Onboarding Your New CEO
What a relief it is for a nonprofit Search Committee to finally hire a new CEO! After many months of meetings and interviews, the end is in sight and soon things can get “back to normal”. Or so you think. However, there is still important work to be done to assure that the new leader is successful. And that starts with an “onboarding plan” to help this person get up to speed fairly quickly.
What is onboarding?
It is the education and assimilation of a person into a new role. It includes providing:
Information
Introductions
Education/training/insight sharing
Office set-up
How does one prepare for onboarding?
It starts by aggregating and organizing information about the organization – the who, what, when, where, why and how – both internal and external, regarding operations, board governance, community relations, etc. This information includes materials like:
The CEO’s job description (ideally with details about specific daily/weekly/monthly/annual activities)
The CEO checklist (see our Succession Planning Toolkit, www.claritytransitions.net) which identifies where all key information is stored (e.g. legal documents, personnel files, passwords, contracts)
Lists of staff, board members, donors and stakeholders with details about their relationships with the organization
Calendar of important dates (e.g. staff, board and committee meetings, fundraisers, “friend-raisers”, networking groups)
Board materials (e.g. bylaws, policies and procedures, committees, minutes)
Financials
Strategic Plan with progress report
Marketing materials
And anything else that will help him/her be successful!
Onboarding also involves introductions to staff, board and key stakeholders according to a very thoughtful, prioritized plan that likely includes one-on-one meetings, small and large gatherings. And there should be a thoughtful and strategic communications plan to inform all stakeholders (e.g. letters, emails, phone calls, website, press releases) about the new CEO.
It is also important to get the new CEO’s office set-up BEFORE DAY ONE. You want him to be ready and able to focus his attention on meeting people and listening to them on that first day. So, prior to his official start, it is important to set up email, phone and passwords, arrange furniture, etc.
Who prepares, plans and implements this onboarding?
Typically, a Transition Committee will develop and implement this plan with help from the outgoing CEO (if relationship is good) or the Interim (if there is one), the Board Chair and a designated staff member. The committee enlists others too – staff and board members as appropriate - to collect and share information, provide background/education/training, develop and implement the communications plan and make introductions.
Much of this preparation can be done while the search is underway so that the Search Committee CAN breathe a sigh of relief when the new CEO is hired! In fact, you never know when your CEO might leave, so maybe you should start now?