Onboarding For a Psychologically Safe Culture
Starting a new job comes with fears: Is this going to be a good place for me? Am I going to do well here? What didn’t I see in the interviewing process that is going to be a problem?
And hiding in the back of the mind for many people: how well do I need to perform to pass the probationary period? A surprisingly large number of people put a self-sabotaging amount of pressure on themselves to make sure they get through that probationary period.
As a leader bringing new people on board, you have to invest time in demonstrating that the team is a welcoming environment where all people are encouraged to learn, contribute, and make suggestions for improvement.
5 Ways to Create Psychological Safety for New Employees
There are some simple, practical things you can do quickly that set a strong foundation.
Be honest about the culture during the recruiting and hiring process.
Explicitly co-design your initial working agreement with new reports.
Set clear expectations about output during any probationary period.
Give new people early tasks that allow them to deliver value for the team quickly and easily.
Revise your team working agreements to include them.
Honesty and Transparency From the Beginning Is Crucial
I have several times started work at companies where the hiring team talked about how well the team worked together, always challenging each other to improve, celebrating wins, and enjoying each other’s company and the team lunch on my first day consisted of trash-talking, teasing, self-deprecating humour, and sarcasm. My body reacted to these social gatherings with all the physiological warnings that these were places it would not be safe to make mistakes.
In contrast, the most trust-inducing interview processes I have been through included recruiters and hiring managers who were honest about challenges around speaking up and making changes, clear about failures to date on diversity initiatives, and described the initiatives under way to try and improve things and the informal ways the team supported each other.
Over and over, my clients from historically excluded populations have told me that honesty about organizational weaknesses around culture and inclusion during the recruiting process makes them feel better about taking a job.
Co-Designing Working Agreements With Reports
When a new report starts, make time on their very first day a face-to-face meeting to start co-creating a personalized working agreement with them. In developing this agreement, ask them what they want, ask for what you need, and agree on a mutually agreeable place to start. Acknowledge that as you work together more, the agreement will get refined for greater effectiveness.
The willingness to adapt to the individuals on your team demonstrates that who they are as people matters, and that they are not fungible widgets in a corporate machine.
Set clear expectations for any probationary period
A probationary period creates uncertainty. You must actively work to counter that uncertainty.
The easiest way to do this is to be very explicit about what you expect them to be able to accomplish by the end of the period. And make sure those expectations are going to be easy to achieve for someone who is going to succeed in the role.1
Give new people early tasks that allow them to deliver value quickly and easily
Quick wins reassure new employees that they are going to be able to succeed and convince established team members that the new person was a wise hire.
Have a few tasks ready for new people that will allow them to deliver something useful as soon as possible.
Revise your team working agreements to include them
The skills and interpersonal dynamics on the team shift with each staffing change. Working agreements should shift to reflect that.
When someone joins the team, schedule a meeting to review working agreements. Invite the new person to participate as much or as little as they feel comfortable, noting that there will be opportunities for future discussion in regularly scheduled review meetings.
Ask:
Are we fulfilling these agreements?
If not, what can we do to improve?
Are these still the agreements we want to have with each other? Should we make any changes?
Starting Well Pays Off
Consciously taking steps to maximize psychological safety during onboarding sets new employees up to learn fast, contribute courageously, and help the entire organization improve.
A good resource for thinking about the first few months of a new employee’s experience is The First 90 Days by Michael D. Watkins.