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JWI 521 – Week 4 Lecture Notes (1192) Page 1 of 5
JWI 521
Recruit, Develop, Assess, Reward, Retain
Week Four Lecture Notes
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JWI 521 – Week 4 Lecture Notes (1192) Page 2 of 5
ONBOARDING AND DEVELOPMENT
What it Means
After all the trouble taken to hire the best candidate for a position, onboarding and orientation are
frequently minimal and inadequate. Yet, good onboarding is an effective retention and
engagement tool, whereas poor onboarding can drive out newcomers within months of their hire.
HR can increase retention of new hires by providing resources to support effective onboarding
across the organization.
Professional development is a major asset for managers wishing to reward their top talent and to
prepare them to be future leaders. The opportunity to develop professional and leadership skills is
among the most important of all organizational rewards. HR can help to increase retention of top
talent by implementing a promotions system that rewards strong performance with robust
professional development opportunities.
Why it Matters
• Onboarding is an opportunity to build engagement and capitalize on a good hire
• Retention increases when onboarding and professional development practices are
improved
• Strong professional development supports retention and creates a pipeline for future
leaders
“Talent and development is not only about developing and growing leaders
but also testing the best with complex and challenging stretch assignments.”
Bill Conaty
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JWI 521 – Week 4 Lecture Notes (1192) Page 3 of 5
WHAT IS ONBOARDING?
During traditional orientations, a new employee reviews benefits and company policies, and signs reams of
documents. While these procedures may be necessary, employers are increasingly realizing the need for a
more comprehensive onboarding process. New hires need a framework to understand their role, interaction
with their manager and team, and an introduction to the company’s history and culture.
Orientation is an event; onboarding is a process that continues over time. Good onboarding is an effective
retention and engagement tool, but conversely, poor onboarding hurts retention, reduces engagement, and
adds the cost of making more new hires. The most critical period, when new hires are most apt to leave, is
the first three to six months in the job. A 2017 Korn Ferry study found that between 10% and 25% of newly
hired workers were gone within six months.
Onboarding should help new hires adjust to the organization, understand their new job, and know where to
find support. Effective onboarding accelerates “time to performance” – that is, how quickly a new hire
becomes productive. It engages new hires with their immediate team, and connects them with departments
or units beyond their core team, to help them understand the organization’s structure and culture.
Managers should involve their team in the onboarding process, so as to make the new hire’s success a team
responsibility. One person can be designated as the new hire’s sponsor, someone to turn to when they run
into problems. This is good for the sponsor, as an opportunity to demonstrate leadership skills, good for the
new employee, who gets feedback when needed, and good for the manager, since it shares the workload.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: LEARNING BY DOING
Once the onboarding stage is finished, professional development should be a manager’s number one
retention and engagement tool. Countless studies have found that when college seniors and MBA students
are asked what is most important to them as they weigh their post-graduation alternatives, the most frequent
response, even more than high compensation, is the opportunity for professional growth.
Managers who thoughtfully assign people to jobs that are rich in “job content” can substantially increase the
motivation of their team members, while also providing them with abundant opportunities for professional
development. Experience really is the best teacher. As the old Chinese proverb goes:
Tell me and I’ll forget.
Show me and I may remember.
Involve me and I’ll understand.
How should a manager foster professional development for their team members? While formal training has
its place, talented employees are more motivated by the learning that comes through greater responsibility,
challenging new assignments, and promotion. Job content rewards may include recognition, responsibility,
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JWI 521 – Week 4 Lecture Notes (1192) Page 4 of 5
autonomy, performance feedback, participation in decision-making, challenging projects, and development
of professional and leadership skills.
Some organizational experiences are so robust that they provide employees with multiple enriching
opportunities at the same time. Examples include participating in new business initiatives, moving from a line
to a staff role, and taking on a position with profit-and-loss responsibilities. Even when an employee’s basic
job remains the same, significant professional growth options can be incorporated into the role. Managers
can achieve this by giving employees stretch assignments, such as introducing a new product, launching a
new initiative, or implementing a new recruitment or performance program.
POPCORN STANDS
As CEO of GE, Jack Welch introduced a retention practice that he labeled popcorn stands. In nearly all
companies, most of the revenue comes from a small percentage of divisions or businesses. This is referred
to as the “80-20 rule”, a maxim of business stating that 80% of profits come from 20% of activities. Naturally,
experienced A players must be assigned to run the business units that generate most of the money. So how
can less experienced, but promising, A players at junior levels learn how to manage such business units?
They can hone their skills while working in less profitable units. In these popcorn stand settings, high
potential employees can develop new skillsets, experiment with new strategies and business models, and
perfect their leadership styles. If they fail, their failure causes little damage to the company. If they succeed,
they can move to another popcorn stand with a different kind of leadership challenge. Eventually, they will be
ready for promotion to a role in a more profitable unit with higher stakes for the company.
FLATTENING THE ORGANIZATION
A particularly powerful way to increase people’s autonomy and participation in decision-making, without
changing their basic job, is to reduce the number of levels in the organizational chart. Jack Welch used this
approach of “flattening the organization” when he was GE’s CEO, with a workforce of more than 300,000
employees. He was frustrated at slow response times experienced by customers, due to the many
organizational layers that separated senior executives from actual customers. So, he directed that, going
forward, there should be no more than five layers of seniority between him and junior workers at GE.
To implement this directive, managers had to reorganize their departments. As a result, many managers
now had 25 to 30 people reporting to them. The prevailing wisdom of the time stated that the optimal number
of reports should not exceed ten people, lest managers be stretched beyond their ability to direct and
control. When warned about this potential issue, Welch replied, “The overstretched executive is the best
executive, because he doesn’t have time to meddle.” His point was that the best managers give their
employees more autonomy and the authority to make their own decisions.
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JWI 521 – Week 4 Lecture Notes (1192) Page 5 of 5
GETTING THE MOST OUT OF THIS WEEK’S CLASS
As you read the materials and participate in class activities, stay focused on the key learning outcomes for
the week:
• Explain the importance of effective orientation and onboarding
Think about your own experience with orientation and onboarding as a new hire at your current
workplace. Did HR and your manager provide you with the tools to understand the company’s
history and culture, learn about your new role, and interact with your new team? If not, how could
they add such elements to the onboarding process? How can HR work with managers to make the
necessary changes to build a strong onboarding program?
• Discuss current trends in workplace learning and development
Ideas about workplace learning and development have changed dramatically over the past few
years. There is far less focus on formal training and courses in corporate “universities.” Today,
Jack’s ideas about the value of stretch assignments in developing future managers and leaders are
widely accepted. Does your organization foster a management style focused on hands-on
professional growth? If not, how can HR help to introduce new ideas about professional
development?
• Explore models of leadership development and management training
What are the best models for leadership development and management training? Consider your
own company’s professional development practices. Do managers know how to assess their
employees effectively? Do they provide their employees with appropriate challenges through “job
content” and organizational experiences? Do they give the high performers on their team stretch
assignments and leadership experiences? If not, how could HR provide resources to help improve
the approach to management training and leadership development across the organization?
