EXECUTIVE COACH ATTENDS PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY BUSINESS BRIEFING BREAKFAST SERIES --- "New Employee On-boarding."

"On-boarding" -- take note of the spelling and capitalization. Molly Lambright, Director of Employee Enablement at Microsoft Corporation told the assembled group that hours had been spent on coming up with the meaning of the concept and special attention was paid to the spelling in order to develop continuity through the company.

On-boarding begins before an employee is recruited. A clear definition of the the duties and responsibilities of the position are meticulously developed. Recruiters are screened to make sure they are in tune with the culture of the company so they can attract employees that will work well within the environment.

The Manager is the primary lead on the recruitment process. Once the person is hired, the Manager introduces the new recruit to his team members, instead of delegating this job to his assistant. A mentor is assigned to the new employee so that she has someone to turn to ask questions about the "hidden cultural rules."

If necessary, a coach is assigned to help the employee learn needed leadership skills, which normally would focus on communication skills to enhance her effectiveness.

To sum it up -- "On-boarding" is a program to stay with a new employee and give her the tools she needs to be effective. Corporations have figured out that the investment up front in their new employees means, better retention and skilled employees help the bottom line grow.

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