All too often new employees at all levels—from administrative to C-Suite executives—arrive on the job to find their employer is ill-equipped to prepare them for their new environment, from where the kitchen is to the systems, processes and the culture and social norms of the place.

A scary statistic is that between 40% and 60% of all senior executives hired fail in the first 18 months. A wide range of “de-railers” set the stage for failure: not knowing what success looks like in the new organization, acting in culturally inappropriate ways early in his or her tenure, focusing on the technical aspects of the role and not enough on the social and political aspects of the place. What you did, how you did it and how well you performed in another environment will likely not work in the new company.

Savvy organizations recognize this issue and have implemented professionally developed onboarding programs that are designed to help the new executive acquire the necessary knowledge, skills and behaviors that will greatly ensure a successful transition. Companies who fail to introduce an onboarding process have increased their odds that the new recruit will be out the door sooner rather than later.