L&D Must Change 7. Stop Onboarding, Start Everboarding with Amber Watts
It's time to ditch the way we view onboarding. In most companies, onboarding is a formal time period that ends when the L&D team walks out, and the manager walks in. But new employees aren't ready to work autonomously after onboarding and far too many managers aren't set up to continue developing them to get there. This often results in anxiety, confusion, and even regression on the part of the new employee. It's time to stop onboarding and start everboarding, a systems approach that swaps a defined training time period for a continuous development cycle focuses on longevity and success over time.
After discovering that onboarding was a poor predictor of future performance, Amber Watts started asking why. That led her to dive in and design an employee's training experience differently. The concept of everboarding, focusing on the systems and people who support performance, was born.
Listen in on my conversation with Amber to learn more about:
- The components of everboarding that make it different than onboarding
- Equipping and supporting managers as part of the new employee experience
- Establishing a mentor program in addition to a buddy program
- L&D's role in aligning employee targets/KPIs in everboarding
- Measuring effectiveness in an employee's ramp up
- Questions to ask frontline managers when learning about their needs
- The importance of partnership with the talent acquisition team
Amber Watts has over a decade of expertise in Talent Development and Sales Enablement, and deeply cares about fostering performance science wherever she goes. Throughout her career, she has left a significant impact on various industries. Currently serving as the Chief Revenue Officer at Magnet Medical. She holds a B.S. in Business Management & Leadership and a certification in Virtual Training Design. She was an Emerging Training Leader from Training Magazine in 2019, earned a Stevie Award for Sales Training/Coaching Program in 2020, and an award for Excellence in Learning Leadership with ATD Nebraska in 2023.
Find out more and connect with Amber Watts here:
LinkedIn Website: makelearningrad.com
Find out more and connect with Jess Almlie here:
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