Training Magazine - July 2008 - (Page 47)

but 40 percent of executives who join organizations in key positions fail. Charlie Bishop, founder and president of Chicago Change Partners, calls it “the American business world’s dirty little secret.” IT MAY SEEM HARD TO BELIEVE, It’s also a costly secret. Tom Mallory, president of Atlantabased executive search firm Acadia Associates, estimates the cost of bad executive hires at six times their annual salary. Much of this could be avoided, according to Karen Benjack Glatzer, founder and president of GH Consulting in Sandy Springs, GA. An executive’s failure to succeed in his or her new role often has little to do with job skills or functional talent. “Usually when executives don’t make their second year anniversary, it’s because they haven’t known how to or haven’t been given the right kind of help to become organizationally savvy,” says Benjack Glatzer. That’s where onboarding comes in. Onboarding trains executives on the culture and politics of their new company. It helps them gain the support of their peers and form alliances. However, despite the benefits, most companies don’t offer onboarding programs for new executive hires. “Recruiters drop them off at the front door,” says Bishop. “Then human resources gives them an orientation and lets them go. I’ve had people say, ‘Let cream rise to the top’ or ‘Give good people the keys, and they’ll take care of things.’ Well, that’s not true. You have to give them some help, especially because you have so much at stake with the money you’re paying them.” If a company elects to onboard, one tough decision comes before the process even starts. It must decide whether to handle the task internally or bring in a trained professional. While the company could have the capability to onboard with existing resources, it may not be the most efficient use. “If a company goes outside, though, it has to be clear that the onboarding person understands the culture,” stresses Benjack Glatzer.“Are they going to work well—not just with the executive getting onboarded—but can they establish quick and deep rapport with all the stakeholders?” Eighteen months ago, Michele Crocker, vice president of worldwide distributor optimization for Herbalife International, established an executive onboarding program called “The First 100 Days Hit the Ground Running Work Plan.” While Herbalife hadn’t experienced any problems developing executives, the company felt it should focus more attention on that initial 100day time frame. The program takes a structured approach w w w. t r a i n i n g m a g . c o m focused on three vital areas. “The first one is ensuring that they establish solid people relationships early on with their team, peers, key internal and external customers, and any global business partners,” says Crocker. “We also put a lot of emphasis up front on understanding the philosophy, the culture, and how we operate as a company. The other area we look at is operational: how the functions work and the executive’s role in Herbalife’s success.” Herbalife, which has 3,800 employees worldwide, has new executive hires spend time with the head of each function. Crocker describes it as nothing like a typical “meet and greet.” Instead, they prepare several robust questions for everyone who meets with the executive. “We work with them to develop the right questions, so the executive gets on board understanding the big picture and how the moving pieces all fit together,” explains Crocker. Every 30 to 45 days during the program, Herbalife also conducts a progress check with the new executive and some of his or her teammates. Crocker believes that if somebody’s not fitting in culturally, it’s best to learn that early on. They discuss how the program’s working with the executive, and determine whether to any make mid-course adjustments or focus on other areas. “Onboarding is also about helping an executive get his team excited about having a new boss,” says Benjack Glatzer. “It involves helping that executive assess the team he or she’s inherited, and build bridges with peers. That’s a tough task.” Frank Maguire, now chairman of Maguire Communications, saw the value of onboarding when he served as chief personnel officer for Federal Express. He believes three questions from the executive must be answered early in the onboarding process: What do you expect of me? What’s in it for me? What are the limits of my authority? “Those are the three things I addressed when I brought people on board,” Maguire says. “I made sure the expectations from both sides were understood and discussed in detail, the rewards were clear, and the limits of their authority were clearly defined.” The onboarding step Maguire used next varies from Herbalife’s approach. “Be quiet and step aside,” he emphasizes. “Give your people the chance to fail. You’ll be amazed at how much they appreciate the fact that you’re not stepping in at the last minute saying, ‘OK, I’ll take it from here.’” Herbalife, on the other hand, covers “derailers” with its new executives during onboarding as Crocker believes it’s vital to identify things that could cause them to fail or get into trouble. Bishop adds that executives need to determine what they’re being charged with. Oddly enough, they may not find it in writing. “What’s normally said in job descriptions is not what the world is about,” says Bishop. “They also have to start producing some results. They have to understand the initial set of priorities and take some action.” Six executives currently have completed Herbalife’s t r a i n i n g JULY / AUGUST 2008 | 47 http://www.trainingmag.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Training Magazine - July 2008

Training Magazine - July 2008 Contents Online TOC Editor’s Note Training Today Soapbox How-To World View Managing the Magic Keys to the Kingdom Good Job! Personalities & Performance Hidden Potential The Executive Entrance Live & Online No More Revolving Door Questions for Covey TMI Brochure

Training Magazine - July 2008

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