3 Benefits of a Structured Executive Integration Program

60% of companies fail to set milestones or goals for new hires.

It takes a lot of time, money and resources to find the right executive that will succeed and lead your organization to future success. Far too often, once these critical hires are made, the new executives are expected to hit the ground running without a support system in place. Although it isn’t the intention of many organizations, the reality of the day-to-day operational needs take precedence, leaving the new executive with little support and no clear path to success in their new role.

50% of leaders fail within the first 2 years

Post-placement integration should be taken just as seriously as the hiring process to ensure the success of your new executive hire. It will ensure you maximize the ROI from your executive hires to achieve quicker productivity and long-term success. By deliberately focusing on integration, setting key objectives and measured deliverables, an organization can be confident that the new executive will make an early impact on areas of importance. 

3 benefits of a structured executive integration program to better help you integrate your new executives and set them up for long-term success at your organization. 

1. Early Organization Insight

With early and deep awareness on what matters, the new executive can confidently move the organization forward in alignment with the existing senior leadership team. A structured approach to learn key aspects of the business such as the mission, vision, strategy, products, competitors, levels of authority and cultural expectations will provide a solid foundation for long-term productivity of the executive in the new role. 

Risk: Without a full understanding, key decisions may not be aligned to the strategy of the company and at minimum, time can be wasted pursuing the wrong initiatives.

2. Meaningful Connections 

Beyond the early day “hello, nice to meet you” having a conscious approach to really understand your new executive can create the conditions that regularly pay dividends for years. Schedule the time for key reports and other members of leadership to establish meaningful connections through social engagements, and more casual conversations to create deeper bonds with one another. Your new executive will develop a better understanding of who they are working with so that they can approach necessary conversations, feedback and direction, and critical thinking in a customized manner for each colleague. 

Risk: If we rely on superficial connections, assumptions are created, and the risk of serious misalignment will materialize.  Under pressure, clashes will occur as deep values and motivations surface.

3. Key Objectives

Having a plan on what the organization and the new executive are expecting in 30-60-90 days and beyond will create a shared vision leading to progress.  Being aligned on what the priorities are, tracking progress and measuring success supports early wins.  These early wins make everyone confident that the new executive is integrating well and making impact on areas of importance. 

Risk: 3 months go by quickly, but it is long enough to create a chasm if there is a lack of confidence in what the new executive has accomplished. Most executives fail in their new role not because of a lack of skill or intention, but because of misaligned expectations.

Post-placement integration is critical to the success of your new executive. Review your onboarding and integration processes to ensure that you set up all of your future executives and employees for success.