New hire on-boarding often consistents of decks that highlight company processes and tools for people entering an organization. It’s designed to be a scalable way to on-board people. At most companies, this is a one-way information download with almost no feedback loop.
Last year, I hired someone on my team that was vocal and shared quality feedback regarding the on-boarding process, poked holes in some of the legacy tools we were using and just simply inquired by asking “why.” It felt odd at first, but I know they had the right intentions. I spent more time with this individual and realized that they were actively identifying “the orange tape.”
The orange tape is a physical tape that exists on the floor and you pass over it every day. It’s been there for a while. You should remove it, but don’t. There comes a point where you don’t even recognize that it’s there. It just sorta lives there.
This orange tape problem exists in every company. They can be old processes, systems, methods, and/or tools that people in your organization have gotten used to.
Recommendation: I strongly encourage hiring team members and leaders to create a feedback loop with your new hires. They’re bringing in a new perspective; an outsiders point of view that can help you make the organization better. Be open-minded when receiving this feedback; document it, if possible. Create a safe space for people to provide feedback.
We’ve enabled this in our new hiring program and it’s a game changer.
This is such an important moment for feedback that most companies totally miss. I’m grateful to be on your team where feedback is constantly encouraged.