Transition Factor Report From Optimal Track (Version 1.0)

8/8/2019 Transition Factor Report From Optimal Track (Version 1.0)

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/transition-factor-report-from-optimal-track-version-10 1/6

The Transition Factor

Why New Hires Frequently Fail, and How to ProtectYour Investment in Them

by Michael Nicholas




© 2008 Optimal Track Ltd 1


Why New Hires Frequently Fail, and How to Protect Your Investment in Them

For most companies, the selection of a new leader largely signifies the end of the

recruitment process. Whether the successful candidate performs to expectation during the

onboarding phase of their new role is largely left to the person concerned. Yet, when a newincumbent is ineffective, the cost to the business, both directly in terms of lost opportunity

and indirectly through disrupted operations, can be huge.

In an attempt to mitigate this risk, the typical response is to put enormous effort into the

selection process. Nevertheless, studies indicate that the probability that a newly recruited

executive will quit or be fired within the first three years is 40 to 50%. One study put the

likelihood that they will fail in the first 18 months at 40%, and another by PriceWaterhouse

Coopers put the likelihood that they will fully meet expectations as low as 25%.

It would appear, therefore, that current approaches are not working. So how can you

protect your investment in, and accelerate the time to productivity of, your new leaders?

Everyone who has ever needed to place anyone in a new role will be familiar with this

challenge. The problem is that to achieve a high level of certainty that a new hire or internal

promotee will meet expectations through selection alone is impossible, no matter how much

effort is expended on the process.

With roughly 25% of leaders and managers in large organisations transitioning to new roles

each year the financial impact of this problem on businesses is huge. Each failure incurs the

direct cost of replacement as well as the knock-on costs of the disruption caused. For

example, the percentage of the original team that will still be working for a new leader by

the two year point has been assessed to be around 20% – so if that leader leaves, theremaining team is likely to be much weaker than the one he or she inherited. Also,

underperformers negatively affect those around them, such as direct reports, peers and

their bosses, to undermine their performance as well.

Consequently, the cost to businesses of new hires who fail has been estimated to be

anywhere between 1.5 and 40 times base salary. For very senior executives it may be even

more.

Despite the fact that these problems are well recognised – hence the effort and expense

that already go into recruiting – there is little evidence of the situation improving. This

suggests that a new solution is needed. So what can be done?

It is NOT that Recruitment Processes are Flawed…

There is no doubt that recruitment is often approached very professionally, and is making

increasing use of ever-more sophisticated analysis tools and techniques. Nevertheless, as we

have seen, around 50% of new hires continue to struggle with the initial challenge.

At Optimal Track we believe that companies may have been looking in the wrong direction

for the solution to this problem. We do not consider it realistic to assume that so many

experts could make poor candidate selections so often. Neither do people with great track

records suddenly lose their edge simply because they change role. We propose that there is





an alternative, and relatively easily defined, root cause that provides the explanation for the

high number of failures:

Very few people know how to approach transitions.

If this is true, then it points to a different approach being necessary to create a viablesolution. We believe that the following factors, each of which is almost completely

independent of the recruitment process, support this conclusion and help to provide an

explanation of why great candidates often struggle:

• As a rule, the more experienced the individual concerned the less they will think

about how to be effective as a new employee. Consequently senior executives are

among the most likely to focus on the wrong elements of the job. While they

commonly recognise its task-oriented elements, the intangible aspects which are

actually responsible for their long-term success can receive far too little attention.

• Few new hires will actually have all of the skills that they need. One of the major

factors driving people’s decisions to change jobs is the desire for a greater challenge

– one that will enable them to get to the next level. This is particularly true for high

performers, who recognise that personal growth and the need to be challenged are

inseparable. If they were to believe that they had all of the skills and experience

needed to do the job it is highly unlikely that they would actually want it!

• However well the skills and experience of the new recruit fit with the requirements

of the job, they will always have to deal with the unfamiliar culture, processes,

systems and people of the company that they have moved to. Even internal moves

can create the same challenge to an extraordinary degree. This is one of the major

factors that makes new recruits highly vulnerable in their first few months in a

position: they lack detailed knowledge of the challenges that they will face or what itwill take to succeed in meeting them. At the same time they must be prepared to

unlearn the automatic behaviours that enabled their success in their old role.

• Creating the right impression and gaining acceptance by co-workers is a greater

challenge and much more vital than most recognise. Initially, everything that new

employees do will be watched very closely and magnified in its impact. Anything that

goes wrong is likely to be noticed more than what goes right and absolutely no

account will be taken of track record until people have seen the evidence for

themselves.

• Organisations rarely know how to manage transitions – it is not part of the culture.

This forces people to create their own transition models based on their limited set of experiences, which often traps them into doing what they already know how to do

and avoiding what they don’t. It is natural for people to gravitate towards areas

where they already feel comfortable and this tendency is exacerbated by the

uncertainties of a new role. Hence they have a vulnerability to blind spots and

critical weaknesses can build up in the early months which are difficult or impossible

to correct later.

Despite the numerous challenges of a new role, the tendency seems to be for companies to

think, “We have spent a lot for your expertise. Now show us what you have got”. This

attitude does not allow best value to be gained from recruitment activities. A more

productive approach would essentially represent a shift of thinking, from “Show us what youhave got”, to “We have made a major investment in you. How can we maximise it?”





It is inevitable that the period of transition for new hires will require them to learn very

quickly and to develop new skills. Without support, many people find the hurdle of “hitting

the ground running” and delivering the expected results in the vital first few months in post

simply too great – hence their high failure rate.

Addressing the Transition Challenge – The Critical First 90 Days

Among the numerous books and courses on leadership that exist, very few cover the very

specific challenges of transition at all. And yet, as demonstrated above, the first 3 months in

role are incredibly critical. Actions taken during this period have a disproportionate affect

later.

Whether people succeed or fail can usually be traced to the cycles, virtuous or vicious, that

become established during the initial period in post. This is because initial actions establish

strong patterns that can be either positive or negative. In the case of the negative patterns,

vicious cycles are rapidly created that become self-reinforcing and from which it becomes

very difficult to escape. In particular, failure to create forward momentum early on virtuallyguarantees that the remainder of the time in a job will be a struggle.

A good example of the type of vicious cycle that can develop is the cycle of stress. Under

stress, negative emotions can take over in very powerful ways. They often cause people to

work harder but achieve less, leading to chronic underperformance – and once they have

gained traction they are almost impossible to interrupt quickly without external support.

Another such cycle is that of isolation, where new leaders fail to make the right connections,

or where they alienate people early on. This leads to them being uninformed, resulting in

poor decisions which then further damage their credibility and reinforce their isolation.

Unfortunately, lacking both training and a solid road map of priorities and focus areas for theinitial months, most people are forced to adopt their own individualised approach to their

transition. The challenge of balancing the conflicting requirements of driving change whilst

also taking the time to address the very steep learning curve of the new job can be so great

as to create a “temporary state of incompetence”. The natural response to this is almost

always wrong: to fall back on old skills. Even worse, most people’s “old skills” are not up to

the major challenges of transition in some very basic ways. Generally they do not have the

self-leadership skills necessary to deal effectively with their own negative emotions as they

arise, or their interpersonal skills are ineffectively applied to quickly build the necessary

relationships with the people around them.

Given the vital importance of the initial 90 to 120 days, companies can get huge benefits byhelping their executives or managers during onboarding. The absolutely critical nature of

this phase in a new job must be recognised and provided for accordingly.

The good news is that the skills and approach necessary for effective transition are

identifiable and relatively easy for most people to learn and apply. The approach that we

have developed at Optimal Track massively improves the likelihood of new employees or

promotees achieving a highly successful start. It provides a road map to help our clients to

rapidly establish themselves on the success spiral by:

• Creating value sooner through the deliberate development of strategies for effective

learning, solid relationship building and quick wins. These strategies are tailored tomeet the unique requirements of the first 3 months in post.





• Enabling them to make their own personal transition effectively, addressing their

individual emotions, belief systems, adaptability, etc.

• Facilitating the identification of potential blind spots and mechanisms for dealing

with them – areas that otherwise often prove crippling.

• Successfully meeting the conflicting requirements of providing a clear frameworkwhilst recognising that everyone’s specific situation, skills, and needs are different.

We believe that this approach, delivered through coaching, offers the most cost-effective

way of achieving a non-linear improvement in the overall effectiveness of recruitment

activities. By plugging the gaps that these processes cannot help but leave behind it

recognises and more fully addresses the needs of new leaders once they have actually taken

up their position.

Coaching Through the Transition

Coaching is used in virtually every field where human beings strive to excel: at work, in their

career, in their relationships, to achieve the lifestyle they desire, in sport, and to help them

develop as people. It is virtually inconceivable that any top sportsmen or entertainer would

be without a coach – Tiger Woods has 6 of them! And recent years have seen a huge

upsurge in the adoption of coaching among those who are at the very pinnacle in business,

such as FTSE 100 and Fortune 500 CEOs. So why is this?

Quite simply, the most successful people use a coach because they know that by doing so

they can reach levels of performance that would be unachievable on their own. As high

performers, they differ from the majority of people in that they proactively seek change –

they understand that progress is impossible without it. And they know that a coach can help

them to identify both their blind spots and the areas where change will be most beneficial

for them. Done well, this dramatically accelerates their progress.

Coaching during the transition period can be particularly effective due to the:

• Unfamiliar nature of the challenges faced

• Degree to which natural behaviours under these circumstances are likely to intensify

problems – quite simply, people’s intuitive responses are often badly flawed

• Very serious long-term consequences of getting it wrong.

By providing direct and personalised support, based on a proven approach to taking charge

quickly and effectively, coaching will greatly increase the likelihood of new recruits

performing well. In doing so it also dramatically improves the return on investment from

recruiting activities.

It is not possible to define a one-size-fits-all approach to transition strategy, since every

situation and every person’s needs are different; however, the adoption of a systematic

approach and development of a road map for success is possible. This must address such

needs as:

• Ensuring that business priorities are rapidly established and receive the necessarydegree of focus through the development of a 90-day plan





• Securing quick wins

• Identifying how old strengths can best be applied to the new role and identifying

blind-spots

• Building the team and bringing focus to developing great relationships early on

• Establishing personal profile and "brand"

• Quickly resolving emotional issues and doubts that are common in the early days of

a new role.

The benefits to the Employer are Huge

Given the potential pressure of an unfamiliar role, the high expectations of what must be

delivered and most people’s lack of expertise in transition, it is unsurprising that so many

seemingly strong candidates fail.

Coaching can provide invaluable assistance to enable promotees or new hires to excel in

meeting the early challenges that they will face. By ensuring that there is a clear focus on the

top priorities, providing a proven plan and creating greater personal accountability it can:

• Accelerate the development of the skills and competencies needed to maximise

contribution to the business right from the start

• Improve personal effectiveness and relationship building

• Enhance career potential.

Overall, this proposition is high value and low risk to the business, as well as being attractiveas part of the recruitment package on offer to the candidate. It is a true win-win solution.

At Optimal Track we have developed a very powerful onboarding approach.

For further information, or to find out if we could help you, please contact:

Michael Nicholas

Optimal Track Ltd

0844 736 5678 (UK)+44 7717 686235 (Mobile)

[email protected]

Or visit our web sites:

www.leadershipdevelopmentnow.com

www.optimaltrack.com

Documents

Transition Factor Report From Optimal Track (Version 1.0)