New Leader Assimilation Toolkit

Hiring a new leader after an exhaustive (and expensive) recruitment process feels like a win. 

But if you don’t have a new leader assimilation plan or process ready to streamline, simplify, and support your newest hire’s transition into their new role, your victory could be short-lived. The unfortunate truth is the majority of leadership hires churn in 18 months or less. 

As recruitment costs climb to 1.5-2x a role’s annual salary, companies that want to remain competitive can’t afford to get trapped in a cycle of revolving leadership hires. (Not to mention the detrimental impacts on team performance, productivity, and morale that excessive leadership turnover creates!)

Fortunately, organizations can transform this stark hiring reality into a competitive advantage by creating an engaging and informative new leader assimilation process. 

New leader assimilation has finally been getting the attention it deserves from organizations of all sizes and across all industries. But what is new leader assimilation? What is an assimilation plan? What are the objectives of new leader assimilation, and how can you tell you’re on the right track?

Don’t worry — we have answers to all of those questions and more in this blog. So if you’ve been seeking out a strategy that can improve retention, performance, and cultural alignment at the executive and managerial levels, read on!

What Is New Team Leader Assimilation?

New team leader assimilation refers to a structured and systemic approach to facilitating smooth leadership transitions — for your newly hired leaders and the teams they’re taking over. Much of the new team leader assimilation process could be known by another name, “team building.”

Much like team building, new leader assimilation aims to provide a structured and positive outlet for employees and new leaders to engage in open, honest dialogue, form early bonds, and establish the mutual trust and respect underpinning every successful working relationship. 

What Is an Assimilation Plan?

An assimilation plan is the codified set of strategies, tactics, and techniques an organization uses for every new hire. 

Assimilation plans are vital assets for companies that want to transform new hires into impactful assets with reliably strong ROI. Without an assimilation plan, new hires are far more likely to face challenges like:

• Miscommunications – Assimilation plans can help new hires sidestep avoidable miscommunications that can increase stress levels, impede team bonding, and more. 
• Delayed Productivity – Assimilation plans promote strong productivity by arming new hires with the information, contacts, and resources needed to fulfill their role’s responsibilities effectively. Companies that haven’t invested in codifying an assimilation plan will experience delayed productivity as new hires struggle to discover this essential information independently. 
• Cultural Misalignment – Cultural misalignments can lead to damaged morale, higher turnover rates, damaged brand perception, and more. Ensuring new hires understand and align with your company culture ranges from challenging to impossible without an effective assimilation plan. 
• Poor Performance – New hires whose onboarding doesn’t include a dedicated assimilation plan often struggle to meet early performance milestones or progress at the expected pace due to a lack of clarity, guidance, and resources.
• Poor Team Dynamics – Teams and new leaders that dive directly into working together without the benefit of an assimilation plan will often need help to maintain morale, establish meaningful connections, and retain team members.

What Are the Objectives of New Leader Assimilation?

From better performance outcomes to improved ROI on recruiting activities, the number of reasons organizations pursue effective new leader assimilation processes are as varied and unique as the companies themselves.

There are, however, a few objectives of new leader assimilation shared across organizations and industries. Let’s take a look at some of these near-universal motivators you can find on almost any new leader assimilation agenda:

• Streamlined Onboarding – Strong assimilation processes significantly reduce new hires’ ramp time. Effective assimilation plans ensure new hires benefit from a well-rounded understanding of their roles, responsibilities, available resources, and your organization’s workflows and overall structure.

• Cultural Alignment – Assimilation plans serve as a thorough guide to your company’s culture, values, vision, mission, and beyond. By championing cultural alignment from the onset, they pave the way for stronger engagement, alignment, and outcomes.

• Effective Communication – Assimilation processes encourage open dialogue and honest discussion. It allows new hires at every rung of your corporate ladder to understand and implement your organization’s preferred communication style while promoting transparency by clarifying expectations, reducing misunderstandings, and preventing conflicts.

• Stronger Team Dynamics – Offering new leaders and their teams the chance to connect on both a personal and professional level through a thoughtfully designed assimilation process fosters closer, more cohesive work communities. This, in turn, fuels stronger collaboration and unlocks greater potential for innovation.

• Reduced Turnover – Perhaps the most important and universal objective of new leader assimilation is reduced turnover. Organizations that invest in robust assimilation processes, approaches, and strategies can eliminate or mitigate the vast majority of early issues that lead to turnover at both the leadership and team levels.

What Is the New Leader Assimilation Process?

The new leader assimilation process encompasses the time period from new hires’ first days until the moment they’ve fully assimilated into your company culture and successfully assumed the responsibilities of their role.

New leader assimilation processes are designed to boost retention, reduce errors, surmount challenges, and enhance performance. They do this by offering targeted training, orchestrating vital introductions, ensuring access to crucial resources, and fostering robust communication and collaboration.

What Are the 5 Steps for New Leader Assimilation with the Team?

The vast majority of successful new leader assimilation processes follow the same five-step process popularized by Harvard business professor John Gabarro in 1985. 

These steps aimed to address three key findings Gabarro discovered using longitudinal and historical studies and case reviews of managerial successions at organizations with annual sales ranging from $1.2M to over $3B. The findings were:

1. Managers took much longer to get up to speed than expected
2. Successful transitions followed five predictable stages
3. A good working relationship with superiors had a significant impact on the likelihood of a successful transition

The five steps Gabarro developed to address these three findings were:

1. Taking Hold – The “taking hold” phase signifies the point where new managers start to forge bonds, cultivate relationships, build trust, and exhibit credibility among their team, peers, and superiors.

2. Immersion – During the immersion stage, new managers dive deep into the intricate details of your company’s structure, operations, and strategies, fully enveloping themselves in the core facets of the organization.

3. Reshaping – The reshaping step kick-starts the process of new leaders implementing changes and making improvements to the strategies, tools, objectives, and expectations for their team.

4. Consolidating – At the consolidating stage, new managers shift from tentatively introducing minor alterations to boldly executing, evaluating, and refining substantial changes with confidence.

5. Refinement – Refinement marks the culmination of the new leader assimilation process. In this final phase, your new leader fully integrates into their role and becomes an ideal example of an active, engaged, and effective employee.

What Questions Should I Ask in New Leader Assimilation?

Asking the right questions during your new leader’s assimilation process can make the difference between long-term success and climbing turnover rates. 

For the best outcomes, organizations should invest in developing a unique list of new leader assimilation questions for teams that:

• Provide insight into new hires’ assimilation progress
• Allow mentors and support systems to identify new hires’ needs
• Provide insight into the obstacles, barriers, or challenges new hires are facing
• Gauge alignment with your organization’s preferred leadership style 
• And allow company leadership to evaluate cultural fit at various stages of onboarding and assimilation

Still, trying to figure out where to start? Don’t worry! We have a list of new leader assimilation sample questions you can use to guide your question creation process. 

Let’s look at examples of questions you can ask that cover three of assimilation’s most important objectives: building strong team dynamics, understanding your organization, and adjusting to the new role and its responsibilities. 

1. Building Team Dynamics

• What’s your strategy for earning respect and establishing leadership?
• What’s your blueprint for guiding and enhancing your team’s performance?
• What’s your method for handling disagreements or conflicts within your team?
• How do you plan to inspire and motivate your team?
• What communication style will you employ to ensure clarity and openness?

2. Understanding the Organization

• Can you articulate our purpose, our aspirations, and the principles we stand for?
• Can you summarize your part in this organization’s larger picture?
• How would you describe our company culture?
• How do you see your role contributing to our company’s overall goals?
• What’s your understanding of our primary competitors and market position?

3. Adjusting to the New Role

• What hurdles have you come across so far?
• What resources, instruments, or backup do you require to excel in your role?
• What aspects of our existing procedures appeal to you?
• What adjustments would you suggest for our current processes?
• Is there any area that you’re still uncertain about and need more explanation?
• How are you adapting to the company’s work environment?
• What’s your plan to balance your immediate responsibilities with long-term objectives?

How Medallion Partners Can Help

If you want to build a new leader assimilation toolkit that empowers your organization to turn new hires into valuable leaders, you need a trustworthy partner.

Medallion Partners has more than 15 years of experience providing expert strategic and support services to organizations that want to maximize the value of their human capital. From executive recruitment to new leader assimilation, Medallion Partners has the expertise, experience, skills, and tools you need to make the most out of every hire.

Don’t risk your company’s revenue or reputation with an ineffective assimilation process. Contact us today to take the first step toward building a smooth, streamlined new leader experience that sets the stage for long-term success and steady tenures.