provide peace of mind. What does that look like in your day to
day actions? And that brought so much clarity
to people that I will also go back to that Disney
(09:59):
approach where as a cast member, then you go out and you felt
empowered to handle the day. You knew what was within your
scope of work. You knew who to call if you needed support.
So not just explaining what they are, but getting
people to truly take ownership or what that looks like in their unique
role is pretty powerful. And actually, if Tim, can I
(10:22):
jump into mine with that? Because it Yeah. Parallels.
Is then not just jump jumping into that, but there
was a really powerful training onboarding I
just did where we had rotations, and each rotation
focused on a different entity within the organization. So you might spend an
hour and a half with human resources leaders. You might spend an hour and
(10:46):
a half with finance team. You spend an hour and a half with technology
and time with the executive leaders. And these were not
massive workshops where they came and sat in a panel. This was
truly broken down into small, I'd say
anywhere from 10 to 20 people, and
each session, they reference the blueprint
(11:09):
that they were using for their organizational culture. So you had
this common language in every space where you
got FaceTime with the teams, you know, technologies doling
out the different tools for different people. Here's how you set up
your so getting it all done very efficiently,
HR, making sure all the paperwork, that everybody had that, explaining
(11:31):
payroll. In the meantime, again, referencing
that culture blueprint. That was powerful because it took it
from being just a statement that leadership is
telling you, oh, this is the warm and fuzzy of what we do.
No. Truly, this is what it looks like whether you are a customer
facing individual or role or if you are
(11:53):
more touched behind the scenes. We all are living by this. So
not only having that clarity with your new
hires, but showcasing it within each team
along the way and getting that FaceTime with new hires. So that to
me was a solid win recently. K. So your
my number one is purpose. Your number one is FaceTime. I
(12:16):
like it. Okay. Yeah. Cool. Alright. Well, here's the second
thing that I see companies doing
well. When they do onboard people,
they start at the highest level of
what you need to know for survival before what you need to know
for work. Right. And here's what I mean by that Is before they
(12:38):
start explaining to you what their
expectations of you are. Right? Before they start
explaining to you what you need from a work perspective, they make sure
that everything that you need to know for your basic survival, for lack of
better term, is known. Right? And so here's what I mean by that. So when
I went to Orlando, for instance, great example, before we talked about, you
(12:59):
know, Disney's purpose and why we're here, all that stuff, which is super important. The
first thing that they did before we had traditions is that they said, hey. You're
in a new country. Right? Here's all that you need to know. It was
like a 4 hour session on here's your bank. Here's a grocery
store. Here's your right? Here's all that work. Now don't get me wrong. Most
jobs are not gonna be having to do that because they're gonna be in the
(13:22):
city that you're from. But as a company, you should think about before we
get into the work, what's gonna be on their mind? It might be where do
you park. It might be where's the washroom. It might be but get that stuff
that might be on somebody's mind, you know, that doesn't relate to work that they're
gonna be worried about or thinking about or that they just need to know so
that way they can then focus on work. Get that out of the way
(13:43):
first. Right? Yeah. You know, if it's a new hey. Let's be
real. I mean, sometimes companies are relocating people to a different city, you know, and
maybe it's not the level of that they need to know, but just make sure
that, you know, if they move to that city before their 1st day of work,
maybe you've got somebody, you know, somebody who can just share
with them a week or so before work. You know, how do you settle into
(14:04):
this new city? Right? The other thing that you can do to let people know
about what they're gonna need to know for survival before they come to work is
you can also send them a what to expect on your 1st day sheet.
Right? And where is the location? What are the hours? Remind of our
dress code. Bring these items with you. It could be your direct deposit
information, whatever it might be. Right? And so make
(14:24):
sure that anything that they need for survival is
clear, if that makes sense. I love that. And,
actually, that is something that I there was one organization that
I was with, and they had a lot of clients they serve, a lot of
customers in the area. And with that, they formed
partnerships almost like, I guess, you could say a networking
(14:46):
group, whether it would be similar to a BNI business networking or chamber
of commerce style, where they really helped
amplify each other. So even though we were their service
provider for something, we got a list, and it was like,
oh, well, this is if you show your work ID
at this location, you get this additional percent off of
(15:08):
something. Or, hey. This is our recommendation
for local restaurants. A lot of them were little smaller mom and
pops. So it created almost this network of support
that I was even though it was somewhat close to home, I
didn't know all these, but it was really cool to see that there and
go, wow. Well, okay. If I am ever on the road and need a quick
(15:30):
bite to eat or need to stop by a bank, these are all places that
I could go, and they know who we are and how they can
directly help us. This is something I feel like hospitals are really good
with with their patients. At least some that I've experienced,
they have family resources, and they give that to their
customers. So your perspective on making sure we do that
(15:52):
for employees, I love that. I think it brings such a simple peace
of mind that first day can be very daunting for people.
And it's easy for organizations to forget when
they become so accustomed to it that it might be a very different world
for a new hire. And it's a very
simple human kindness. I mean, I don't
(16:15):
even know what else to say. It's it's something that would probably take person
maybe an hour to really put some thought into it, and it
would serve well. So I love that one. I can say I
did not have that on my list. But You didn't. That's good. It'd kinda
be different than you. So here's my next one, and it it
somewhat flows with the idea of, okay, being there
(16:38):
for them and supporting them is once you have that
initial onboarding, hopefully it's more than an hour, we'll
say a day. We'll say you've really had the person there for a
day, what do you do next? How are you checking in?
For me, there have been 2 really powerful examples of this.
1, where there are now monthly check ins with new
(17:00):
hires. Every other month, these different departments
have teams that meet, but the half day is then
dedicated to all the new hires coming back together. What are you experiencing?
How is this going? Let's learn something new together. What are trends?
And it's been very powerful because people have realized that the new
hires are going through a slightly different training, and it's giving
(17:24):
them a little bit more of a voice. Even though
they're a new hire, they're getting something additional to take back to their
teams and provide additional value and insight. And
it's it's not only given this safety net for new hires to
say, okay. Hey. I miss you. I haven't seen you. How's your new role
going? And then they get this info to go back. So that's been cool.
(17:46):
And Disney did this in a very simple way
at the very beginning. And those 3 days that you're earning your ears well, it
used to be 3 days. I feel like for a while it went to very
few, but they might be back. But wearing that little red ribbon,
earning your ears for those days you were out shadowing
people, you could have conversation with your team.
(18:08):
People knew you were a new hire. I've had some
people ask, you know, isn't that kinda awkward? Don't you feel like it puts
you under a mice microscope? People could be me. I'm like, no. If
anything, I felt like people were more gracious and understanding because
we all have to learn somewhere, and there seems to be be a
bit of an understanding like, oh, so you just started.
(18:30):
That's great. And as far as the colleagues, it
also provided that comfort of, hey. Let me help you out. Let me show
you let me show you the way. So I think that
that it's important for that follow-up. I guess that's how I could summarize
it. What are you doing after that? How are you getting those touch
points once they start? 100%. You're right. Because, I mean, it's
(18:52):
and here's why this is so important. I can't remember where I read this,
but I run threads that both kinda like psychologically, mentally,
emotionally, all these things. It really takes people approximately 12 to
18 months to fully settle into a job. 12 to
18 months to fully settle into a job. And
that tells me that you need to have these checkpoints. Right? Because your
(19:14):
onboarding program might officially be done. People are
still settling in, and that's gonna take time, and you need to give them that
opportunity to settle in. And so to me, that just reinforces
that. Right? You need to have those check ins. A 100% you do. Yeah. I
agree. I love that. Yeah. Alright. So here's
my number 3 thing on the to do on the onboarding side that I
(19:36):
have seen that are good practices. And bear in mind, there's a lot
more to onboarding than just the 3 things that each Katie and I have done,
but this is just a taste of things that we have seen in our travels
that worked well. But the third thing for me
would be being ready for the person. And it's funny, like, a lot of people
don't realize, you know, there's all these things that you might need
(19:57):
to have ready for the person after they start. So I mean, it goes from,
you know, create a checklist of what are they gonna need to do their job
and make sure you have it in place. So for entry level positions, that could
be a little bit easier because you might just have stuff. Like, I think when
I worked at restaurants, you know, what do I need? I needed an apron, and
I needed pens in it, and that was all there. I could get that. So
that was already set up. I didn't you know, the managers didn't have to worry
(20:19):
about it for me as an individual. But there's other jobs. It won't be office
jobs or you need to think about, you know, okay. Is there office set up?
Is the technology in place? Is there an account set up? You know, do they
have business cards? You know, all that type of stuff. Just have it
ready. And if it's gonna be a workspace, it doesn't hurt to put a little
thank you or not thank you. Sorry. A little welcome note next to it. But
just be ready. Have a list of what those people need to do their
(20:42):
job and be ready with it. It's such a little
little little little detail that a lot you'd be surprised. We
we sit here like, yeah. This makes great sense. And you should so many people
do not do it. And they're like, oh, yeah. That's that thing that we needed
to get done. You know? It's that thing that we wanted to do, and we
haven't done it yet. Just do it. It needs to be
(21:03):
done. Get it done. Put it in place and make sure that you're ready for
people when they start at your company. I have to say, I think we have
a match because my I mine was be
prepared. I think that one of the you know, I'm curious,
actually. Tim, do you feel like it might be an issue
where teams or organizations that don't have these
(21:24):
waves of hiring, or maybe it's a position that they
haven't had to hire for in a while, that that's when it might have a
little bit of a gap versus if there's maybe
this annual poll holiday season in retail. There's gonna
be a lot of onboarding typically, or consulting in
different spaces might have a lot of onboarding. Education, there's that
(21:47):
annual onboard for new teachers. Do you think that there might
be a difference between maybe you you
your organization isn't always aware that, oh, gosh. We have
this new person coming in. I just I've noticed that
as well where there there are times when organizations seem to have a
real will that laid out plan versus when they're like, oh, yeah. Come in this
(22:09):
day and start, and we'll just kinda run through everything then. And the run through
everything means as the person is asking questions, they'll fill in
the gaps, but people typically don't even know what to ask.
Totally. So if I understand kinda like what you're thinking is that companies who
have to do this frequently generally do it better than companies that don't?
Generally. I feel like they might at least have an awareness that, okay, we need
(22:31):
to have something called onboarding. Yeah. They do.
Whether or not they do anything with it is the difference. Correct. I agree with
that completely. I have seen companies that go through, like like
you mentioned, maybe seasonal rushes or, you know, they're gonna be hiring a lot or
they're or they do just hire a lot. But a lot of times they're like,
oh, yeah. I know I need to do that, but it's just so chaotic. And
(22:51):
they just accept the fact that it's chaos instead of getting better or
more organized with the chaos. So that makes sense. Yeah.
And so you would think you're right. Like, you would think. And they
probably do have a okay. At the very least, they probably all have a heightened
awareness. Yeah. I should be doing this. And there are companies that know this is
coming, and they do deal with it, and they do take care of it, and
they do get ready for it. But there's also lots of companies that despite the
(23:15):
awareness, they also use the chaos of the rush as an excuse to
not do it. Yeah. We should do this, but it's just nonstop around here.
Well, okay. Yeah. It's like what we always
say. I mean, everybody has the same amount of time, how you choose to use
it. It's up to you. You can either be organized or not. If people are
not overworked, they're they're underorganized. And so you have to, at some
(23:36):
point, have the self discipline to break the circle. And, you know, in the short
term, it will be tough because you will feel disorganized while you're
putting these things in place. But guess what? You already feel disorganized because these things
aren't in place. So bite the bullet and get it done even though it's not
going to be easing, and it will pay off in the future. But to answer
your question, I've seen it both ways. Like, I've seen companies that, yeah, we
(23:58):
know every year we have this thing. We're gonna do it. We're gonna be ready.
But I've also seen companies use that thing every year that comes as a
crutch to have too much to do, so to speak. So Yes.
Yeah. Well, it's funny. As as you're saying that, I just
reflected on a moment with an organization where
they had this onboarding event, but,
(24:19):
really, it became a half day
of almost like selling themselves. And by the
end, a lot of the new hires were looking around like,
okay. Well, we already committed to you. We'd like to
actually know about our job, not just hear more about the organization.
So you're right. There are moments where that's not exclusive.
(24:42):
I guess I was just hopeful that maybe there could be a pattern.
There could be if they want to create If they want it. Yes. Yeah. Like
I've said, I've seen companies that create that pattern. I've seen companies that don't. So
Yeah. Well, it goes back to what you said in the beginning. How are you
setting the table for them? You might know it, but are you
actually putting everything out there, planning,
(25:03):
really almost over serving? I would rather have a party that
has all the available options and then give
them those follow-up. Because I know I've experienced this.
You may have where in the beginning that onboarding day can be very
overwhelming. I personally, though, would rather be overwhelmed with things and
not even know what to do with all the information, knowing the
(25:26):
organization already has another date that we're gonna
follow-up and come together, and then I can ask the
questions that I couldn't think of in that moment. So I'm going back to that
follow-up piece too. I there's ways
it can be done, but being prepared, knowing the new hires' names, spelling them correctly,
(25:46):
things like that go a long way. And if you're sending
I did have one one moment where I was starting with a company,
and one of the leaders sent an organization wide
email welcoming me and inviting everybody to, you
know, send me a message, except they spelled my name all wrong. So I was
like it's like, well, this is awkward. How do I, let them know that's
(26:09):
not the email that they should be saying? Oh my goodness.
Yeah. So I'd say but I'll say that. I'll say that. I think we've
had some really good positive experiences, and I don't
wanna I don't wanna diminish that at the moment. So is there any
other positive that you wanna throw out there? Or
Well, we could be oh, yeah. We could be here all day, but I promise
(26:31):
that we would do 3 each. So I better we better be smart. And you
know what? It'll actually just provide us a reason to come back and talk about
it again sometime. So I love it. I think we could. And I think
that with this, the reality is there's also some not so great
experiences. So I am thinking we put a pin in this
one and then revisit the conversation, but look at
(26:52):
maybe the ones that weren't so great and opportunities
for what they could do better, how they could
prepare things I love more accordingly. So this was
awesome, Tim. It's it was great actually being back with you. It
felt like forever, so we'll do it again soon. Sounds good. Look
forward to it. Alright. Well and oh my goodness. Look. I
(27:14):
almost just abandoned the conversation without making sure people even knew how
to get help with their onboarding. Oh, my goodness. That's where I reminded the
same thing. Yes. They can. So our website, very simple, bestculturesolutions.ca.
You can email me at tim@bestculturesolutions.ca, and we are here
to help you get deliberate about how you bring people into your
Welcome to the World at Work podcast where business leaders and job
seekers come together to create winning cultures and fulfilling careers.
I'm your host, Katie Kearns, and I am here with Tim Ditt,
founder of Best Culture Solutions. Tim, it has been a
while. How is it going? It has been a while, and it's minus
15 Fahrenheit where I am for our listeners in the United States.
(00:28):
Yeah. For listeners in Canada, Europe, or pretty much anywhere but the United
States, it's minus 26 Celsius. Right. We're amping up
for some polar vortex weather here, actually, where
I was reading that even as far south as Florida could see
temperatures in the twenties thirties in the next week and a half. Yeah. So
Really? We'll see how this goes. It's gonna be an interesting one. We're
(00:51):
looking at some snow this weekend, but, yeah, I think they said about
2 thirds of the country could see some frigid temperatures.
So thank you for the holiday gift. We're sending it down
south. We try. And you know what's funny? The year I lived in Florida,
when it got to the thirties, it honestly felt as
cold as it does up here in minus 15. This is different. Like, where I
(01:13):
live, it's very dry. And down there, the humidity made it colder and damper, and
I would wear a winter coat down there. And a lot of my Canadian friends,
like, what? Why? And it's like, well, it's just different. You get acclimatized
differently. And I actually had an easier time getting sick in
those environments than I do here when it's colder. So It is always
interesting in that coastal breeze. I mean, that anytime. Even in the
(01:33):
summer, that'll cause a slight chill in the air. So, yeah, we'll
see how this goes. We'll have to check-in as I sit here with heaters
and parkas and warm gloves on. And And and wait.
How warm is it there right now? Well, to be fair, this morning, I think
it was right around 28 Fahrenheit. So Okay. It's a
little cooler than what we've been used to. Probably a little bit more humid,
(01:56):
though, too. A little bit. Yeah. Especially with we've had
some on and off snow, so there's just there's some moisture out there.
We'll see. We'll check and let you know. Yeah. I will.
Careful, Wishburn. I know. In the meantime,
happy 100. 101 episodes now. I mean,
I could not have been more excited for you.
(02:19):
Just the work that you've done with this podcast with Best Culture Solutions and
then having Lee with you for that milestone episode
felt so right. I mean, selfishly, I love it because Lee and
Jody are very much a reason that we've been able to connect. But I think
Lee has been such a great foundation for many
organizations in that creating magic space. So congratulations,
(02:41):
Tim. Yeah. No. Thanks. I mean and you've been a huge part of getting us
to a 100 in many different ways. I mean, what people see above the
surface is you're hosting shows, and we're on
together, and you do a great, great, great job of that. What people don't see
underneath the surface is you driving the show forward and saying, hey, Tim. We gotta
record. We're still on keeping me accountable. So, frankly, this
(03:04):
show does not happen without you and without Jody,
keeping things on track, and I'm really grateful for you guys. We love doing it.
It's just been fun. It's fun. It's a great conversation to have, and I think
it's one that we all have our own unique reasons for being so passionate
about it. So I'm glad to be part of the team that's making it
happen. You know, with that, we do probably need to share some new
(03:26):
insights and ideas with people. We could just talk and catch up. I would love
to do that. But I think as we onboard into the new year, maybe
we talk a little bit more about onboarding. What do you think? Good one. Good
one. You can turn this thing. Yeah. We should talk about onboarding because it's something
that has actually it's something that's been coming across my
desk a lot lately because it I mean,
(03:48):
I've been hosting workshops on it. Lots of people are gonna ask me questions about
it. And I mean, the reality and I can't remember where I saw this
study, Katie, but I saw a study not long ago, or a survey
that said the companies that provided a good onboarding experience,
they also had 82% improved retention.
Right? And, I mean, I've talked before about how we don't necessarily wanna
(04:11):
retain everybody. We wanna retain the right people and have
good, strong retention. The reality is that by having a good onboarding
program, not only do you increase your retention, but you also increase your
probability of being of having the right people because you've a lot of times
when you have to part ways with people, you know, because it's not
working out and that's a retention figure that you're willing to eat, it's because
(04:33):
you haven't set the table properly for them. And onboarding, you know, it
increases your retention by 82% for two reasons. The first is
that because you've engaged people and they want to stay and they want to work
for you and they understand you. But the second is that
you have decreased the likelihood that they're gonna go off
track because you've set the table properly with clarity. And onboarding
(04:54):
next to hiring right, in my opinion, is easily the most
important thing that you do as a leader, is onboarding people the right
way. And so it's something that I'm very passionate about, but we get a lot
of questions about it because it's a massive underused weapon, for
lack of a better term, in the realm of hiring the right people
and being able to retain the right people. It's one that I see so many
(05:17):
companies, they well, maybe we'll save this because we're gonna talk a little bit about
good experiences and bad experiences in the onboarding process. But I see so many
companies that's gonna list a specific thing that they do that they shouldn't, but we're
gonna get there. They they don't put a lot of deliberation into how they're
gonna onboard people. They they don't get me wrong. They do enough to say we're
gonna tell them this, this and this, but they don't think anything more about it
(05:37):
apart from that. And And we're gonna talk a little bit about that today, about
about experiences that we have had that have been positive onboarding
experiences and experiences that we have had that have been, you know, the don'ts of
an onboarding experience, the do's and the don't. Mhmm. You said
something I think is really powerful in this about the retention
impact with onboarding and the notion that you haven't set
(06:00):
the table for them. If you're you have high turnover Mhmm. There is some
accountability there on an organizational side, and it's so
easy. I feel like this will tier more to those negative
experiences, but there's something to be said about organizations
that just gripe about high turnover without the
accountability of, well, what have you done to hire
(06:22):
right, onboard right? You know, you gotta train them. You gotta treat them right. All
of that is something that organizations need to be held
accountable to, and, thankfully, I certainly have some
incredible experiences to share.
On the flip side, I think we've all had those moments where it's like, is
this really happening right, or is this really not happening right now?
(06:44):
So I love it. I'm excited about this. And, well, Tim, do you wanna start
with a positive? Because I think, you know, we we could
jump right into the negative, but I have a feeling we'll get there.
Yeah. Well, and then let's let's set the table for that. So one of the
things that Katie and I talked about before we started the show is that we
would each come up with 3 experiences or 3 practices that we've
(07:05):
seen in our travels that have been positive for the onboarding experience
and three things that are, like, not recommend. Do not do that.
So here's the first thing. Right? The first thing is is I think
that and, look, Katie, you and I are both Disney alumni, so we know that
this helps. But I think the most important thing, the best thing that
I have ever seen in an onboarding experience is not
(07:28):
just saying here's our rules, but it's what's our
purpose? Why are we here? Why what are our values? And then
how does this all you know, before we tell you what the expectations
are, you know, why are we here? And then how those
expectations tie into why we're here. And so
here's what I kind of see in that is that and I've seen companies do
(07:49):
this do this, and I've seen companies that don't. And the companies that do this
definitely reap the benefits. Right? So if I think about it, every company is
selling something other than their product. Right? I mean, your people are your competitive advantage.
Right? And so if you don't there's more than one company that'll ever
sell what you sell. And if you don't take care of making sure that people
are your brand, it's not gonna happen. Right? And so you need to think as
(08:10):
a company, what are you really selling here? And here's what I mean by that.
You know, I've often heard people say that Apple doesn't necessarily sell phones
or whatever their gadgets are. They're selling trends. Right? So you can be on top
of trends. McDonald's, both literally and figuratively,
doesn't really sell food. They sell you convenience. Right? When
we worked at Disney, we didn't sell people theme park rides. Anybody can go anywhere
(08:32):
for that. We sell people memories that are gonna last forever, the best vacation of
your life. Right? When I worked in the transportation industry, I used to tell people
that that I worked with that we don't sell people a bus that shows
up. We sell them peace of mind, right? Because they're getting a ride to work
and it's reliable and it's safe. And so as a company, you need to
figure out what is it that you're really selling people
(08:54):
here. It's not and it's not your physical product. It's something that goes
with it. And and you need to make that clear in your onboarding process.
And if you don't do that, then you've missed your best opportunity to set the
table right for your team that way. So my number one thing, number one of
my three things to do, right, is that. Make sure you
communicate perfectly. I I love that because it is very
(09:15):
similar to something I recently experienced where
with we went through this organization's you
know, they've really actually strayed away from mission and vision. Most selfishly,
I love because that became such just that wall poster, but
really dove into what their purpose is, what
their values are, and and they took it that next step to do
(09:37):
exactly what you're saying. Okay. Well, these might be our values, but what are the
behaviors that exude that? What showcases what
we mean by that? You know, we could say that we serve with care or
that we provide peace of mind. What does that look like in your day to
day actions? And that brought so much clarity
to people that I will also go back to that Disney
(09:59):
approach where as a cast member, then you go out and you felt
empowered to handle the day. You knew what was within your
scope of work. You knew who to call if you needed support.
So not just explaining what they are, but getting
people to truly take ownership or what that looks like in their unique
role is pretty powerful. And actually, if Tim, can I
(10:22):
jump into mine with that? Because it Yeah. Parallels.
Is then not just jump jumping into that, but there
was a really powerful training onboarding I
just did where we had rotations, and each rotation
focused on a different entity within the organization. So you might spend an
hour and a half with human resources leaders. You might spend an hour and
(10:46):
a half with finance team. You spend an hour and a half with technology
and time with the executive leaders. And these were not
massive workshops where they came and sat in a panel. This was
truly broken down into small, I'd say
anywhere from 10 to 20 people, and
each session, they reference the blueprint
(11:09):
that they were using for their organizational culture. So you had
this common language in every space where you
got FaceTime with the teams, you know, technologies doling
out the different tools for different people. Here's how you set up
your so getting it all done very efficiently,
HR, making sure all the paperwork, that everybody had that, explaining
(11:31):
payroll. In the meantime, again, referencing
that culture blueprint. That was powerful because it took it
from being just a statement that leadership is
telling you, oh, this is the warm and fuzzy of what we do.
No. Truly, this is what it looks like whether you are a customer
facing individual or role or if you are
(11:53):
more touched behind the scenes. We all are living by this. So
not only having that clarity with your new
hires, but showcasing it within each team
along the way and getting that FaceTime with new hires. So that to
me was a solid win recently. K. So your
my number one is purpose. Your number one is FaceTime. I
(12:16):
like it. Okay. Yeah. Cool. Alright. Well, here's the second
thing that I see companies doing
well. When they do onboard people,
they start at the highest level of
what you need to know for survival before what you need to know
for work. Right. And here's what I mean by that Is before they
(12:38):
start explaining to you what their
expectations of you are. Right? Before they start
explaining to you what you need from a work perspective, they make sure
that everything that you need to know for your basic survival, for lack of
better term, is known. Right? And so here's what I mean by that. So when
I went to Orlando, for instance, great example, before we talked about, you
(12:59):
know, Disney's purpose and why we're here, all that stuff, which is super important. The
first thing that they did before we had traditions is that they said, hey. You're
in a new country. Right? Here's all that you need to know. It was
like a 4 hour session on here's your bank. Here's a grocery
store. Here's your right? Here's all that work. Now don't get me wrong. Most
jobs are not gonna be having to do that because they're gonna be in the
(13:22):
city that you're from. But as a company, you should think about before we
get into the work, what's gonna be on their mind? It might be where do
you park. It might be where's the washroom. It might be but get that stuff
that might be on somebody's mind, you know, that doesn't relate to work that they're
gonna be worried about or thinking about or that they just need to know so
that way they can then focus on work. Get that out of the way
(13:43):
first. Right? Yeah. You know, if it's a new hey. Let's be
real. I mean, sometimes companies are relocating people to a different city, you know, and
maybe it's not the level of that they need to know, but just make sure
that, you know, if they move to that city before their 1st day of work,
maybe you've got somebody, you know, somebody who can just share
with them a week or so before work. You know, how do you settle into
(14:04):
this new city? Right? The other thing that you can do to let people know
about what they're gonna need to know for survival before they come to work is
you can also send them a what to expect on your 1st day sheet.
Right? And where is the location? What are the hours? Remind of our
dress code. Bring these items with you. It could be your direct deposit
information, whatever it might be. Right? And so make
(14:24):
sure that anything that they need for survival is
clear, if that makes sense. I love that. And,
actually, that is something that I there was one organization that
I was with, and they had a lot of clients they serve, a lot of
customers in the area. And with that, they formed
partnerships almost like, I guess, you could say a networking
(14:46):
group, whether it would be similar to a BNI business networking or chamber
of commerce style, where they really helped
amplify each other. So even though we were their service
provider for something, we got a list, and it was like,
oh, well, this is if you show your work ID
at this location, you get this additional percent off of
(15:08):
something. Or, hey. This is our recommendation
for local restaurants. A lot of them were little smaller mom and
pops. So it created almost this network of support
that I was even though it was somewhat close to home, I
didn't know all these, but it was really cool to see that there and
go, wow. Well, okay. If I am ever on the road and need a quick
(15:30):
bite to eat or need to stop by a bank, these are all places that
I could go, and they know who we are and how they can
directly help us. This is something I feel like hospitals are really good
with with their patients. At least some that I've experienced,
they have family resources, and they give that to their
customers. So your perspective on making sure we do that
(15:52):
for employees, I love that. I think it brings such a simple peace
of mind that first day can be very daunting for people.
And it's easy for organizations to forget when
they become so accustomed to it that it might be a very different world
for a new hire. And it's a very
simple human kindness. I mean, I don't
(16:15):
even know what else to say. It's it's something that would probably take person
maybe an hour to really put some thought into it, and it
would serve well. So I love that one. I can say I
did not have that on my list. But You didn't. That's good. It'd kinda
be different than you. So here's my next one, and it it
somewhat flows with the idea of, okay, being there
(16:38):
for them and supporting them is once you have that
initial onboarding, hopefully it's more than an hour, we'll
say a day. We'll say you've really had the person there for a
day, what do you do next? How are you checking in?
For me, there have been 2 really powerful examples of this.
1, where there are now monthly check ins with new
(17:00):
hires. Every other month, these different departments
have teams that meet, but the half day is then
dedicated to all the new hires coming back together. What are you experiencing?
How is this going? Let's learn something new together. What are trends?
And it's been very powerful because people have realized that the new
hires are going through a slightly different training, and it's giving
(17:24):
them a little bit more of a voice. Even though
they're a new hire, they're getting something additional to take back to their
teams and provide additional value and insight. And
it's it's not only given this safety net for new hires to
say, okay. Hey. I miss you. I haven't seen you. How's your new role
going? And then they get this info to go back. So that's been cool.
(17:46):
And Disney did this in a very simple way
at the very beginning. And those 3 days that you're earning your ears well, it
used to be 3 days. I feel like for a while it went to very
few, but they might be back. But wearing that little red ribbon,
earning your ears for those days you were out shadowing
people, you could have conversation with your team.
(18:08):
People knew you were a new hire. I've had some
people ask, you know, isn't that kinda awkward? Don't you feel like it puts
you under a mice microscope? People could be me. I'm like, no. If
anything, I felt like people were more gracious and understanding because
we all have to learn somewhere, and there seems to be be a
bit of an understanding like, oh, so you just started.
(18:30):
That's great. And as far as the colleagues, it
also provided that comfort of, hey. Let me help you out. Let me show
you let me show you the way. So I think that
that it's important for that follow-up. I guess that's how I could summarize
it. What are you doing after that? How are you getting those touch
points once they start? 100%. You're right. Because, I mean, it's
(18:52):
and here's why this is so important. I can't remember where I read this,
but I run threads that both kinda like psychologically, mentally,
emotionally, all these things. It really takes people approximately 12 to
18 months to fully settle into a job. 12 to
18 months to fully settle into a job. And
that tells me that you need to have these checkpoints. Right? Because your
(19:14):
onboarding program might officially be done. People are
still settling in, and that's gonna take time, and you need to give them that
opportunity to settle in. And so to me, that just reinforces
that. Right? You need to have those check ins. A 100% you do. Yeah. I
agree. I love that. Yeah. Alright. So here's
my number 3 thing on the to do on the onboarding side that I
(19:36):
have seen that are good practices. And bear in mind, there's a lot
more to onboarding than just the 3 things that each Katie and I have done,
but this is just a taste of things that we have seen in our travels
that worked well. But the third thing for me
would be being ready for the person. And it's funny, like, a lot of people
don't realize, you know, there's all these things that you might need
(19:57):
to have ready for the person after they start. So I mean, it goes from,
you know, create a checklist of what are they gonna need to do their job
and make sure you have it in place. So for entry level positions, that could
be a little bit easier because you might just have stuff. Like, I think when
I worked at restaurants, you know, what do I need? I needed an apron, and
I needed pens in it, and that was all there. I could get that. So
that was already set up. I didn't you know, the managers didn't have to worry
(20:19):
about it for me as an individual. But there's other jobs. It won't be office
jobs or you need to think about, you know, okay. Is there office set up?
Is the technology in place? Is there an account set up? You know, do they
have business cards? You know, all that type of stuff. Just have it
ready. And if it's gonna be a workspace, it doesn't hurt to put a little
thank you or not thank you. Sorry. A little welcome note next to it. But
just be ready. Have a list of what those people need to do their
(20:42):
job and be ready with it. It's such a little
little little little detail that a lot you'd be surprised. We
we sit here like, yeah. This makes great sense. And you should so many people
do not do it. And they're like, oh, yeah. That's that thing that we needed
to get done. You know? It's that thing that we wanted to do, and we
haven't done it yet. Just do it. It needs to be
(21:03):
done. Get it done. Put it in place and make sure that you're ready for
people when they start at your company. I have to say, I think we have
a match because my I mine was be
prepared. I think that one of the you know, I'm curious,
actually. Tim, do you feel like it might be an issue
where teams or organizations that don't have these
(21:24):
waves of hiring, or maybe it's a position that they
haven't had to hire for in a while, that that's when it might have a
little bit of a gap versus if there's maybe
this annual poll holiday season in retail. There's gonna
be a lot of onboarding typically, or consulting in
different spaces might have a lot of onboarding. Education, there's that
(21:47):
annual onboard for new teachers. Do you think that there might
be a difference between maybe you you
your organization isn't always aware that, oh, gosh. We have
this new person coming in. I just I've noticed that
as well where there there are times when organizations seem to have a
real will that laid out plan versus when they're like, oh, yeah. Come in this
(22:09):
day and start, and we'll just kinda run through everything then. And the run through
everything means as the person is asking questions, they'll fill in
the gaps, but people typically don't even know what to ask.
Totally. So if I understand kinda like what you're thinking is that companies who
have to do this frequently generally do it better than companies that don't?
Generally. I feel like they might at least have an awareness that, okay, we need
(22:31):
to have something called onboarding. Yeah. They do.
Whether or not they do anything with it is the difference. Correct. I agree with
that completely. I have seen companies that go through, like like
you mentioned, maybe seasonal rushes or, you know, they're gonna be hiring a lot or
they're or they do just hire a lot. But a lot of times they're like,
oh, yeah. I know I need to do that, but it's just so chaotic. And
(22:51):
they just accept the fact that it's chaos instead of getting better or
more organized with the chaos. So that makes sense. Yeah.
And so you would think you're right. Like, you would think. And they
probably do have a okay. At the very least, they probably all have a heightened
awareness. Yeah. I should be doing this. And there are companies that know this is
coming, and they do deal with it, and they do take care of it, and
they do get ready for it. But there's also lots of companies that despite the
(23:15):
awareness, they also use the chaos of the rush as an excuse to
not do it. Yeah. We should do this, but it's just nonstop around here.
Well, okay. Yeah. It's like what we always
say. I mean, everybody has the same amount of time, how you choose to use
it. It's up to you. You can either be organized or not. If people are
not overworked, they're they're underorganized. And so you have to, at some
(23:36):
point, have the self discipline to break the circle. And, you know, in the short
term, it will be tough because you will feel disorganized while you're
putting these things in place. But guess what? You already feel disorganized because these things
aren't in place. So bite the bullet and get it done even though it's not
going to be easing, and it will pay off in the future. But to answer
your question, I've seen it both ways. Like, I've seen companies that, yeah, we
(23:58):
know every year we have this thing. We're gonna do it. We're gonna be ready.
But I've also seen companies use that thing every year that comes as a
crutch to have too much to do, so to speak. So Yes.
Yeah. Well, it's funny. As as you're saying that, I just
reflected on a moment with an organization where
they had this onboarding event, but,
(24:19):
really, it became a half day
of almost like selling themselves. And by the
end, a lot of the new hires were looking around like,
okay. Well, we already committed to you. We'd like to
actually know about our job, not just hear more about the organization.
So you're right. There are moments where that's not exclusive.
(24:42):
I guess I was just hopeful that maybe there could be a pattern.
There could be if they want to create If they want it. Yes. Yeah. Like
I've said, I've seen companies that create that pattern. I've seen companies that don't. So
Yeah. Well, it goes back to what you said in the beginning. How are you
setting the table for them? You might know it, but are you
actually putting everything out there, planning,
(25:03):
really almost over serving? I would rather have a party that
has all the available options and then give
them those follow-up. Because I know I've experienced this.
You may have where in the beginning that onboarding day can be very
overwhelming. I personally, though, would rather be overwhelmed with things and
not even know what to do with all the information, knowing the
(25:26):
organization already has another date that we're gonna
follow-up and come together, and then I can ask the
questions that I couldn't think of in that moment. So I'm going back to that
follow-up piece too. I there's ways
it can be done, but being prepared, knowing the new hires' names, spelling them correctly,
(25:46):
things like that go a long way. And if you're sending
I did have one one moment where I was starting with a company,
and one of the leaders sent an organization wide
email welcoming me and inviting everybody to, you
know, send me a message, except they spelled my name all wrong. So I was
like it's like, well, this is awkward. How do I, let them know that's
(26:09):
not the email that they should be saying? Oh my goodness.
Yeah. So I'd say but I'll say that. I'll say that. I think we've
had some really good positive experiences, and I don't
wanna I don't wanna diminish that at the moment. So is there any
other positive that you wanna throw out there? Or
Well, we could be oh, yeah. We could be here all day, but I promise
(26:31):
that we would do 3 each. So I better we better be smart. And you
know what? It'll actually just provide us a reason to come back and talk about
it again sometime. So I love it. I think we could. And I think
that with this, the reality is there's also some not so great
experiences. So I am thinking we put a pin in this
one and then revisit the conversation, but look at
(26:52):
maybe the ones that weren't so great and opportunities
for what they could do better, how they could
prepare things I love more accordingly. So this was
awesome, Tim. It's it was great actually being back with you. It
felt like forever, so we'll do it again soon. Sounds good. Look
forward to it. Alright. Well and oh my goodness. Look. I
(27:14):
almost just abandoned the conversation without making sure people even knew how
to get help with their onboarding. Oh, my goodness. That's where I reminded the
same thing. Yes. They can. So our website, very simple, bestculturesolutions.ca.
You can email me at tim@bestculturesolutions.ca, and we are here
to help you get deliberate about how you bring people into your
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