Public Affairs (Internal) Onboarding
This week I want to look at the world of onboarding on Public Affairs – internal onboarding. Done well this engages new people and gets them into the zone you want them as early as possible. Done poorly, if at all, it has more than just the opposite effect. So, the significance of a well-structured onboarding process cannot be overstated because it sets the tone in so many ways. You need to immerse your new people in your PA ways of working, your PA culture, your PA objectives and your organisational culture for PA. Here’s why it’s crucial:
Understanding Your Public Affairs: Public affairs onboarding should provide comprehensive insights into your objectives, issues and crucially your way of doing things. How do you map. How do you report. What does the organisation expect? Where do they find these tools and what are the expectations?
Building Internal Relationships: Good onboarding should facilitate introductions to key internal stakeholders, offering opportunities for new hires to establish rapport and understand their concerns and priorities. Get to know the business (or client) from day one. Key.
PA Way Assimilation: Every organisation has its unique culture, norms, and values, which significantly influence how public affairs initiatives are conceived and executed. Onboarding needs to go beyond mere procedural training to look at the PA function’s (real) place in the organisation and how it works.
To do this well good public affairs onboarding should have:
– Comprehensive Training: Provide in-depth training sessions covering internal structures, PA methodologies, PA documents-templates, PA expectations. Do this via videos to lessen the load and make the learning easier.
– Mentorship and Guidance: Pair new hires with experienced PA mentors who can offer guidance, support, and insights.
– A one-stop online PA shop: If you have one online space where all key PA documents are kept – such as vision / mission / objectives / templates / meeting notes etc it will make life much easier for new hires.
– Ongoing Support: Recognise that onboarding is an ongoing process and provide continued support and resources to help new hires acclimate to their roles and grow professionally within the organisation.
Effective public affairs onboarding is not just a tick-box exercise. Especially not the internal piece. It is a strategic opportunity that sets the stage for rapid integration and success. It requires forethought in how you organise and convey your PA work to someone new. How do you do this?
