Bad Onboarding Breaks People

How can employees succeed or missions advance when new hires are left to figure out processes on their own?

“We don’t worry about process here. We just get the work done.”

That’s what one of my former supervisors told me when I asked for a detailed overview of how to handle media requests. I had years of experience as a communications manager and strategist, developing internal communications, messaging for campaigns, and creating content for social media and websites. But this was my first role focused on media relations—fielding press inquiries, crafting talking points for spokespeople, and managing relationships with journalists for our work in culture and entertainment. The skills overlapped, but the workflows were entirely new territory.

It was assumed that I already knew what to do and the functionalities of this role. Instead of getting guidance, training, or even a 30-minute how-to overview, I was left to figure it out on my own.

The lack of onboarding made working there debilitating. Not even a month into my role, I knew I wouldn’t stay long-term. There was no in-depth training and no real support to help me grow into the role with confidence. I was given a laptop and login credentials, and then received a brief overview of the organization, along with an explanation of our top-line messaging priorities. That was it. I had to learn everything else through trial and error, as well as from examples from past projects.

I remember my first media inquiry. A reporter requested a quote for a story about the importance of diversifying writers’ rooms in the film and television industry. I had no idea who needed to approve the response, what our standard turnaround time was, or even what our official position was on the issue. I drafted something, sent it to three different people, hoping one was right. By the time I figured out the approval chain and proper positioning for our messaging, we’d missed the reporter’s deadline. And I was overcome with the anxiety of feeling like I screwed up.

What followed was a steady erosion of my confidence. I started feeling incompetent. I second-guessed myself constantly. I lived for the weekend and felt something greater than the Sunday scaries, a looming fear and heaviness in my stomach that built every night as each Monday drew near. Monday mornings meant our weekly communications team meeting, where I’d be asked to report on media outreach I wasn’t sure I’d handled correctly.

The dread wasn’t about the work itself. In fact, I loved the work, pitching and placing stories about our efforts to diversify the entertainment industry across Hollywood, music, and fashion in outlets such as The Root, The New York Times, Blavity, Essence, The Hollywood Reporter, Rolling Stone, Billboard, Women’s Wear Daily, and many more. But going into each week felt like navigating a minefield without a map, bracing for the next misstep to set off an explosion that would reveal how lost I really was.

The only time I received feedback was when I had done something wrong. The irony is that most of my mistakes could have been avoided if I had undergone a more robust onboarding process. I remember asking myself over and over, why wasn’t I told this when I first started? Where was all of this information before?

What It Looks Like to Be Set Up to Succeed

Looking back, those feelings had nothing to do with my actual abilities. They had everything to do with being set up to fail. And I know I’m not the only one who has been put in that position. Many people in the social sector and across every industry have been handed the same impossible task: to deliver without support.

The irony is that organizations often demand quick results while skipping the necessary steps that make results possible. How can employees succeed or missions advance when new hires are left to figure out processes on their own?

As I’ve stepped into my current role, I’ve had the opposite experience. The onboarding process spans four weeks and touches every aspect of the work. I’ve been given time and space to really learn and understand my role. I’ve been undergoing political education training. I’m learning about the history of anti-Black racism in California across various sectors, including housing, public safety, education, health, economic opportunities, and democracy—all of which are directly informing my approach to our public relations strategies. I’ve been shadowing our civic engagement programs, attending coalition meetings, and learning about the media landscape as it relates to various pieces of legislation that affect Black Californians. This helps me understand the ecosystem I am now a part of.

Most importantly, I don’t feel like I’m being asked only to complete tasks; I’m given opportunities to learn. I’m being invited into something larger than myself. My onboarding has been a bridge, carrying me from outsider to insider, from new hire to colleague, from employee to partner.

The Burden of “Figuring It Out”

In many social sector organizations, onboarding is often reduced to a quick checklist. Resources are scarce. People are busy. Everything feels urgent. However, skipping onboarding can cost more than it saves, especially for organizations engaged in social justice work. Every role in these organizations is part of larger movements. How someone performs their job influences both organizational outcomes and the communities served by the organization.

Research compiled by Devlin Peck highlights the widespread issue. Poor onboarding practices undermine culture and compliance, and more than one in four new hires report wanting more detailed guidance about their role during the onboarding process. I can relate. I don’t need my hand held, but I need to know: What does success look like in this role? Who are the key players I’ll work with most? What mistakes do new people in this position typically make, and how can I avoid them? Getting answers to these key questions enables me to perform my job effectively.

Furthermore, employees who have strong onboarding experiences are more than twice as likely to feel satisfied at work. Nearly 70% are more likely to stay for three years or longer. Retention increases by over 50%. Productivity jumps by 60%. A well-structured onboarding process can significantly boost employee commitment.

Sadly, I don’t have many positive onboarding experiences. Time and time again, in the world of communications, I have worked at organizations that assume any communications professional can be dropped into a role and immediately understand the organization’s voice, tone, brand, priorities, and strategic goals without proper guidance. Did you know that most human resource experts agree that onboarding should last at least three months for new hires, with the need to continue onboarding throughout the employee’s first year? However, what I usually get are a few generic conversations about the scope of the work without a deeper overview, context, or analysis. That’s not sufficient.

I spent the entire time in that previous role feeling confused and disconnected. It wore down my confidence and made the work feel heavier than it should have been. That experience showed me what happens when organizations don’t prioritize onboarding, and what’s lost as a result. To me, onboarding should be a gesture of care, a way for an organization to say, “We see you, We value you, and We want you to succeed.” When an organization invests in its people from day one, it sets the tone for the level of connection and morale that can propel the mission forward.

The Four C’s: A Framework for Success

Dr. Talya Bauer’s Four C’s of Employee Onboarding—compliance, clarification, culture, and connection—provide a lens for understanding my two very different experiences.

• Compliance is the most basic level: paperwork, policies, and forms. There have been times when the onboarding didn’t go beyond this point. I signed the documents, received a laptop, and was left to my own devices.

• Clarification ensures employees understand their role, expectations, and goals. When I asked how to handle media requests, I was told that the process doesn’t matter. Without clear guidance, I second-guessed every decision and lived in constant fear of making mistakes.

• Culture helps employees understand the values, history, and processes behind how work gets done. In my current role, I participate in trainings that connect our communication strategies to the broader movement for Black lives. I’m learning the organization’s story in ways that make me feel invested in it.

• Connection is the highest level and often overlooked. It fosters community and trust, making one feel like a part of a cohesive team. My current organization emphasizes this by dedicating time for us to strategize together and connect beyond our job duties.

For me, the Four C’s have made all the difference. The previous organization barely met the lowest standard. The current one embraces all four.

Building an Onboarding Process That Works

Organizations that want to improve onboarding can take these steps:

• Set clear expectations from day one. New hires need to clearly understand what success looks like in their roles. Share role-specific responsibilities, key deliverables, and how their work connects to organizational goals. Clarity reduces guesswork and builds confidence.

• Start building relationships before day one. Preboarding is important. Share credentials, schedules, and resources as early as possible. A welcome kit should include information about the team, current projects, useful tools, and introductions to key colleagues they will work most closely with.

• Start regular check-ins early. In the first few weeks, schedule daily or every-other-day touchpoints. Afterwards, switch to weekly meetings where the new hire sets the agenda. Use 30-, 60-, and 90-day discussions to review progress, give feedback, and clarify their standing.

• Foster a sense of belonging from the beginning. Ask about access needs, such as what people require to communicate, learn, and fully engage. Introduce team members across the organization, share context about important relationships, and create space for new hires to bring their authentic selves to work.

• Implement feedback promptly. Use the onboarding period to build good management habits. Share both praise and constructive feedback regularly, and debrief after projects or assignments. The more feedback becomes routine early on, the stronger the long-term relationship will be.

• Offer role-specific learning opportunities. Generic onboarding sends the wrong message. New hires should have chances to observe others, practice tasks, receive feedback, and understand the team’s culture and values, not just policies and procedures.

The Signal You Send on Someone’s First Day

“We don’t worry about process here,” reveals a failure to see how process actually supports people and the work they do. Process isn’t always bureaucracy for its own sake. When done with intention, process creates clarity and builds trust and connection. Organizations that dismiss onboarding foster environments where capable employees feel incompetent, not because they lack skill, but because they lack support.

Every organization will onboard new hires. The only choice is whether to do it intentionally and with care or hand over a laptop and hope for the best. I’ve experienced both approaches. One left me exhausted enough to quit. The other is inspiring me again and reminding me why this work matters.

Even though I’m only three weeks into my new role, I can already feel the positive impact of good onboarding. It’s shaping how I approach my work and how confident I feel stepping into my responsibilities. I’m thinking about how I can develop deeper leadership within this movement to improve the well-being of Black people in California. This shows what’s possible when an organization invests in its people from the beginning. I’m not wasting my energy trying to survive. Instead, I’m focusing on how I can help advance the mission.

Onboarding is more than I-9 verification and an overview of organizational values. It’s the first signal an organization sends about whether you belong, whether your contributions matter, and whether you are being set up to thrive. The next time you welcome someone into your organization, ask: Are we helping them understand what they’ll do and how their work fits into our bigger goals? Or are we setting them up to quit within the first year?

---