Onboarding Funnel For New Managers
Bringing a new manager on board is an essential process that can have a huge impact on the efficiency and long-term success of the team or department they will lead. Although onboarding generally follows a standard approach for most new employees regardless of their role, there are some additional things to consider when welcoming new managers. Specifically, it is essential for them to quickly understand the culture and processes of their new work environment, integrate with their team, and develop strong leadership skills. In this guide, you will learn everything there is to know about manager onboarding, including what it entails and best practices to ensure success.
What Is Manager Onboarding And Why Is It Important?
Manager onboarding refers to the structured process of integrating new managers into an organization. This involves providing them with the tools, knowledge, and support they need to take on their new role and lead their team with success and efficiency. What differentiates manager onboarding from standard employee onboarding is an additional consideration for the challenges, responsibilities, and expectations associated with a leadership position.
The special circumstance of preparing someone to assume a management role makes a dedicated process for onboarding managers necessary for all organizations. Managers are an extension of the corporate culture and must fully embody it to drive success within their teams and the organization. Additionally, a comprehensive manager onboarding strategy can prepare them for their roles, enabling them to start working with their team immediately to maintain engagement and productivity levels.
It is important to recognize that a change in management almost always causes disruptions for employees, but effective onboarding can minimize them to a great extent. Finally, manager onboarding is important for retaining managers themselves, considering that if they feel unsupported at the beginning of their journey with your organization, they are more likely to resign and search for other opportunities.
How Long Does It Take To Onboard A New Manager?
The overall process of onboarding a new manager or leader doesn’t really have a set duration. A general rule of thumb you can keep in mind is three to six months, or even a year for senior management roles. This timeline heavily depends on the complexity of the role, the manager’s prior experience, and your organization’s specific onboarding practices.
To ensure a smooth and successful transition, you must have a detailed checklist for each stage of onboarding. For example, the first month needs to be dedicated to company culture, role expectations, and immediate responsibilities. By the end of the 90-day mark, new managers should achieve deeper integration, build stronger relationships, and set personal and team development goals. After six months, they should have completed mandatory training courses and participated in performance check-ins. Beyond this point, onboarding takes a long-term approach, emphasizing continuous development, strategic planning, and leadership growth.
What To Include In Manager Onboarding
It is not recommended to follow the same onboarding process for different management tiers, as each one has its unique needs. However, before we explore these differences, let’s look at the elements that remain the same for all categories.
Introduction to company culture, values, vision, and mission. All managers, irrespective of their seniority, must embody and represent the company culture to other employees, clients, and collaborators. Therefore, achieving effective cultural integration is a fundamental part of manager onboarding.
Explanation of company structure. Managers must understand the internal structure of the company, typically by reviewing the organizational chart, to identify their position within the organization, understand how their team connects with other teams and departments, know who they should report to, etc.
Personal introductions. During onboarding, new managers must meet colleagues that they will be working with across the company, whether they are fellow managers, team members, or directors.
Role-specific training. Onboarding must include relevant training courses for managers, including leadership courses as well as training on processes and tools used throughout the company.
Goal expectations. Anyone entering an organization must know what they are expected to achieve. Therefore, they must receive information regarding team, department, and organizational objectives, strategic planning, and overarching goals.
This is the general direction that onboarding needs to follow, no matter who it is intended for. In the following sections, we will look into additional steps that accommodate the seniority and complexity of the role.
Team Leads/Junior Managers
Team leaders or junior managers are often at the beginning stages of their leadership journey. As a result, they often have strong technical skills but lack the leadership skills necessary for effective team management. Therefore, the main focus of their onboarding plan should be to provide training opportunities to help them develop their leadership and people management skills.
If these individuals were promoted internally, you probably don’t need to introduce them to company culture and values. However, you must help them understand the management model your organization supports so they successfully adopt it.
Finally, make sure to schedule regular check-ins and feedback sessions with senior management. These meetings will provide new leaders with the support they need as they adapt to their new roles while enabling them to learn more about providing constructive criticism and exchanging feedback effectively.
Senior Managers/Department Heads
At the next management level, we find senior managers and department heads. Unlike the previous category, these professionals have more experience in team management on top of their technical skills. Therefore, their onboarding plan can focus on further developing these skills with leadership courses, seminars, or workshops.
In addition to that, senior managers and department heads must be given insight into their new organization’s overall business strategy, goals, and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). This way, they can create strategies for their teams or departments that align with the overarching mission and objectives of the organization.
Finally, similarly to the previous category, senior managers and department heads should meet with executives and stakeholders to understand more about their new workplace’s management and feedback processes. This will help them lead their teams in a way that doesn’t veer from the company culture and values.
Directors And Execs
Welcoming a new member of upper management, such as directors and executives, is a big change for a business. If they are left without direction, they might take actions that conflict with the company’s existing culture. Therefore, it is essential for their onboarding plan to include an in-depth introduction to the organization’s culture and leadership philosophy. This will ensure a smooth transition for both the new leaders and their teams.
Like middle management, directors and executives must also be informed about the organization’s overall strategy, goals, mission, and KPIs. However, considering that they will be held accountable for more than that, they must also gain an understanding of high-level financials, investor relations, board expectations, and other critical areas.
Finally, their onboarding plan must help them build strong relationships with fellow executives and key decision-makers to promote effective collaboration and communication across different departments.
Manager Onboarding Best Practices
The success of your manager onboarding strategy depends on how comprehensive and well-thought-out the process is. Here are 5 best practices you should keep in mind to help new managers enter your organization with as much confidence and engagement as possible.
Create An Onboarding Plan
Planning and organization are essential ingredients for a successful onboarding process. This means identifying the main stages of onboarding and how long they will take and creating checklists for each one. Typically, you need to account for the first three months of the new hire’s employment and create a 30-60-90 day onboarding plan that outlines specific goals and includes regular check-ins. After that point, new managers will have probably found their footing and require less frequent feedback sessions. Still, make sure to grant them access to training resources and knowledge bases that they can continue using even after the initial three months of onboarding.
Make Resources Available Ahead Of Time
Newcomer managers need as much time as possible to prepare for their new roles. As a result, they must have access to documents, company policies, organizational charts, training resources, and leadership guides, even before their first day at work. This will allow them to come into the organization feeling confident and well-informed about company policies and processes, as well as familiar with their colleagues and team members. They will also have time to explore the company’s leadership style and consider how to adapt it to their own. Finally, witnessing that their workplace is organized and ready for their arrival will create a positive first impression and increase their engagement and motivation to perform well.
Set Clear Expectations
The pressure is usually high when a new manager enters an organization. They are expected to successfully integrate into the company culture and lead their teams, all while trying to build their skillset and get a grasp of their new work environment. To make this process a little easier on them, make sure that your manager onboarding strategy effectively clarifies what is expected of them. Communicate early on short and long-term organizational objectives, strategic plans, metrics, and KPIs that you consider important. This will help new leaders set meaningful goals for themselves and their teams, prevent misunderstandings, and pave the way for their success.
Provide Continuous Support
Even if they have prior experience, new managers should not be left on their own during onboarding. On the contrary, they need ongoing support as they begin their journey with your company, as well as after onboarding has officially ended. This support can come from a mentor who will provide the new leader with insights and solutions to their problems and concerns. Moreover, keeping the leadership training resources library updated allows new managers to continue developing their leadership skills. And lastly, promoting effective communication with other leaders in the organization can help foster a knowledge-sharing culture that supports those who need it.
Explore Culture In Depth
Managers and leaders play a crucial role in sharing and reinforcing the company culture. Therefore, one of the most important components of your manager onboarding strategy must be introducing them to company traditions, values, and communication norms. This will allow them to explore these elements and figure out how to incorporate them into their leadership style. Successful cultural integration is vital for achieving consistent management practices across your organization, ensuring that your employees are being led in alignment with company values, and enhancing morale and engagement.
Wrapping Up
Manager onboarding is a process crucial for leadership success within your organization. It helps new managers understand the culture, vision, and strategic plans of the business they are joining, provides them with the support they need to thrive in their new role, and gives them the tools they need to develop their leadership and people management skills. In this article, we explored what manager onboarding should include for different levels of management and which best practices you should follow to maximize its effectiveness.
If you are interested in exploring software solutions to increase the effectiveness of your organization’s onboarding strategy, make sure to take a look at our onboarding software directory.
