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Onboarding—an Underrated Competitive Advantage

Remember your first day on the job?

Christine Lebron 2020b

You were likely nervous, yet ready to impress and eager to make a difference. After all, the company picked you out of 50-plus other applicants.

On that first day, imagine your new manager has a conflict and cannot welcome you. You are escorted to an empty office with just a checklist of administrative tasks to complete and people with whom to have join-ups. Every join-up leaves you more confused from differing opinions on organizational structure. Within the week, you are on project calls and cannot make sense of the cacophony of acronyms, updates, and an unfamiliar product lineup. To top it off, you now have a dozen follow-ups, and the person from whom you are receiving projects is going on a two-week vacation—beginning tomorrow.

Do you think this employee feels set up for success?

Why onboarding is critical
New employees arrive enthusiastic, but with pre-existing thought processes for approaching problems and oftentimes lacking certain soft skills. Therefore, onboarding is critical to both an individual’s and your organization’s success.

Onboarding is not the same as orientation. Orientation is a short, one-time event within onboarding—e.g., the site tour, setting up payroll, getting a badge, etc. Onboarding is the months-long process during which new employees acclimate to a new culture and establish themselves within the organization.

Having experienced onboarding programs, and subsequently supported developing them at several packaging companies, the intangible benefits of an onboarding program are many. Consider these highlights:

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