What Should Be Included In Executive Onboarding?

Hiring a new executive is like opening a new chapter in your organization’s story. Whether that chapter is a tale of triumph or a cautionary tale depends on what you do next – like building an executive onboarding plan as a part of your new leader assimilation. 

If you’ve been searching for a strategy to improve executive onboarding outcomes that are as simple as it is effective, prepare for your “A-ha!” moment. Let’s explore the benefits and impact of executive onboarding plans. 

What Should Be Included In An Executive Onboarding Plan?

Ensuring a seamless transition between exiting and arriving executives is essential – which makes it a logical cornerstone of any well-crafted onboarding plan. An executive onboarding program can help a new executive settle in, grow comfortable with the company’s culture, and introduce them to other executive team members.

This blueprint serves the dual purpose of equipping new leaders for the challenging journey ahead while fortifying your organization’s odds of generating a strong ROI. Let’s explore the essential components that such a plan should encompass for newly hired executives:

Cultural Assimilation

Cultural immersion and assimilation are non-negotiable keys to the success of new executives. Ensure your onboarding plan includes opportunities for new leaders to observe and engage with your company’s values, beliefs, traditions, and behavioral norms. Read more about cultural assimilation training here.

Role Clarity

Ensuring executives have a clear understanding of their roles, responsibilities, and expectations should be a top priority in every onboarding plan. Studies show role clarity improves efficiency by a staggering 53% and performance by 27%. 

Network Building

Building a network within the organization ensures new executives have the necessary support and collaborative ability to perform a successful transition. 

That’s why the best onboarding plans included structured and unstructured opportunities for new leaders to become acquainted with their peers, team members, stakeholders, vendors, etc.

Executive Onboarding Checklist

Want to make sure you don’t overlook a crucial aspect of onboarding? 

Consider creating a detailed executive onboarding checklist. Customized onboarding checklists provide valuable roadmaps that promote clarity, accountability, and support throughout the new hires’ onboarding process.

What Are The 6 Cs of Onboarding Executive Team Members?

If you’ve been researching executive onboarding, you’ve probably seen references to the “6 C’s” of onboarding. 

The 6 C’s of onboarding work together to create a holistic framework for guiding new executives through their onboarding, integration, and assimilation process. Let’s break this approach into six distinct parts. 

1. Culture: Promoting a comprehensive understanding of your organizational culture is pivotal for alignment and integration.

2. Clarity: Clarity in roles, goals, and expectations ensures new executives are armed with all the information they need to fulfill their duties and improve organizational outcomes.

3. Connection: Building connections within your organization is crucial for fostering collaboration and trust – the building blocks of strong productivity, performance, and innovation.

4. Compliance: Make sure new hires are aware of any and all compliance requirements their role incurs to avoid a lapse in regulatory adherence.

5. Coaching: Providing mentoring and coaching serves two key purposes:

1. Ensuring new hires have the skills, tools, and insights they need to generate ROI.
2. Demonstrating your organization’s commitment to new hires’ growth, development, and long-term success. 

6. Check-In: Only ⅓ employees say they’re engaged in their work and/or workplace. Make sure your new executives end up in that minority by scheduling regular check-ins that provide opportunities to ask questions, share concerns, and stay accountable.

What Is The 90-Day CEO Onboarding Plan?

The 90-day CEO onboarding plan is a structured approach that aims to help CEOs effectively and efficiently transition into their roles. 

The 90-Day methodology achieves this with a laser focus on optimizing new executives’ most crucial transition phase – the first three months – as much as possible. Investing in creating a thoughtful, strategic, and systemic approach to approaching new executives’ first 90 days in their role sets the stage for success for years to come.

What Should Be Included In A 90-Day Plan?

Interested in leveraging a 90-Day Plan but not sure where to get started? Don’t worry—you’re in good company—88% of organizations struggle with onboarding. If you’re building your first 90-day plan, make sure it includes:

1. Goals Setting: Define clear, achievable objectives for the first three months.
2. Team Engagement: Meet and interact with direct reports and key team members.
3. Review Processes: Evaluate existing processes and identify areas of improvement.
4. Stakeholder Engagement: Engage with crucial stakeholders, understanding their expectations and concerns.
5. Prioritize Quick Wins: Identify actions or projects that can be executed quickly, demonstrating initial successes.
6. Continuous Feedback: Schedule regular check-ins with superiors and peers to ensure alignment and course correction if needed.
7. Skill Development: Identify any potential skills or knowledge gaps and set a plan for training or learning in the initial 90 days.
8. Resource Allocation: Ensure you have all the necessary resources, tools, and support to execute your objectives effectively.
9. Cultural Assimilation: Dedicate time to understanding the company culture, values, and traditions to better integrate into the organization.
10. Performance Metrics: Set clear performance indicators to track your progress and the impact of your initiatives.

How Do You Write A 90-Day Onboarding Plan?

Ready to start writing your own 90-Day onboarding plan? Here are five tips to get started:

1. Don’t Reinvent the Wheel: There are plenty of high-quality 90-Day Onboarding plans. Starting with a tried-and-true solution, like a 30-60-90 plan, simplifies the creation process and can improve outcomes.
2. Define Key Milestones: Creating milestones weaves clarity and accountability into your onboarding process while also ensuring every new hire has the same opportunity to settle into your role successfully. 
3. Seek Feedback: Make creating your onboarding plan a decentralized process. Involve future executives’ peers, superiors, and future teammates to get feedback on your drafted plan.
4. Incorporate the 6 Cs: The 6 Cs are an excellent onboarding guide. If every aspect of the “6 Cs of onboarding” are integrated into your plan, you’ll be ahead of the competition. 
5. Bring in an Expert: If you’re serious about building an impactful executive onboarding plan as time and cost-effectively as possible, you can’t overlook the expertise and insights available from onboarding and assimilation professionals. 

Enhance Your Executive Onboarding Process with Medallion Partners

Looking for expert guidance on executive onboarding? 

Whether you’re interested in implementing the 6 C’s of onboarding, developing a comprehensive executive onboarding plan, or simply asking a few questions, our experts are here to help. 

Contact us today to ensure your executives have a seamless transition into their roles.