Psychological Safety Letter
As someone working in human resources and processes, I am always disappointed when I see companies failing to master a process with 10 or so steps and messing up the basics, even though these companies have highly educated people governing those, who surely studied 200-300 page books at University, conducted research, and presented something, so 10 bullet points can’t be a problem. What disappoints me the most is not knowing what kind of progress we expect in the profession when we are constantly dealing with the basics. This is somewhat expected because there are always new beginners entering the job market, and over time, some aspects of the process change, making them relevant again. But on the other hand, the large number of candidate inquiries during the selection process about whether the company has an onboarding process and what it looks like indicates unpleasant experiences.
The reasons for the absence of onboarding can be diverse. One of the most common in growing businesses that still don’t have enough resources to cover regular monthly needs is the expectation that the new person will start generating profit as soon as possible, because otherwise, the margin decreases. This is certainly not an excuse for not having a process, nor is it the employee’s responsibility that the company is in the developmental stage it is. The second most common reason is likely due to the business model itself, which insists on speed, client-facing roles, or organizations where it is expected that you, at the level of an established consultant with serious experience, will receive a few instructions and start working. There is a reason why a consultant is a consultant and an employee is an employee, if we assume that the consultant has met all the necessary requirements to be one (for example, there are consulting firms that hire beginners and give them the title of consultant, which is contradictory, because on what topics can they consult without experience?). And the third reason is that the process is not seen as worthy of enough attention because there is no expertise within the organization. Regardless of whether the company is small or large, you can always adapt the process to your needs, modify it, or digitize it using one of the existing onboarding tools.
Here’s an outline of how a process should be structured:
HR Onboarding Tasks
- Meet Head of HR (1st week)
- Meet your dedicated Buddy
- Check all accounts & accesses
- Meet TL
- Meet CEO/Founder
- Meet the team
- Get to know JIRA/SharePoint/Atlassian/Confluence Tools
- Get to know Data/Information Security Policies
- Get to know Handbook/Employment Rulebook/Rulebook of Systematization
- Welcome to company PPT meeting
- Internal processes and procedures meeting (2nd-4th week)
- Lunch / Drink with HR/TL/Rest of the team
- Regular meetings with HR (on each 3 weeks)
- Regular meetings with TL (on each 3 weeks)
- Regular meetings with Buddy (on each 3 weeks)
Let’s assume we have mastered the process and want something more than just the bare minimum. That would be the Psychological Safety Letter.
In addition to communicating expectations for the first 30, 60, and 90 days of the probation period, it is important to address the following questions for the employee, which are related to psychological safety, so that they can have a clear path to meet the set targets and receive support. Throughout the collaboration, there will inevitably be various moments, ranging from challenging and problematic to the most joyful ones. It would be helpful to clarify from the start what is important to you, how you define good, poor, or excellent performance, certain habits, preferences, what bothers you, and anything else you consider relevant. More precisely, questions like:
How will you handle the first time a mistake occurs or challenges arise?
Is full accountability allowed, and is it necessary to report everything throughout the process?
Is there freedom in problem-solving in terms of decision-making, or does everything require approval?
Is it acceptable to openly share your thoughts, or should you keep them to yourself?
What is the best way to contact you—email, call, and when?
Is a single working method sufficient, or are there multiple ways to achieve the goal?
Are results or the time spent more important to you?
What standards do you expect in the work?
Employees working across different cultures with varying values bring their own practices, and if no one or nothing communicates how things function in the current setup, they will work in the way they prefer, are used to, want to, and with the level of knowledge they possess.
From personal experience, I recall transitioning from an enterprise to a startup, where trust was the core value in the enterprise. Among 100,000 employees worldwide, you could freely contact anyone needed, regardless of their position, without requiring your supervisor’s oversight in emails. This was based on the assumption that trust wouldn’t be abused and that monitoring tools were in place to address any issues. In contrast, the startup had completely opposite practices. When I asked the managing director about the business strategy, I immediately faced restrictions on how and to what extent I could communicate and contact him.
We often read about how communication is key in software development, business negotiations, and maintaining relationships. Unfortunately, practice often shows something entirely different. Transparency and clarity come with boundaries and truths that can intimidate the other party. By avoiding clarity, it is sometimes easier to achieve the goal, but sooner or later, everything you tried to avoid will catch up with you at the third or fourth step.
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