Does your organization effectively “on-board” new team members?

This semester I had a wonderful opportunity to mentor a first-year full-time professor on our campus. And since our campus does not have a formal new faculty mentoring program, we kind of “made up” our own “program” along the way.  It proved to be an enriching opportunity for both of us.  As always, I became the student.

This relationship gave me the extended opportunity to reflect on how we (our campus, college, and calling) go about and could go about “on-boarding” new faculty in an effective and validating manner.  And, going beyond faculty, I thought about how we could help any new employee transition to the culture of her/his calling.

Image: David Castillo Dominici/
FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Toward that end, I developed a brief (one typed page) case study of my semester-long mentor-mentee relationship. I am simply calling it the “FIVE Ps.” Perhaps you can incorporate it with your new employee mentoring program as a post-mentoring review of the relationship.  Here are the five categories with a brief description of what you could include.

Video recommendation for the week:

1. Preview. In this section, briefly explain who the mentee is and what she/he brings to the new employment position. This could include specific skills or talents.
2. Problem. Focus on any specific challenge the mentee might face in the new position. This could be a skill-set or personal dynamics issues. Perhaps, issues evolved as the relationship evolved.
3. Process. Who is the mentor and why was she/he chosen for the role? When, where and how often did the mentor and mentee meet? List any significant particulars about the relationship and goals.
4. Product. In this section, list what was accomplished. What were the bright spots and what were the not-so bright spots? What were specific topics of conversation and mentoring? What “tools” were used? Anything in particular stand out? Suggestions for future action?
5. Planning. In this situation, I used this section to pose questions for the future of mentoring relationships at our campus. While these are specific to my space, use them as a model for your organization. I have included five of the planning points I developed.

• Should there be a formalized mentoring pre-assessment and post-assessment?
• What percentage of the mentoring emphasis should be functional/procedural, cultural/political, and skills development?
• How will the mentoring relationship be monitored—and by whom? Should it be monitored?
• How long should the “formal” mentoring relationship last?
• Will there be incentives (money; recognition; other) for participation in the program for the mentor? Should there be?

How does your organization effectively “on-board” new hires?

Make it a great week. And H.T.R.B. as needed.

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