Working with the Senior Executives Association and the Partnership for Public Service, Office of Personnel Management has created an executive onboarding program framework and published a corresponding manual, “Hit the Ground Running: Establishing a Model Executive Onboarding Program.”

The business case for executive onboarding is persuasive. In the coming years, about 70 percent of senior executives will be eligible to retire, creating the need to swiftly integrate new executive leaders into agency leadership ranks.

The manual, issued Sept. 30, 2011, defines executive onboarding as “the acquiring, accommodating, assimilating and accelerating of new leaders into the organizational culture and business.” The best onboarding programs “provide a fast track to meaningful, productive work and strong employee relationships.