Onboarding: The Ecosystem, not the Afterthought
Summary
Onboarding new employees to your team is all too often treated as an afterthought, or best case, as an at-the-moment-thought. Employees deserve a well-thought out experience that includes them from the very beginning–from the creation of the position description—to that time after they’ve become integrated into our teams and organizations. We can trace some of these imperfect scenarios all the way back to the creation our performance profiles or position descriptions, and how they were created. When we understand the entire journey from candidate to employee we see the value of treating onboarding as an ending of a particular process instead of a solitary event in time.
Key Insights
-
•
Traditional job descriptions focus on tasks rather than measurable performance outcomes, limiting effective hiring.
-
•
Performance profiles clarify what success looks like and help teams agree on hiring criteria, leading to better candidate matches.
-
•
Structured interview guides aligned with performance profiles ensure consistent, fair, and relevant candidate assessments.
-
•
Unpaid design exercises or take-home tasks can exclude qualified candidates with caregiving or other external responsibilities.
-
•
The candidate experience after the interview and before the start date is often neglected, causing anxiety and disengagement.
-
•
Maintaining personal contact with candidates post-offer fosters comfort and commitment before they begin.
-
•
First day onboarding should be treated as a commencement event, not a paperwork marathon, reducing overwhelm.
-
•
Buddy systems provide critical social and informational support, improving new hire adjustment and retention.
-
•
Assigning safe internal projects early helps new hires gain practical familiarity without pressure.
-
•
Onboarding should be considered a multi-touch ecosystem involving ongoing feedback, communication, and adaptation.
Notable Quotes
"If you really care about success, you define it first and hire against performance, not just experience."
"Manhole cover questions belong in the past. Focus on real skills and relevant experience instead."
"Unpaid design exercises are unfair because they don’t take into account people's real-life constraints."
"Waiting and vague communication during hiring is a painful guessing game for candidates."
"The post-offer period isn’t HR’s alone; hiring teams must stay in touch and keep the candidate engaged."
"Day one is a commencement, a graduation from candidate to employee, not a paperwork slog."
"Buddy systems create leadership opportunities and a support network without changing org charts."
"Internal projects give new hires a safe place to learn how the organization functions without fear of breaking things."
"Hiring managers should facilitate hiring decisions but truly rely on the team members who work daily with the candidate."
"Onboarding isn’t a single event or process, it’s an ecosystem with many touchpoints impacting the new employee experience."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Outcomes is a word people use so much it's lost its meaning, so we need clarity around it."
Sean McKayWhole Product Thinking: Expanding beyond problem and solution space thinking
March 14, 2024
"We went from stitching wireframes to actually designing in code—no more simulacra."
Allan LowsonRehashing the Double Diamond: Collaborating across functions with AI-assisted prototyping
June 9, 2026
"The estuary is highly resilient but also very sensitive to industrial waste—creative collaboration areas in organizations are similar."
John CutlerOxbows, Rivers, and Estuaries: How to navigate the currents of change (without burning out)
December 3, 2024
"Diagrams help when we feel stuck—providing stability, transparency, understanding, clarity, and kindness."
Abby CovertStuck? Diagrams Help
October 27, 2022
"We need to design the street with ongoing maintenance and care, not reduce it."
Dan HillStrategic design, slowdown, and the infrastructures of everyday life
April 21, 2022
"The key is of course trust, but in my house the magic word is please."
Dorelle RabinowitzThe Magic Word is Trust
June 15, 2018
"Roles are evolving with automation, but the shift toward skills is what will define future jobs."
Lavy Kumar Kat Temple Tara Jensen Jenn ChouFuture of Work
June 9, 2021
"Share early, share ugly—that’s our mantra for this entire process."
Cassandra PiesterDeveloping and Deploying Your Design Operations Strategy
September 24, 2024
"We created a self-service UXR hub to empower teammates with research fundamentals amid downsized research teams."
Maggie DieringerCreating Consistency Through Constant Change
January 8, 2024