Author: Morgan Todd Ledford
Once an organization succeeds in recruiting top talent, the enterprise needs transformative results quickly from the new leader, now more than ever. Yet new CEOs or senior executives often require months to develop a strategic vision and win employee support. Hiring teams frequently ask, "How do we help our new leader become fully productive, faster?"
Onboarding versus orientation
Grasping enterprise nuances and expediting trust development is key. At Gallagher, we focus on executive onboarding rather than executive orientation. Organizations frequently use the terms "orientation" and "onboarding" interchangeably, yet each serves a distinct purpose in acclimating new leaders to an organization and expediting the journey to peak performance.
- Orientation is typically a single event designed to introduce employees to a company's policies, practices, culture and standards.
- Onboarding offers a comprehensive, ongoing process beginning with acceptance of the job offer and extending through the initial 90 days of employment, at a minimum. Onboarding is designed to augment the new employee's efficiency, output and overall involvement with the company.
It's no surprise that retaining talent is the second operational priority, just after growing revenue or sales, according to Gallagher's 2024 US Workforce Trends Report: Organizational Wellbeing Report. Retaining talent surfaced as the top HR priority.
Toward that goal, a comprehensive onboarding process can bolster retention and deepen engagement among new leaders, according to the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM). A study reported by SHRM in 2023 stated employees are 58% more likely to stay with a company for three years if they have a structured onboarding experience.1
A comprehensive and managed journey
Whether a new senior leader is promoted internally or hired from outside the organization, new executives must gain organizational context from a new vantage point and build trust quickly with their new teams. A robust onboarding experience will support retention and swift adaptation. Our onboarding approach includes:
- Pre-boarding: Recognizing the critical engagement window between acceptance of the job offer and beginning employment, we equip organizations to maintain active communication with candidates from the outset.
- Stakeholder context: In the first week, we furnish new leaders with a stakeholder report compiled through interviews with key figures. The report explores organizational goals, expectations, opportunities, challenges, common pitfalls and the potential politics a new leader will navigate.
- Development planning: Candidates are invited to participate in the Gallagher Leadership Assessment to identify and focus in the first six months on possible personal development areas aligned with organizational goals.
- Team acceleration: We facilitate workshops designed to enable new leaders and their teams to forge connections and collaborate on shared business objectives in the first quarter.
- Ongoing executive coaching: Available in six- and 12-month engagements, Gallagher offers coaching to support the sustained growth of your new executives.
Gallagher can help
Whether your organization seeks to fill a senior leader role or requires a seamless transition and rapid success for an incoming leader, Gallagher can help.
As a top 50 recruiting firm,* Gallagher helps clients attract, engage, onboard and develop transformational leaders to drive organizational success. We work with Fortune 500 corporations, private equity firms, and small and mid-size organizations.
*Hunt Scanlon Top 50 Recruiters, 2024
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