leadership in the workplace paper

Running Head: LEADERSHIP IN THE WORKPLACE PAPER

Leadership in the Workplace Paper

Luz Juliana Charles

Texas Tech University

HRDV 4301

May 3, 2015

Running Head: LEADERSHIP STYLE ANALYSIS PAPER

I selected Onboarding as an aspect that commonly affects newly hired employees, human

resources and members of management / leadership in the workplace. The reason why I selected

this topic is because of its critical importance, onboarding affects all workplaces regardless of the

industry. Onboarding goes beyond orientation and is the process at which an employee first

engages with its new workplace. Management and Human Resources should think about

onboarding as a multi-step process that enables new hires to learn and adjust to their new

workplace so that they can function efficiently and favorably within their new organization

(Monisha, 2012).

Leadership practices in Onboarding have evolved over the past ten years in numerous

ways. Technology has helped to play a huge role in that perspective (Bauer, T. N. 2013).

Technological advancements have assisted with making Onboarding successful for all employees

and not just in person via face-to-face interaction but also through telecommunication for

employees in remote locations. Ten years ago employers and employees would not picture

utilizing a webcam as a viable resource for conducting onboarding. I currently work as a Human

Resources Generalist and cover the onboarding training with new hires. The flexible nature of

today’s workforce has led to an increasing number of “virtual” employees who telecommute at

least part of their job. This is has been made possible through technological advancements.

Virtual employees can face challenges with regards to feeling supported or “connected” to their

coworkers when they are not in the office near them. So it is absolutely critical that the

onboarding session is strong and successful. With regards to training, employees want to see or

visualize the task at hand so that they can better understand it. With the proper technology, this

can be achieved with the technology fit that would most fit with the visual language demand. As

a part of successful onboarding, I utilize face-to-face meeting sessions with local employees and


TurboMeeting (business software that provides a visual means of communications to include

audio via internet connectivity and webcam) visual/audio conferencing for employees in other

locations such as those in Arizona, Nevada, California, Oklahoma and Florida. Besides setting

up meetings based on technology fit, as a leader you must be able to consider your audience and

determine if your employee would best benefit from interacting with you as most effective and

efficiently possible. Because not knowing how to utilize technology can be something scary for

employees especially older ones who are not in tune with the current technology advancements

available. Adequate technology training should be provided to employees especially those

working remotely so that they are comfortable, satisfied and productive. Anytime a new software

is launched within the organization, employees (especially those who work remotely) should be

brought in for proper technology training so that they can feel supported, well equipped to utilize

the software and be productive in their jobs. If they are unable to be brought in, my company

sends me to them for proper training and onboarding.

Just like, technology has played a huge factor for change and development to onboarding,

it is safe to assume that it will continue to change and play a major factor in the next ten years.

At my current organization, we strive to stay current on the types of technological software that

we utilize for onboarding and training in general. We utilize research to stay abreast of the latest

and greatest technological advancements and incorporate them within the first two years of them

being launched. We like to wait until there is enough reviews to help us determine whether or not

that type of software would be worth investing in. If we go out and purchase a software just

because it is the newest thing on the market we may be disappointed or lose out on our return of

investment instead of win as expected (Bauer, T. N. 2011).


Leadership Skills that are common in the workplace with regards to Onboarding begin

with training. Training will differ amongst departments but should always be included as the first

step to a proper onboarding session. Communication skills along with interpersonal skills are

huge factors that will play a critical role on the member of Management that will be conducting

the onboarding session with the newly hired employee. Believe it or not but having a leader that

has both strong communication and interpersonal skills will actually lay the foundation to a

strong and successful training and completion of an onboarding session. Employees need to

connect with a leader who is happy to meet, greet, develop, train and develop the newly hired

employee. If that Onboarding expert is bored, negative about the workplace or unsupportive of

the newly hired employee this will generate a horrible onboarding experience for them. Why

would a newly hired employee want to stay in a company where leadership is not happy to work

there? Perhaps, they will feel like they have made a bad mistake by joining that workplace and

decide to take another employment opportunity while the offer is still fresh on the table. Most

new hire’s join a workplace as a result of having various prospective offers on the table. The

candidate will select the employment offer that they feel best suits their needs. This includes

financial, emotional, career advancement, benefit package and work life balance. If an employee

notices that the new company is not working out from the beginning they are likely to leave the

company and go work for the next option on their list of employment offers given before they

accepted yours (Woods, 2012).

One company that is recognized as a leader in onboarding is Ritz Carlton. Ritz Carlton is

a very well-known and prestigious service industry. Ritz Carlton sets itself apart from other hotel

chains in terms of onboarding efforts. Ritz Carlton has a strong track history of tenure, employee

satisfaction and new hire interest. According to Lee, during orientation Ritz Carlton plays a


video in which there is a positive message and two key phrases are emphasized on. The

leadership philosophy of Ritz Carlton includes their vision as being inspiring life’s most

meaningful journeys and their mission includes providing genuine care and exceptional products

and services resulting in profit leadership.

Those being “You are now part of an elite, best in class organization”, and “We’re lucky

to have you.” One message without the other is not enough. Because one of the most important

human needs your new employee orientation program should satisfy is the feeling of pride in

one’s work and one’s employer, you want to exalt the virtues of your company. You want new

employees to feel like they are lucky to be a part of the company (Lee, 2008). Onboarding is the

perfect opportunity for newly hired employees to feel welcomed, appreciated and special for

joining that organization.

Leaders should include research in their personal onboarding leadership approach and

decisions because historical data is best for providing workplace solutions. Why waste time and

money through trial and error when an organization can utilize a member of management or a

human resources leader to conduct onboarding research to help modify their current onboarding

to fit the workplace culture and in turn attract, retain and enhance employees effective and

efficiently.


References

Bauer, T. N. (2011). Onboarding new employees: Maximizing success.

SHRM Foundation’s Effective Practice Guideline Series. SHRM

Bauer, T. N. (2013). Onboarding: The Power of Connection.

Bauer, T. N. (2013). Onboarding: The Critical Role of the Hiring Manager.

Harris, T., & Sherblom, J. (2011). Small group and team communication (5th ed.). Boston:

Pearson Education/Allyn & Bacon.

Lee, D. (2008). Onboarding That Welcomes and Inspires: What Do Ritz Carlton, Southwest

Airlines, and Texas Roadhouse "Get" that other employers do not? Retrieved May 2,

2015, from http://www.humannatureatwork.com/articles/onboarding/onboarding-that-

welcomes-and-inspires.htm

Monisha, K. (2012, December 10). Onboarding is More Than Orientation. Retrieved May

2, 2015, from http://www.proinspire.org/blog/onboarding-is-more-than-

orientation/

Woods. R. H. (2012). Managing Hospitality Human Resources (5th ed.) Lansing,

Michigan: American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute.

leadership in the workplace paper

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