Have You Been Left to Sink or Swim in Your New Job?

If you look around HR-related sites, you’ll see plenty of commentary on the topic of onboarding, which is the effective induction, orientation, and integration of new hires into an organization. Companies like to formally onboard staff because studies show  that staff members who have been onboarded perform about 11.3 percent better than those who have not. Similar studies  show that onboarded employees are also more engaged.

Despite the acknowledged effectiveness of onboarding, there is still a significant chance that you as a new hire will be dropped into a sink-or-swim, fend-for-yourself scenario in your new role. According to a  SHRM study,  around 35 percent of organizations offer limited onboarding or no onboarding whatsoever. Many of the organizations admitted that they had no welcoming activities, personal guides for newcomers, formal training, or relationship-building support, nor did they make training resources easily available.

New hires should not be entirely surprised if they find themselves entering a sink-or-swim new job scenario. If you do find yourself in this situation, you might find the following four tips helpful.

1. Make Friends Quickly

Research from the MITSloane Managment Review  found that new hires who more quickly develop information relationships with colleagues get up to speed faster, perform better, and are more satisfied. So, don’t sit in your bunker. On your first day, or in your first weeks, make a list of key contacts who can help you. Make it your mission over the next month to meet and forge a bond with these people as information partners. You’ll then have plenty of people to help you overcome any barriers that you may face.

2. Make a Quick Win

Quick wins are crucial to building your confidence. For instance, when a new player joins a sports team and scores an “early goal” within their first few games, it helps them to settle in faster. It gives them confidence, and it gives their teammates confidence in them. In the corporate world, quick wins do exactly the same thing, leading to higher performance and achievement over an employee’s career.

Spot a problem early on that you can solve in a short amount of time, and solve it. This will make a positive impact on your manager and/or colleagues, as well as your own self-confidence.

3. Don’t Be Afraid to Ask

Much of the information that you need will be available on the company network, but lots of this information will also be locked in people’s heads. If you have questions, don’t be afraid to ask them. To avoid becoming a nuisance, spread the questions around, so one person doesn’t have to field all of them. Carry and use a notebook religiously, so you don’t have to ask the same question twice. Recording answers in a notebook reassures people that you won’t come back asking the same silly question again next week.

4. Take Initiative

In a sink-or-swim environment, you may find that the manager doesn’t give you a written job description or a very detailed one. This mean’s you’ll need to fill in the gaps by questioning your manager and other contacts and taking notes. You’ll also need to conduct your own personal research.

In sink-or-swim environments, your manager may be slow to set goals. If these goals don’t come after you repeatedly request them, set your own work-related goals as best you can and work to them until your actual goals appear. The important thing is to take initiative, use your best judgement, and do the job the best way you can.