The 'Inboarding' Revolution: Do Employees Get More To Leave Their Job?

An article recently posted in Forbes declared in its title “Employees Who Stay in Companies More than Two Years Get Paid 50% Less.”  This statement created an overnight social media frenzy, not only generating more than a million views of the article, but also instigating a comment frenzy by readers from all over the globe.

The article, written by Cameron Keng, summarizes how the average annual salary increase (approximately 3%) barely exceeds the pace of inflation (2.1%)—making “job-hopping” a seemingly more lucrative endeavor for an employee (who could see salary increases of 10% to 20% by marketing themselves to competitive companies).

So, what does this mean for leaders and organizations—whether in established corporate settings, small businesses or teams?  How do organizations keep their talent as the economy heats up and more opportunities become available to their people ?

It’s an interesting situation—one that smart companies are already trying to tackle. In a nutshell, they’re creating opportunities for their people. This new trend is called ‘"inboarding."

Smart companies have long understood the predecessor to inboarding—a familiar concept called "onboarding." Onboarding is defined as "organizational socialization, referring to the mechanism through which new employees acquire the necessary knowledge, skills, and behaviors to become effective organizational members and insiders." Onboarding has earned a lot of attention among HR leaders lately as studies show significant turnover ratios within the first 90 days of employment. In fact, a study released by The Center for Creative Leadership suggested that nearly 40% of executives hired at the senior level are pushed out, fail, or quit within the first 90 days.

Onboarding was, and is, a smart response to a common problem. But, as Keng’s article points out, there’s definitely a new problem. And, inboarding is an effective response. It is the method through which organizations help their existing employees improve their necessary knowledge, skills, behaviors and attitude to grow within their own organization. It’s not simply replacing one body for another in set positions (a.k.a “hiring from within”), but instead it is empowering employees to discover new paths within their organization. It’s the process of re-socializing employees (some of which may have been there for a long time) to the current and emerging culture, and the emerging opportunities, of a company.

Has your company culture changed over the past decade as some of the boomers have retired and younger millennials have joined your team? Did it change as social media allows the world to get a glimpse inside the minds of your people? Are you noticing cultural changes as the cubicle walls come down and the workspace shifts toward more collaboration? Have you experienced changes when new technology reshapes the very nature of the way your people work and relate to their coworkers? Did the opportunities change as your products and processes evolve?  The answer is a resounding “Yes.”

With every one of these changes, new challenges and opportunities are born. Many leaders often think only of the need to onboard new employees so they are quickly oriented to the latest evolution of their culture. However, many fail to do the same for their existing base of employees who are often in the best position to capitalize on market opportunities if they were more aware of the changing issues and needs of the company. Inboarding helps employees at all levels become more committed as their path of opportunity widens.

So what are smart companies doing to inboard?

1. They think "inside first." Consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton actually named their internal recruitment system “Inside First.” Each business unit in the organization receives a recruiter who acts much like a career coach. Google has also received a lot of attention for encouraging employee mobility—allowing employees to tag themselves as "looking for new opps" in the their system.  And, it’s not just a few companies who are looking inside first. An article posted in TIME magazine by Dan Schawbel suggests that today’s companies are looking within more than ever before. “ Enterprise Holdings made approximately 10,000 internal hires in their fiscal year ending in July 2012, up from 8,700 in 2011. Novelis, the world’s largest manufacturer of rolled aluminum products with 11,600 employees in 11 countries, has placed 41% of new hires through internal hiring.  Energy Future Holdings has increased its internal hiring from 56% in 2010 to 61% in 2011.”

2. They provide strategic project opportunities. Rigid job descriptions and walled-off departments don’t exist in organizations that are good at inboarding. Projects are created that aren’t departmentalized, and offer opportunities to team members who express interest. For example, an organization might undertake a growth initiative, a wellness project, a social responsibility cause, or a community-involvement project. Which employees might be the best to assign such tasks? Those who are most interested. Projects like these offer new avenues for personal growth, talent exploration, new connections, and the chance to gain visibility within the company.

3. They strengthen ties to the impact of work. Modern companies understand that when employees see the impact their efforts make on the recipient of their work, they become more committed to the cause. In fact, a study by the O.C. Tanner Institute, which analyzed 1.7 million cases of award-winning work, revealed that when employees see how their work impacts people, they are 17 times more likely to become passionate about their work.

4. They promote camaraderie. Zappos.com is famous for the company’s "after-hours" social events. In fact, last month, an article in the LasVegas Review Journal spotlighted the recent company gathering by titling the piece, At Zappos, happy hour is part of the company meeting. Other companies build camaraderie in other ways—family day at the water park, picnics, retreats, celebration parties, and the list goes on. Some of these may seem like simple perks, but high-growth companies realize that merging the boundaries of departments and titles allows employees to build relationships with coworkers, managers, and leaders that they might not otherwise explore inside the office—and those relationships lead to increased loyalty as well as other opportunities within the company.

5. They practice recognition. A study conducted by Healthstream of 100,000 managers and employees revealed that 79% of people who quit their jobs cited “A lack of appreciation is a key reason for leaving.”  We see a strong trend among companies of all sizes taking this issue on directly. They are measuring how often managers are recognizing their people, and providing company-wide social tools to increase the reach and frequency of employee recognition. Interestingly, recognition data reveals more about employees than is often assumed. Not only does it call people out for doing great work, but it reveals (if tracked) their interests, abilities and successes on projects.

Cameron Keng’s article struck a nerve—and as our economy continues to strengthen we’re placing bets that the nerve is going to get a lot more sensitive. More companies will be recruiting. More employees will consider bigger opportunities. And, smart companies will develop innovative inboarding strategies to grow their people, strengthen their cultures, and fuel their growth.