“You had me at hello”- Executive Engagement through Effective Onboarding

April 01, 2009

When new and re-deployed leaders are asked to ramp up within 30 days, and their engagement, productivity and retention is on the line, effective onboarding is critical. Whether a leader is hired or re-deployed internally, a new leader has a huge impact on talent. With each hello exchanged, every key introduction is critical to fostering meaningful business relationships. In a webcast poll conducted by the Human Capital Institute, only 5% of respondents felt their company had an effective onboarding process for executives, and 37% of respondents felt that their executive onboarding process could be improved.

EMC, a global technology company with over 40,000 employees, has earned a place on Business Week’s list of best places to launch a career. EMC ranks among the ten most valuable technology companies, alongside Cisco, Microsoft, Intel, and Oracle. Louise Korver-Swanson, Global Head of Enterprise Executive Development at EMC Corporation, explained their company’s practices to support executive effectiveness, beginning with customized onboarding as part of the executive’s development plan. Louise and Shelli Hendricks, Senior Organizational Development Consultant at EMC Corporation, described a successful executive onboarding initiative at their Corporate Headquarters, that begins with engaging key resources for the new or re-deployed executive through critical relationship introductions. The success they have experienced to date is leading to the same process being rolled out to EMC locations around the globe.

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