I absolutely must find out which bakery my new team likes best so that I can bring the right croissants!
First impressions count – as a job applicant at an interview, just as much as when meeting the team for the first time as a new manager. The choice of croissants suddenly becomes the subject of intense consideration, so that any gluten intolerances or team-specific bakery preferences can be considered.
But: The first impression is just the beginning of Tuckman's team phases of forming, storming, norming and the desired performing. Large German companies such as Bosch and Daimler there-fore consciously invest time in the onboarding process for new managers. Transition workshops with the team and transition coaching with their own line managers are designed to ensure a smooth start in the new role, and the time investment pays off.
“Thanks to the workshop, we were able to organise ourselves as a team in more than just terms of content. We got to know each other, were able to build mutual trust and are now already working together effectively.”
The aim of a transition workshop is to get to know each other, align expectations regarding the collaboration and organise upcoming tasks. Such a workshop, which is best held outside one’s own office premises, can take a whole day or just an afternoon. It is usually moderated by someone from outside the team and consists of at least the following sequences:
Joint start: Welcome the team, briefly introduce yourself in the role of new leader and gather the team's expectations for the workshop in the form of a flashlight, i.e. short statements from everyone.
Getting to know each other: Everyone presents him-herself, either randomly or in order of birthdays (e.g. 4 minutes with questions such as “my role and what I particularly enjoy about it”, “one of my strengths”, “something about me” and “what you need to know about me in order to work well togeth-er”).
Inventory of past and present topics: With the aim of establishing an overview, small groups first fill out Post-it notes with an-swers to the questions ‘Looking back: Which tasks have we successfully completed or worked on as a team?’ and ‘Looking forward: Which topics are we currently dealing with, and which challenges will we face in the next 18 months?’ These Post-it notes are then sorted together along a timeline, as new team leader one can ask questions and the team formulates requests for support. In conclusion, the content priorities and responsibilities for the coming months are defined.
Comparing expectations for collaboration: The team and the team leader write down their expectations or questions about the col-laboration on Post-it notes in separate rooms (e.g. “How and where would you like to be involved?”, “We need your support on issues such as...”), so that these can then be com-pared and dealt with within a total time frame of up to one hour.
Conclusion and outlook on further team building: Everyone summarises what they have learned from the workshop and what they want to pay particular attention to in the coming weeks. Finally, the highlights of the day can be shared as a check-out and the new team leader thanks everyone for their participation.
Other possible workshop sequences include creating a stakeholder map to highlight important team interfaces and plan the first contacts, or everyone gets to know each other during short one-on-one conversations via a speed dating. Such a transition workshop can even be held while the previous leader is still there. This results in a handover with the previous team leader giving recommendations to his:her successor, formulat-ing wishes and providing support in understanding upcoming challenges.
The supplementary transition coaching focuses on the collaboration between the new team leader and their own superior. Via bilateral meetings, the goals for the first few months are defined, mutual expectations regarding the col-laboration are shared and one then stays in contact throughout the onboarding process. If such goals and expectations are written down and discussed regularly, fewer misunderstandings arise or they can be corrected, resulting in a smoother onboarding process and enabling both the new team leader as well as the team to reach Tuckman's performance phase in the shortest of times.
Reflection for you
Whether you are an employee or a team leader, the onboarding phase has a significant impact on how comfortable you will feel in a company and how quickly you will be effective. This makes it even more important to consciously shape this phase and to know your own onboarding needs. The following questions can help you learn from the past and prepare for your next onboarding.
How have you experienced onboarding so far, either as an employee or as a manager?
What went well? What didn't, and what would you like to pay more attention to in future?
How do you ensure that the next onboarding process is as successful as possible and that you reach the performance phase?
Reflection for you as a team and organization
Studies confirm that effective onboarding not only promotes identification with the team and the company, thereby increasing employee retention, but also quickly boosts productivity because newcomers know what they are responsible for and who their contact persons are. This is a good reason to review your own onboarding process as an organisation or team and adjust it if neces-sary.
How do you currently organise the onboarding process – for employees as well as for team leaders?
What works well? What does not, and what do you want to pay more attention to in the future?
What would change if you adopted the concept of transition workshops and transition coaching? Which aspects are particularly important, and which are less significant?