onboarding: the ecosystem, not the afterthought (russ unger at designops summit 2017)
TRANSCRIPT
ONBOARDING: THE ECOSYSTEM,
NOT THE AFTERTHOUGHT.
NOVEMBER 7, 2017 - DESIGNOPS SUMMIT
ONBOARDING?NOVEMBER 7, 2017 - DESIGNOPS SUMMIT
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A REASONABLY TYPICAL PROCESS?
Form Email for First Day
Corporate Onboarding
Paperwork
1st Day LunchWait for
Computer, etc.Paperwork
Training VideosWait for Work
Meet (& forget) a bunch of people
Wait for Work
Wait for Work
Wait for Work
ONBOARDING?
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Like product or project management, diving right in can slow the system down and throw it off track.
Proper planning for onboarding can bring about something much more fluid and more productive for employees & teams.
We have to slow down to speed up.
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THE ECOSYSTEMNOVEMBER 7, 2017 - DESIGNOPS SUMMIT
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A REASONABLE ECOSYSTEM
Performance Profiles
Interview Guides
Internal Projects
The HR Hand-off
Pre-boarding Call
Day 1
First Project
Interviewing
The Buddy System
Bots
“About Us” Classes
Handbook / Intranet
1:1s
CANDIDATE EXPERIENCE > EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE
THE ECOSYSTEM
PARTS OF THE WHOLE - BEFORE START
▸ Performance Profiles
▸ Interview Guides
▸ Structured Interviews
▸ Post-Offer Staying-In-Touch-so-the-Candidate-Doesn’t-Feel-Abandoned Time
▸ Pre-boarding
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THE ECOSYSTEM
PARTS OF THE WHOLE - AFTER START
▸ Day 1: Commencement
▸ The Buddy System
▸ Internal Projects
▸ First Project
▸ Feedback
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PERFORMANCE PROFILES (NOT JOB DESCRIPTIONS!)
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HOW TO: WRITE A JOB DESCRIPTION
Search “Job Title”Find One That’s Close to Yours
Copy / PasteReplace
“Company Name”Send to HR
KIDDING, OF COURSE! (NO ONE DOES THIS, RIGHT?)
If you want to hire superior people, first define superior performance. You must get everyone to agree to what the person taking the job needs to do to be successful, not what the person needs to have in terms of skills.
Lou Adler
PERFORMANCE PROFILES
Ref: Lou Adler - https://www.ere.net/performance-profiles-the-key-to-hiring-the-best/
Ref: Lou Adler - https://www.ere.net/performance-profiles-the-key-to-hiring-the-best/
PERFORMANCE PROFILES
THE PERFORMANCE PROFILE WORKSHOP
▸ Why did they resign? (5 minutes)
▸ Why was they get fired? (5 minutes)
▸ Why did they get promoted? (5 minutes)
▸ Vote / prioritize the top reasons why people would get promoted.
▸ Write detailed descriptions of the top 5 reasons for promotion.
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SAMPLE PERFORMANCE PROFILE OBJECTIVE
PERFORMANCE PROFILES
PERFORMANCE PROFILES NOT JOB DESCRIPTIONS
INTERVIEW GUIDES
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INTERVIEW GUIDES
LEAD EVERY INTERVIEW THE SAME WAY
▸ Provides a consistent framework for interviewing
▸ Aligns interview questions to Performance Profile objectives
▸ Provides insight into strong answers and warning signs.
▸ Shows a candidate the attention to detail they can expect from you to and for them
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SAMPLE INTERVIEW GUIDE
SAMPLE INTERVIEW GUIDE & INTERVIEW GUIDE
SAMPLE MAPPING
INTERVIEW GUIDES
INTERVIEW GUIDES NOT EVERYONE ASKS WHATEVER THEY WANT
STRUCTURED INTERVIEWING
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STRUCTURED INTERVIEWING
THINGS TO CONSIDER
▸ Are you doing a portfolio review?
▸ When and why?
▸ Are you doing design exercises?
▸ Why?
▸ Live, or as an assignment?
▸ Are you compensating for the effort?
▸ What do you hope to learn?
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STRUCTURED INTERVIEWING
INTERVIEW APPROACH (YMMV)
▸ Director / Supervisor (30m)
▸ “Tell me your story about how you got here; the stuff that’s not on the resume in bullet points.”
▸ “Tell me about a project you’re most proud of, and what was your explicit role? What would you do different today?”
▸ “Why are you interested in working with us?”
▸ “Do you have questions about working with us?”
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STRUCTURED INTERVIEWING
INTERVIEW APPROACH (YMMV)
▸ Teammates, in pairs (3 rounds)
▸ Assess technical skills (Hands)
▸ Evaluate problem solving abilities (Head)
▸ Identify if driven by company mission / if a culture add (Heart)
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STRUCTURED INTERVIEWING
POST-INTERVIEW REVIEW
▸ Facilitate the team to a decision
▸ Have everyone who interviewed provide feedback
▸ Cross-check facts that have been shared
▸ Ask team for a decision
▸ Provide feedback for recruiting team to help the candidate understand why they are or are not proceeding.
▸ Quickly run a retro on the candidate and processImage source © SU
STRUCTURED INTERVIEWING
STRUCTURED INTERVIEWING NOT WHY ARE MANHOLE COVERS ROUND?
POST-OFFER STAYING-IN-TOUCH-SO-THE-CANDIDATE-DOESN’T-FEEL-ABANDONED TIME
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Insert yourself / key contacts into the process to compensate for others in the process who may not be as candidate-centered.
Amanda Schonfeld
POST-OFFER STAYING-IN-TOUCH-SO-THE-CANDIDATE-DOESN’T-FEEL-ABANDONED TIME
POST-OFFER STAYING-IN-TOUCH-SO-THE-CANDIDATE-DOESN’T-FEEL-ABANDONED TIME
AFTER THE INTERVIEW, BEFORE THE START DATE…
▸ Provide all the necessary points of contact
▸ Give permission to reach out!
▸ Share relevant news & communication about team and accomplishments
▸ Be available & approachable
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POST-OFFER STAYING-IN-TOUCH-SO-THE-CANDIDATE-DOESN’T-FEEL-ABANDONED TIME
POST-OFFER STAYING-IN-TOUCH-SO-THE-CANDIDATE-DOESN’T-FEEL- ABANDONED TIME NOT THE HR HAND-OFF
PRE-BOARDING CALL
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PRE-BOARDING CALL
THE WELCOME BEFORE THE WELCOME
▸ Invite all the right people
▸ Supervisor
▸ Lead
▸ Project/Product Manager
▸ Buddy
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PRE-BOARDING CALL
THE WELCOME BEFORE THE WELCOME
▸ Discuss all the right things
▸ What happens on Day 1
▸ Point(s) of contact
▸ General work expectations
▸ Systems of Support (humans, HR, intranet, etc.)
▸ All the culture
▸ Especially the quirks!
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PRE-BOARDING CALL
THE WELCOME BEFORE THE WELCOME
▸ Answer all the questions!
▸ Give them the floor
▸ Let everyone else answer; encourage other perspectives
▸ Encourage / welcome all follow-up questions
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PRE-BOARDING CALL
THE PRE-BOARDING CALL NOT JUST A FORM-LETTER WELCOME EMAIL
DAY 1: COMMENCEMENT
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COMMENCEMENT
DAY 1: COMMENCEMENT
THAT FRESH, NEW JOB SMELL
▸ Let the natural order of HR-planned events take place as scheduled
▸ Triple-check new employee items are where they should be (computers, phones, office supplies, etc.)
▸ Make time to welcome to the team
▸ OR make it easy for teammate to leave when they’ve wrapped up the HR-planned events
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DAY 1: COMMENCEMENT
DAY 1: COMMENCEMENT NOT DAY 1: NOW WHAT?
THE BUDDY SYSTEM
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THE BUDDY SYSTEM
MY BUDDY & ME!
▸ Emails new teammate with basic contact information & first meeting
▸ Gets bio / brief information for announcement
▸ Provides team orientation (different than company)
▸ Guides into systems, explains meetings, acronyms, etc.
▸ Daily and as-needed check-ins
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THE BUDDY SYSTEM
MY BUDDY & ME!
▸ Explain systems like time keeping, travel, etc.
▸ Explain company-required trainings
▸ Introduce to other teammates, as available
▸ Introduces to Buddy Handbook / Guide / etc.
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A BUDDY GUIDE / HANDBOOK / DOCUMENT
Ref: New York University - https://www.nyu.edu/content/dam/nyu/hr/documents/managerguides/BuddyGuidelines.pdf
THE BUDDY SYSTEM
THE BUDDY SYSTEM NOT GOOD LUCK, CHECK THE EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK & LET US KNOW IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS
INTERNAL PROJECTS
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INTERNAL PROJECTS
IF YOU HAVE TIME TO LEAN, YOU HAVE TIME TO CLEAN
▸ Great opportunity for new teammates to get to learn how the team works before they work on a project
▸ Helps to identify what the work looks like, where the work lives, and who to ask for support in the work
▸ Provides a safe space to fail, or at least to not succeed
▸ Helps assess/self-assess a reasonable workload for the teammate
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INTERNAL PROJECTS
INTERNAL PROJECTS NOT THROWN IN THE PRODUCT/PROJECT DEEP END
FIRST PROJECT (THE REAL JOB)
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ONBOARDING FEEDBACK
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ADDITIONAL OPTIONSNOVEMBER 7, 2017 - DESIGNOPS SUMMIT
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ADDITIONAL OPTIONS / IDEAS
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ADDITIONAL OPTIONS
THERE’S ALWAYS MORE WE CAN DO
▸ Informational Classes
▸ Chatbots
▸ Team Coffees / Coffeebot
▸ Intranet / Handbook / Online References & Guides
▸ Onboarding Calendar
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RECAPNOVEMBER 7, 2017 - DESIGNOPS SUMMIT
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RECAP
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TRY THIS NOT THIS
Performance Profiles Job DescriptionsInterview Guides Everyone Asks
Whatever They Want
Structured Interviews Why Are Manhole Covers Round?
Post-Offer Staying-In-Touch-so-the-Candidate-Doesn’t-Feel-Abandoned Time
The HR Hand-off
Pre-boarding Just a Form-letter Welcome Email
RECAP
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TRY THIS NOT THIS
Day 1: Commencement Day 1: Now What?The Buddy System Good Luck, Check the
Employee Handbook & Let Us Know If You Have Questions
Internal Projects Thrown in the Product/Project Deep End
Feedback Repeat a Broken Experience
ONE LAST THING . . .
THANK YOU!NOVEMBER 3, 2017 - DESIGNOPS SUMMIT