Congratulations! After months of a relentless pursuit, you have convinced a high-impact performer to take a risk and leave a good situation to join your organization. 

But your job is not done. 

Don’t think you can just give your new superstar the keys to their office and let them do their magic. Most studies suggest that how well that high performer ultimately performs is greatly impacted during the employee’s first 90 days. 

Leading talent acquisition organizations know that the process only begins on the start date. A structured onboarding program needs to be very much part of the talent acquisition program to optimize chances that the talent acquired can be successfully leveraged. 

The Society of Human Resource Management defines onboarding as “the process by which new hires get adjusted to the social and performance aspects of their jobs quickly and smoothly, and learn the attitudes, knowledge, skills, and behaviors required to function effectively within an organization.” 

Best practices to improve onboarding: 

  • Develop a formal, written onboarding plan that is customized for each hire;
  • Involve all stakeholders in developing the onboarding plan;
  • Make onboarding an interactive process, not just an information dump;
  • Good onboarding programs last months, not weeks; and
  • Follow up … follow up … follow up.