Purpose from Day One

Daniel Goleman is author of the international best-seller Emotional Intelligence and Optimal: How to Sustain Personal and Organizational Excellence Every Day. He is a regular contributor to Korn Ferry. 

First impressions are everything. Or so the saying goes.

But when it comes to work, a new study confirms this trope, showing that onboarding – those first days, weeks, and months of an employee’s tenure – are incredibly important and incredibly lacking for the vast majority of organizations. In a survey of 1,000 workers, one in four expressed dissatisfaction with their onboarding experience and one in three said they have a “truly terrible” story to tell. Meanwhile, of those who experience poor onboarding, one-third immediately start looking for another job.

Paying too little attention to onboarding isn’t just unfortunate, it’s detrimental to the bottom line. The high costs associated with employee turnover were once estimated by the Center for Accountability and Performance at 20% of the salary for mid-range roles and up to 200% for executive positions. At the same time, turnover of any kind impacts sustainability, productivity, and morale: things historically complicated to put a price tag on.

Part of the issue is the lack of realism in most companies. The average onboarding program lasts 90 days, signaling an expectation that it takes only three months for the average newcomer to learn their role, find short-term mentors, and cultivate a sense of belonging. However, according to a Gallup report, this is about nine months shy of the truth. In most organizations, it typically takes a full year for employees to reach their full potential for performance. This, of course, assumes that the newcomers have the connections and learning opportunities that will help them.

While there are many issues that can arise with onboarding, the big ones are around a lack of clear purpose to the onboarding process or a lack of opportunity for meaningful connection. Multiple studies find a causal link between a sense of belonging and higher productivity. One Enboarder study found that a whopping 94% of employees report that they are more productive when they feel connected to their colleagues. Esteemed researcher Vanessa Druskat also found that a sense of belonging is one of the core characteristics that defines high-performing teams.

As the new study so aptly puts it, “Employees want to feel connected, valued, and understood, not just processed.” This year’s data reaffirms that onboarding is an incredibly rich time for friendship building.

While connection historically depends on time spent together—a harder thing to come by in today’s world of remote work—it more broadly depends on whether or not employees are assisted in discovering shared values and purpose in their day-to-day jobs. On-the-job meaning truly does matter. In a 2022 survey, more than half of US employees said they would be willing to take a pay cut to work in a company with “better values.” When a sense of purpose meets opportunities for connection, the positive ripple effect is exponential.

Imagine working in a company you believe in, with people you trust, on a team you feel bonded with. Aside from solid pay and opportunities for growth, this is what most people are looking for in a new job. This isn’t just because it’s nice to have – but because it’s a must-have for our mental health. A meta-analysis of over 200 studies found that employees who felt supported by their colleagues and managers had better mental health outcomes, including decreased anxiety and depression.

The challenge with onboarding isn’t just about a struggle for in-person time. Yes – this is important. But the challenge is really about whether or not companies know what they want employees to leave the onboarding process with. While onboarding is starting earlier in many organizations (sometimes even before employees set foot in the office), research shows that traditional processes put twice as much emphasis on compliance as they do on things like connection and culture—those places where purpose comes to life.

This means most organizations are still designing onboarding around paperwork, policies, and procedures. If the research shows anything, it’s that this isn’t necessarily the most important “P” to prioritize. 

Co-written by Elizabeth Solomon

Click here to learn more about Daniel Goleman's Building Blocks of Emotional Intelligence.