onboarding

New hires and new leaders have different onboarding challenges. So, we have different onboarding solutions. Connect the Dots will help make sure your onboarding process is effective.

Real Business Needs. Real Onboarding Solutions.

The onboarding process is one of the most important activities that a company performs, yet many managers still question its true value. As a result, they too often see the new hire or new leader walk out the door within the first year. We can help fix that.

The numbers do not lie. Onboarding is a big deal.

Did you know? Over 75% of those who are actively involved in a formal onboarding experience become productive, engaged team members who stay. Likewise, when new employees take part in a formal onboarding process, manager satisfaction increases by 20%.

So, the question is not whether to provide a formal onboarding program, but how to start creating one.

The answer for many companies has been the same: by partnering with Connect the Dots.

Since 2006, Connect the Dots has helped companies design onboarding experiences that make new hires feel like they made the right decision to join the team. And, equally important, managers feel they made the right decision in hiring them.

Our approach is highly customized to meet your needs. We work as an extension of your team to define and design the experience that will produce productive and engaged new hires, and strong, effective new leaders.

new hire experience

Make new hires feel welcomed, help them understand their roles and their importance to the organization, and be totally prepared for the first day at work — and beyond.

 

new leader transition

Unfortunately, 60% of new leaders fail within their first 18 months. This is costly to your bottom line and culture. We will help you purposely integrate your new leaders into the organization and give them the ability to deliver what they were hired to do.

Successful Onboarding. Successful Team.

The fact is, you only get one chance to successfully onboard a new hire. And we can tell you why it’s so important to get it right in less than a minute.

Onboarding Success Stories

Children’s Fashion Retailer
Onboarding
Automotive
Leadership Onboarding with on target® executive coaching
Retail: Plus-size Women’s Clothing
Onboarding

Onboarding News & Updates

Onboarding

News

Erika will be a featured speaker at the Gulf Coast Symposium on HR Issues address the topic: Onboard Like a CEO: Strategies from the corner office to engage and develop your new hires

Description:

Onboard new hires like a CEO? What would an “executive experience” look like and how could it impact your new hires’ engagement levels? Per Gallup, 88% of employees don’t think their current organization is good at onboarding and 76% of HR don’t think they are doing a good job at onboarding employees. Robust onboarding addresses organizational challenges – attracting top talent, engagement, productivity, and high turnover . You’ll get six strategies “borrowed” from executive onboarding you can implement immediately, including how to quickly build organizational knowledge; build key relationships and deliver timely feedback to adjust and avoid negative turnover.

Onboarding

News

Brenda Hampel & Erika Lamont, co-founders of Connect the Dots Consulting, were recently featured on the podcast series: Innovating Leadership: Co-Creating Our Future as onboarding experts.

More than 40% of new leaders fail within 18 months. Why?

Don’t blame the leader; look at the organization instead! Most organizations don’t onboard a new leader well, if at all. They assume a person’s success at one company will automatically transfer to theirs – but there are far too many variables at play to bank on that. Instead, an onboarding plan that goes beyond HR protocols and benefits sign-up is necessary: a plan that considers company culture, history, team dynamics…even quality of life differences if the new leader is coming from out of town!

Brenda Hampel and Erika Lamont of Connect the Dots share tips, tricks, and outright wisdom from years of experience helping organizations maximize the success of their new leaders.

Here’s what Brenda, Erika, and host Maureen Metcalf cover:

  1. The three main components of a good onboarding plan;
  2. Why overlooking help with personal transitions – including spouse and children – is a key reason for new leaders leaving your organization; and
  3. Why how you handled your workforce during the COVID pandemic is the ultimate litmus test for a leader considering your job offer.

Onboarding

News

Based on feedback Brenda Hampel, Managing Director, Connect the Dots received in her presentation at a recent conference, many organizations continue to look for effective ways to ensure their onboarding practices meet the expectations and needs of new employees.

Over 75 HR professionals attended her session “Disrupt Your Onboarding Experience,” designed to help participants:

  • Identify the strengths and weaknesses of their onboarding processes and
  • Integrate the newest onboarding technology practices and tools

The presentation included several real-time feedback polls to assess the current state of onboarding at participants’ organizations and help CTD tailor its content delivery.  The following charts outline the feedback we received during the session.

Why “disrupt” your onboarding experience?

HR professionals in attendance were most motivated to improve their onboarding systems to increase retention of new hires and engage employees, and get employees up to speed faster (38% and 33%, respectively).  Getting new hires up to speed and improving ease of manager participation were much less likely to be the drivers of participant’s onboarding focus.  No participants indicated a specific need to address the multi-generational workforce with onboarding.

What is the current state of onboarding in your organization?

All session participants reported that they conduct some onboarding activities in their organizations; however, about half focused mainly on orientation activities.  Nearly 20% also included training activities, and an additional 24% also include some socialization.  Only 10% of respondents reported having a formal, structured process with an onboarding plan, defined roles, and feedback.

What type of technology are you currently using for your onboarding experience?

Over half of participants were not using any technology to support their onboarding processes.  The remaining participants implemented a branded onboarding website (24%) or email and calendar planning only (24%). No participants reported using social media to connect with new hires or linking their systems to existing HRIS systems. 

 

Your Onboarding Experience

Where is your onboarding program hitting and missing the mark? What best-practice updates can you make to better meet your organization’s needs?

Take a look at our onboarding solutions for the new hire as well as for new leader transition to see how we help dynamic companies effectively onboard their team members

 

Our team-connect Survey Process

 

We start with thoughtfully diagnosing the team’s current culture by using available data, assessments and interviews.

This provides the team leader with a clear view of what is getting in the way of the team’s success.

We design a series of structured team sessions that:

  • Share the team culture analysis
  • Give team members the opportunity to talk through both processes and behaviors that need to be addressed
  • Productively provide feedback to one another
  • Develop both team and individual commitments that will lead to the team’s desired state

 

Measure progress by leveraging CTD’s team-connect Survey to:

  • Drive accountability and measure progress by collecting team feedback specific to one another’s engagement and behavioral change
  • Provide the team’s leader with a clear understanding of what he/she and the team need from each other to enable and support the team’s success
  • Share team and individual survey result reports