90 days: The golden point of onboarding

Ninety days is the make-or-break time for staff onboarding, according to new research by Microsoft.

According to the group’s new research, dubbed In the Changing Role of the Office, It’s All About Moments That Matter, an employee’s first 90 days with a new company are the most critical time in all their tenure.

Firstly, the research found that it is more critical for employees to meet their managers in person in the first 90 days than it is for employees post-onboarding.

Employees who met their managers in person within these 90 days were more likely to seek feedback, be asked for input by their team, build strong relationships with colleagues, feel supported when discussing tough issues with their manager, and get effective coaching and feedback.

But it’s not just meeting the manager that’ll make a difference in how an employee fares at their new company. The research found that instilling someone to be that new employee’s buddy made a difference in how the hire continued on in their role.

“Meeting your onboarding ‘buddy’ – a teammate assigned to support your transition to the new team – in person within 90 days makes a difference too,” said Karen Kocher, global general manager, Future of Work, Workforce of the Future, and talent and learning experiences at Microsoft.

“Those who did were more likely to seek feedback, feel included, feel trusted by their team, and report they had clarity about how to drive impact – and have the necessary tools to do so.

“The quicker that new hires develop trust with their managers and teammates, the quicker they can become productive contributors and collaborators with the team and the company. Understanding the priorities and feeling a sense of belonging is just really a goodness for both the organisation and the individual.”

The research’s overarching theme drew upon the value face-to-face meeting still has within organisations; however, it reiterated heavily: “It’s not about the number of days people are in the office, it’s about creating moments that matter.”

In addition to onboarding, Microsoft noted the most valuable benefits of having employees come together in person relate to team cohesion and when kicking off a new project.

“When we looked at the comments from employees who did not rate their quality of connection with co-workers as favourable (only neutral or unfavourable), 29 per cent of those comments said that remote work has made it difficult to create meaningful connections and relationships,” said Ms Kocher, commenting on team cohesion.

“We know that people come into an office for each other – whether it’s once a week or once a year – and in the same engagement survey, employees made it clear they’re looking for time together spent connecting, not just co-working.

“Employees who have positive relationships with their immediate team members report better wellbeing than those with poor relationships. They also report higher productivity and are less likely to change employers in the year ahead.

“Strengthening networks outside of the immediate team matters, too … Employees with positive relationships beyond their immediate team members say they’re more satisfied with their employer, more fulfilled by work, and have a more positive outlook on workplace stress than those with weak organisational networks.”

When it comes to kicking off new projects, Ms Kocher noted in-person time is useful in the earliest stages of a project life cycle for the same reason it’s useful during the onboarding process: getting people on the same page.

“Everyone likes to feel heard by others. And it’s easier to feel heard when you’re right next to somebody having a conversation,” she said.

“In-person time helps spark innovation and outside-the-box thinking. In fact, studies show that while it’s easiest to choose the best idea virtually, in-person pairs generated 18 per cent more creative ideas and 14 per cent more ideas overall compared with virtual pairs in the same hour – so you can have better choices to pick from.

“If you want the best and most ideas, you do it in person. When you’re in a big room with a lot of people, your mind perceives an expansion. Compare that to when you’re at a computer and you’re talking to people online: your mind goes very narrow very quickly.”

Aside from boosting brainstorming power, Ms Kocher noted that being together in person at the beginning of a project allows a team to more efficiently share tacit knowledge, get clarity, establish individual roles, and coordinate their efforts.