Having the opportunity to shadow senior leadership when beginning a career or transitioning to a new position provides countless benefits, specifically, the resources and skillsets that are available in a shortened timeframe. But, why choose shadowing versus another on-boarding system when welcoming a new employee?
Shadowing is most important when the position is best learned through seeing or doing. The new hire is able to take in a plethora of information that, if trained through a different method, might be overlooked or not mentioned. It provides a “hands-on” approach to a position that may require a “hands-on” mindset.
The ability to learn firsthand from leaders who have forged their own path to success is second to none. The time spent with senior employees opens to the door to understand the ins and outs of the company culture, fine-tune and continue to develop professionally, and gain expert insights into the business. Shadowing also expedites the on-boarding process as new hires begin to acquaint themselves with the business sooner.
Job shadowing provides a behind-the-curtain look at the expectations of job duties, key deliverables needed, and the interactions between coworkers and peers and coworkers and senior management. This provides an excellent chance for senior management to recognize if processes, job descriptions or culture needs to be restructured or reevaluated.