In this week's episode, Bev shares her article on one of the ways leaders can create a successful onboarding experience. Staying curious and listening carefully should be part of your presence and practice as a leader. Let your new person set the course and inspire them to own their journey. Taking action in this way will allow people to come, stay, and do their best work in your organization.

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Hi everyone.

I'm Bev.

I'm a partner at, Within based in San Diego, California.

I've just recently moved down to California to get a, a change in, in

scenery change in climate change in my outlook, on the world to grow and

learn and to just see how things are done in a different part of the world.

And I'm really fortunate that I am Working in a group of people who really

appreciate the context of freedom to be working from different places, to be

open to new experiences and new ideas.

And it's just really liberating.

And I'm so grateful that I have this opportunity to be part of a

group like the people at, Within.

The article that I'm going to read and share today is based on my experiences

from my early times at, Within.

I recently joined Within, in January of this year.

And one of the reasons why I chose to become part of this partnership is.

Because of the emphasis on the humans at the core of every part of an organization.

And we have a very human centric approach at, Within you know, starting with

each of our individual partners and the choices that we make for our own lives

and how we integrate work and life.

But also the way that we work with our clients to help them create more

human centric organizations with workplace cultures that are really.

Based on welcoming and respecting individuals and their full person

and creating environments where people can really thrive as

unique and welcome human beings.

So the article that I wrote was really about how we welcome people

into organizations and how do we.

Really maximize the opportunity we have in the early days of someone joining us

to help them feel like they belong to help them feel grounded, to help them get

up and running as quickly as possible.

And that really is more than just a checklist of things to get people started.

And the, the core of this for me is really about starting to build the

human relationships with people that join our groups and join our teams

and join our, our workplace cultures.

And for me as an individual leader, I.

Really always felt that the way that we unlock the most powerful

work we do together, the creative creativity, the innovation and the

quality of relationships with one another at work is by first and

foremost, being basic human beings in.

Our work environments.

And that starts with leaders being humble, open authentic, vulnerable, and

courageous in how we show up every day.

So you're going to hear in the article that I'm going to share

the, the importance of leaders.

Creating these kinds of relationships and having these types of ways of

showing up in an organization that really helps new people feel part of

an organization quickly through the essence of relationships above and beyond

the things that you need to do to help people know what tools to use or what

processes to follow or what the norms and rituals are of your organization.

So, The inspiration for this article has come out of my own

experience, onboarding through Within, when I joined as a new partner.

And one of the key things that I already noticed when I joined Within

was the importance of asking questions.

And when.

I was moving through the early days of being part of the organization.

It really struck me that the people around me asked me a lot

of really interesting questions.

They asked me provocative questions.

They asked me helpful questions.

They asked me questions that really showed that they saw me as a unique

individual, who they were interested in getting to know and who they

were grateful for my presence.

So I, I thought that that was something that.

I wanted to share with the world and to share with other leaders because

it's one of the simplest things you can do to help people feel welcome

is just simply ask questions.

So here is my article.

It was written in late June of 2022.

And the title of the article is five questions.

Leaders should ask for successful employee onboarding here goes, congratulations.

You've just hired a new employee.

It's time for someone else to step in and get them onboarded, right?

Not so fast.

It's no longer enough to simply plug new team members into your onboarding journey.

Even if it's a really good process with clear purpose today's employees

want connection at all stages.

So the importance of human centered onboarding can't be overstated.

Relationships and a feeling of belonging build stronger foundations than

introductions to tools and the way we do things around here yet too often, human

connection is missing from the process.

In a career builder and silk road study over a third of new hires said they felt

their manager didn't play a prominent role in supporting their onboarding experience.

Worse.

Nearly 10% said they have left a company because of a poor, new hire experience.

It's safe to say that you want people to come to stay and do

their best work in your organiz.

To achieve this, you must create connection and meaning, right from

the start by taking an active role in helping your new employee settle

in and be set up for success.

The most effective and meaningful way of doing that is to get

curious and ask questions.

As someone who recently joined a new organization, I have felt firsthand

the power of being asked questions in my onboarding phase at, within People.

Questions create space for two-way dialogue and personal expression and help

a new person feel valued and engaged.

Here are the five most memorable questions Within's leaders asked me in

my first weeks Within the organization.

These questions help me declare my own desires and preferences for

meaningful work, but also gave me a window into the culture and connection

to the people I had recently joined.

Number one, what's your work?

Gone on nine to five days for office workers, where how, and when we work

is now personal choice and less, of course you work for Elon Musk.

Understanding those preferences is key to helping new hires feel welcomed

and understood digging into this nitty gritty right at the start helps everyone

understand how to work better together tools like manual of me are a lovely way

to capture this in an open and friendly.

Number two.

How do you like to learn one of the first questions posed to me?

And also one of the most powerful this question emphasizes a desire to

understand what a new person needs.

When so much is new and different.

It also signals inclusion.

We're not all wired the same.

And we process information at different rates in different ways.

Onboarding, whether remote or in person is about learning about information,

culture, people, or processes, but it takes employees roughly 12

months to reach their peak potential that could change dramatically.

If we understand how people like to.

Number three, how can I help connect you?

Employee disconnection and loneliness are costing organizations in the

billions due to high turnover, lowered productivity and absenteeism.

A sense of camaraderie and meaningful relationships are the antidotes to

workplace disconnection, ask your new, hire how you can help connect them.

It's crucial to their overall wellbeing and the success of your.

Number four.

How do you want to grow here?

Lack of career development is one of the leading reasons.

People leave their jobs.

According to culture, amp research employees, without access to consistent

development opportunities are twice as likely to leave within a year.

When you ask this question immediately, it helps everyone understand how

a new employee wants to develop.

As a leader, you get clarity on what's important to this person and you can

then step into understanding how you can support their growth and help them stay.

Number five.

What do you have the appetite to tackle right now too often, we expect

new hires to plug in and perform without asking what they're up for.

We assume that everyone will be raring to go champing at the bit

to take on whatever is thrown at.

When we ask this question, we acknowledge that individuals have

varying degrees of comfort, knowledge and confidence at the start.

Let your new person set the course and inspire them to own their journey.

So keep asking questions long after onboarding.

Don't stop asking questions once your new team employee reaches

the end of the onboarding phase.

Staying curious and listening carefully should be part of your presence and

practice as a leader, regardless of how new or seasoned your people are.

After all, it's tough to build an equitable employee experience.

If you don't hear from the people at the heart of it, onboarding is the

door to your employee experience.

If you need help crafting your employee journey, please get in touch.

Thanks for listening everyone.

We hope that you enjoyed learning about how you can use questions to

create a more human centric, onboarding experience and help your people stay

thrive and grow at your organization.

Tune into our podcast every other week for more episodes on what's happening

in the culture and leadership space.

What's on the minds of the leaders committed to change in our community and

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