The gap between the “yes” to a job offer and an employee’s first day is one that internal communicators can fill with actions that fall under the umbrella of “preboarding.”
In the new GenSpark Solutions report, “Hired but Not Ready: Why Pre-boarding is the Best Onboarding Investment,” Kristina Markos, associate professor and graduate chair in communications at Lasell University and cofounder at GenSpark Solutions, and Rachel Gans, cofounder of GenSpark Solutions, argue that organizations are underusing that gap as an opportunity to help incoming employees acclimate. Preboarding, as they call it, doesn’t replace onboarding but complements it by giving employees cultural clarity and workplace context before they start on day one.
“Internal communicators are uniquely positioned to make the invisible parts of culture visible,” Markos told Ragan. “There are systemic and cultural things built into an organization that can take a new hire three to six months to figure out on their own. Preboarding gives communicators a chance to explain how the organization really works before that person is expected to perform. It’s not just about handing them information. It’s about translating the culture in a way they can actually use.”
The biggest challenge for comms pros is to ensure that preboarding processes are more than a list of policies or welcome packets with basic information. Markos and Gans’ report identifies four main areas in which preboarding can help provide clarity before a new hire begins their job. They are:
- Industry knowledge
- Workplace expectations
- Role clarity
- Peer connection
For internal comms pros, each area is a chance to turn unwritten rules into usable guidance. Here’s how comms pros can build effective preboarding communication plans using Markos and Gans’ recommendations:
Translate the business before day one
Every company has its own language and customs, and longtime employees can forget how much they’ve learned over time. Internal comms pros can make the learning curve a little less steep during the preboarding process by building out a “how we work” guide to give to new hires before they begin their jobs. It should include:
- Acronyms and internal shorthand: Define these terms but also explain how they’re used within context.
- Industry basics: A plain-language overview of the company business model and the surrounding industry.
- Workflow context: Show how information moves through the organization, including relevant people and processes.
- First month FAQs: Ask new hires what confused them the most when they started their jobs, and build this into the guide.
“As a communications person, your skill set is communicating expertise, ideas and wisdom on behalf of others,” Markos said. “But that other person may be an expert in something you are not. A preboarding program gives employees time to study the industry they are entering and understand the terms and norms before they are expected to perform. It reduces the amount of stumbling they have to do on the job.”
Show what good workplace communication looks like
Preboarding comms programs should go into detail about expectations on the job, including modeling ideal workplace communication practices. Rather than just telling employees, communicators should show them examples in a preboarding packet, including:
- A manager guide showing what to include in team updates
- A channel guide outlining when to communicate through which channel
- A meeting norms guide with examples of when to listen or contribute
This guidance is especially important in an increasingly intergenerational workplace. Employees from different generations may bring varying assumptions about tone, responsiveness, and the work itself. Comms pros can’t assume those expectations are understood the same way by every new hire. That’s why they need to define them in a way that helps new hires adapt without making them feel talked down to.
“We need to be clear about the things that used to be assumed,” Gans said. “When a client is in another time zone, what does end of business mean? What is the expectation around when you reply, or how you communicate by email? These things are not as universally understood as we sometimes think. But communicators have to spell them out in a way that feels inviting and respectful, not like a list of high school rules.”
Make the role feel real from the time the offer is accepted
No job description can capture the full heft of what a new role actually entails. For instance, if you’re applying to a “communications manager” role, you might be doing everything from writing press releases to shooting photography and managing an intranet site. Communicators can fill the gap with preboarding materials that give new hires a clearer sense of what their work will look like in practice.
- A “day in the life” piece covering someone who does or did the new hire’s job
- Annotated samples of past work that explain fine details
- A 30, 60 and 90-day roadmap showing what responsibilities an employee will take on
- Examples of where a role expands beyond the job description
“For example, if we say you have to do social media or analytics, show what that actually means,” Markos told Ragan. “Here is what an analytics report looks like. Here is how often it is pulled, who it is for and why they care. As a communicator, you need to collaborate with someone close to the work to show what it looks like day to day, how much time it takes and what the new hire can anticipate.”
Ensure peer connection is part of the plan
Preboarding should be more than just a one-way content share. Markos and Gans suggested that communicators work together to connect new hires with peer mentors before day one. By equipping these mentors with FAQs, communicators can give new hires a place to ask questions without pressure.
FAQs can include:
- How did you adjust during your first month?
- What meetings matter the most?
- Who should I already know?
“Having a designated person helps connect people to the institution,” Gans said. “It minimizes feelings of isolation and loneliness and creates a greater sense of engagement. It bridges knowledge about the workplace and culture with the connections that make people want to stay.”
Sean Devlin is an editor at Ragan Communications.
