Summary: This article covers the essentials for executive transition onboarding including how long an executive transition takes along with the steps and practices for supporting the executive. Tools are provided including an executive transition onboarding plan, template, roadmap, checklist, pillars, and communications.
Are you hiring a new executive, promoting someone from within your organization, or you are an executive transitioning to a new role yourself? This comprehensive article will be your guide.
Table of Contents
An executive transition occurs when a leader moves into a new executive position or takes on significant new responsiblities or scope of management.
The goal of executive onboarding is facilitate the successful and smooth transition of an executive into a new executive role and responsibilities. The reason to invest resources into executive onboarding is to accelerate the length of time it takes for the executive to have a full impact and to avoid executive missteps and failures which are costly.
Executive onboarding takes between 6 and 9 months for the executive to have full impact in their role if the proper transition and onboarding support is provided. The marker for when an executive transition is concluded is the breakeven point where the executive has returned as much value to the organization as they have consumed while learning and assimilating. An onboarding program can accelerate an executive’s transition breakeven point.
An executive transition plan is a roadmap with phases and steps for an executive onboarding or transitioning and is a critical component to successful and expedient transition. A 6-month roadmap with steps to accomplish at 30, 60, 90 days and 6 months provides the right level of guideposts for an executive transition. An example of an executive transition plan with timelines is:
An agreed upon first 90 or 100 day executive transition or onboarding plan is an important component to transition success. It creates clarity and alignment between the executive and their leader on what the first few months of executive transition should involve and what should be accomplished.
Download this tool for an example and a fillable 90 or 100 day executive onboarding plan template including 30, 60, and 90 day plans fore executives with suggested example activities.
