onboarding: the ecosystem, not the afterthought (russ unger at designops summit 2017)

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/


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 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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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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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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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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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 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



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 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


▸ 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


▸ 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

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

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

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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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

onboarding: the ecosystem, not the afterthought (russ unger at designops summit 2017)

Design