Lessons from Canada Geese, Part 1

This morning as I took the dog for her usual morning walk, the sun was washing the clouds with pinks and oranges above an aquamarine shimmering sea. My ears registered the plaintive honks of Canada geese and I looked up to see several pairs and small family groups flapping above me. I knew that each of these pairs would eventually join up with the main group until, later in Autumn, the sky would be full of their plaintive cries as they called their farewells and left for the warmth of a northern summer.

Then, as they left our shores, the more senior or experienced geese would take their turns at heading the vee-formation, each taking a rest and passing over that important role to another equally experienced goose. The less experienced would be flanked by buddies and guided by the honks of the geese who had made the journey before.

I was struck by the similarities between their preparations for flight and an organisation’s journey toward success. When a new recruit is brought into the organisation they struggle to find their place, to work out the rules and to keep up. What they need to know most is:
1. What is safe practice that won’t ‘get me into trouble’?
2. What does everyone else do when …?
3. How can I find out about this task/option?

Like the young geese on their first flight north, new recruits do need to be guided, but they also need to learn to grow into a leadership role. They need to practise with a buddy sharing the lead role, then when they are confident they join the larger group and find their place in the formation, and finally they can move up the group and take their place sharing leadership.

Induction training from the organisation’s perspective is often more to do with:
1. Health and safety rules and regulations (so the organisation doesn’t get into trouble)
2. The history of the organisation (seen as ‘passing on the culture’)
3. Who’s who in the organisation?
4. How to set yourself up in ‘our’ system

Do you see the difference?
The individual wants to do right and fit in but the organisation tends to offer information that exacerbates the divide between the new individual and the organisation. The only area of commonality is “What is safe practice that won’t ‘get them into trouble’?“

If your organisation has an intranet, or even an information kiosk, where new employees can refer to basic information about site rules and regulations, and a list of ‘who to go to when’ you empower the new employee. Chances are that a large part of the information they received during induction training went out of their minds the minute they were told it.

The first few days on the job are often so filled with personal tensions and doubts about whether they can succeed, that there’s little room for retaining much of the information in an induction programme. Providing an easily searchable reference site, so they can access the answers without appearing ignorant, in the long run is a more user-friendly tool. Induction manuals get lost, but access to an intranet or information kiosk is always there.