The Office of Personnel Management is setting new standards for executive training in the public sector.

According to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), 16 percent of executive new hires in the federal government failed to reach the end of their first year in a new job, either voluntarily resigning or being terminated for performance that fell well below expectations. The culprit? A study by the Corporate Leadership Council found several reasons, among them a poor cultural fit between the new hire and the organization, lack of clarity about what is expected of the new leader, and a failure to inspire trust among staff and peers. The cure? According to OPM, its an effective executive onboarding program.

OPM, in conjunction with the Senior Executives Association and the Partnership for Public Service, hosted a one-day focus group to discuss the challenges inherent to executive onboarding, as well as possible solutions. They recently unveiled the results of their efforts: "Hit the Ground Running: Establishing a Model for Executive Onboarding" is a plan for implementing an executive onboarding program within ones organization and proving the business case for it. The plan recommends designing an onboarding program to help executives understand the organizations mission, key stakeholders, and business goals; navigate internal relationships and networks; and gain awareness of unwritten rules or cultural nuances.

Many problems with new senior managers falling short of expectations stem from an assumption that the new boss can simply figure things out on her own. "Management should provide explicit encouragement for new executives to take time to learn, build relationships, and set the stage for performance," says Stephen Shih, deputy associate director for OPM. "Since the onboarding process begins well before the executives first day of employment, management should set this expectation early."

Because the success or failure of a new executive hire tends to have a ripple effect throughout an organization, Shih strongly urges learning professionals to secure support first: "The onboarding program design should make it clear that onboarding effectiveness depends on commitment and buy-in from the top of the organization."