In many ways, all onboarding is contextual. It’s about acquiring, accommodating, assimilating and accelerating a new team member into the context of the organization. PrimeGenesis’ three core onboarding ideas must be considered in context.
Get a head start
Aligning the organization before starting recruiting defines the context of the role for the new team member. Get this wrong and the new team member doesn’t have a chance.
Then, new team members that start building relationships and jump-start learning before day one have far better control of the context for those early meetings and far better understanding of the context for their early days.
Manage the message
Hiring managers that manage their message make it much easier for new team members to understand the context of what they are getting into.
New team members must manage their message in the context of the organization they are joining. Peter Guber’s Four Truths of the Story Teller (Harvard Business Review, January 2008) is all about context – truth to the teller, audience, mission and moment. It’s not about the message delivered. It’s about the message received – in context.
Help others deliver
The others are the most important context to consider. The only thing a new team member can do all by themselves is fail. Delivering almost anything important requires inspiring and enabling others. This is why hiring managers and new team members must consider all the stakeholders to get the context right.
Bottom line, whether you’re helping someone onboard into a new role or moving into a new role yourself. Keep the context in mind for everything you say and do.
