When we talk about internal mobility within a company, different types of internal mobility exist. We have the change of position, the leaves, whether it is because of a birth, a health problem or other. And we have geographical displacements in the professional context. To make these transitions as smooth as possible for everyone in the company, it is possible to use crossboarding. Today we will talk about this term and explain its interest in the company.
What is crossboarding?
Crossboarding is the process by which a current employee is given all the tools to move internally to his or her new role in a smooth manner. The term is a contraction of the words "cross" and "onboarding".
While onboarding is simply the fact of accompanying a new employee between recruitment and the actual taking up of the post, crossboarding aims to integrate one or more employees "through" the company, i.e., a new integration into the company, while they are already working there. In other words, during an internal move. Using the examples given above, a person changing position within the company is an act of internal mobility, which can be accompanied by a new act of onboarding, here called crossboarding.
This method aims to build loyalty among the members of the company during each move. Employees feel appreciated and considered, which strengthens their confidence in themselves and in the company and indirectly improves productivity. We are now going to see how to implement this crossboarding for the three main modalities.
Crossboarding as part of a job change
Changing jobs is justifiable for many reasons and usually requires a different skill set than the previous job. This is why it is important to carry out an increase in skills. And who says increase in skills, says new training. It is at this moment that it is important that the company accompanies its employees.
The company’s goal here is to ensure that this training does not feel like a chore for the employee. To do this, you need to make learning fun. Don’t just send the person files with the objective of showing them how to do this or that. If your employee completes the training without considering it as a boring job, if he/she has taken it in a more playful way again, then he/she will take up the job in the best conditions and will be directly efficient. If not, it may spoil his talent.
Crossboarding as part of a geographical mobility
This kind of internal movement is certainly the biggest change possible. Indeed, a geographical mobility can send the employee to another site of the company, while remaining in the same area or in the same country, but he or she can very well end up in another country, with very different cultures and ways of working. In this type of situation, the best thing to do is to carry out a new “onboarding”. You simply have to implement the same welcoming method as when you arrived in the company, but in a more thorough manner if the country changes. It is possible to provide the newcomer with a booklet listing the differences between the company and the newcomer. He/she should also be introduced to his/her new contacts or colleagues and, if necessary, be given further training so that he/she can use the tools that are different from the organization from which he/she came. This support is done in the medium to long term, as it requires a period of adaptability on the part of the employee.
Crossboarding in the context of a return after a prolonged absence
The last type of mobility is certainly the most known, but also the least considered by crossboarding. Indeed, leaves of absence are usual within a company, and when the person returns, it is rare that a real adjustment is made, since only one person is not “up to date” with the changes. This lack of computerization of the company can greatly affect the return of the employee. After a long absence, the company seems to act as if it never left, which has a strong impact on the employee’s consideration. This person’s self-confidence will decrease, and will impact his or her performance. The company must therefore ensure that after each return from a long absence, the person must be informed of the evolution of the company in his absence.
