How Do You Spark Change When You’re Set In Your Ways?

Having many long-tenured employees is a blessing and a curse when it comes to implementing change. The insight they bring to the table is invaluable—as long as it doesn’t hinder trying something new!  

I mean, just because a similar attempt wasn’t successful 15 years ago, doesn’t mean it couldn’t work now with the new resources available (including the insight we gained from the first attempt)!

With that in mind, we formed a diverse team with employees from different areas of the credit union to examine our content, delivery, and exactly how to execute new employee orientation.  And it’s been working!

Recipe for Success

The reason we’ve been so successful?  We didn’t rush the process.  

It’s important to change and evolve, but not as important as the quality of the changes you implement.  It takes time. 

And we decided to include everyone who is impacted directly by the onboarding process, so part of the revisions to our program included soliciting feedback from new employees and their managers.  

(Remember: In order to ensure a successful program, it’s not just the executive team you need to obtain “buy in” from.)

Why does onboarding even matter?

According to Dave Romero, “The better someone is onboarded, the more likely they are to be a champion of the organization who advocates and spreads value. It’s an intangible piece of the organizational pie: emotional connection, engagement and inspiration to improve—soft skills that make people excited to come to work every day.” 

If you’d like to hear more about the project, check out my initial post here.

Lorna Adams