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What does it truly mean to welcome someone into an organization? That question drove a recent Reell Insights conversation led by Dr. Stacy Frost, Adjunct Professor in Â̲èÖ±²¥’s Master of Leadership Program. Drawing on doctoral research and three decades across hospitality, ministry, and higher education, Dr. Frost invited participants to reflect on their onboarding experiences \u2014 as newcomers and as insiders \u2014 and to consider how leaders at every level can do better.<\/p>\n
Orientation is about compliance and clarification \u2014 paperwork, policies, and directives. Onboarding is something deeper: culture, connection, and relationship. Onboarding never truly ends \u2014 it’s an ongoing process of understanding an organization’s values and the networks that actually get things done.<\/p>\n
Dr. Frost drew on researcher Talya Bauer’s framework \u2014 the 4 C’s (Compliance<\/strong>, Clarification<\/strong>, Culture<\/strong>, and Connection<\/strong>) \u2014 to map the full welcoming experience. Most organizations handle the first two reasonably well. The last two \u2014 the ones that determine whether a newcomer truly flourishes \u2014 are where investment most often falls short.<\/p>\n Dr. Frost offered a guiding idea from Dr. Arthur Aufderheide of the University of Minnesota: “All knowledge is connected to other knowledge. The fun is in making the connections.”<\/em> Newcomers aren’t just absorbing information \u2014 they’re building a web of meaning, and the richness of that web depends on the quality of relationships they’re invited into early.<\/p>\n Drawing on the Heath brothers’ work on peak moments, Dr. Frost also noted that the most memorable experiences \u2014 good or bad \u2014 shape the story a person carries about an organization for years. Intentional early moments are an investment with lasting returns.<\/p>\n The most important takeaway: onboarding belongs to everyone in the organization. The newcomer experience is shaped not by a single program, but by hundreds of small interactions \u2014 how a question gets answered, whether someone goes out of their way to make an introduction.<\/p>\n Frontline employees are often the most pivotal. The administrative assistant who offers supplies, the peer who explains how things really work \u2014 these informal culture-carriers matter as much as any formal mentor or manager. Managers play a key role too, but only when they move beyond clarification into genuine connection.<\/p>\n As Dr. Frost put it: we can do better.<\/em> Most of what matters costs nothing. It requires only attention, intention, and the willingness to see the whole person in front of you. It\u2019s bringing our own humanity into the workplace that makes the difference.<\/p>\n <\/p>\nConnections and Peak Moments<\/h3>\n
Onboarding Is Everyone’s Responsibility<\/h3>\n
Watch the Full Conversation Here:<\/h3>\n