It is very rare for a new employee to be in a position to contribute immediately to the team as a full member. I have never seen this happening to be honest, but I am holding a bit back just in case there are any miracle kids out there.
The reason for this isn’t lack of knowledge of course. It can happen to everyone joining a new company, even if their job description is exactly the same as with their previous employer.
New joiners need to learn the internal systems, procedures, processes and controls before they are able to perform at their max. And even then, they may actually choose not to. Why? Simply because oftentimes the official corporate policies are worlds apart from the day to day realities of the job. This is what I like calling the “culture gap.” I define this as the difference between what the management preaches and what it actually enforces and/or allows.
Indeed, it doesn’t really take a nuclear physicist to realize that this is the gap is the reality in the majority of firms out there and it is for this reason that people new to an organization, even if they have all the technicalities of their job description figured out to a tee, will instinctively hold back.
Which is why an employee’s first impression of their employer is so important to the latter: A series of first few days leaving a positive first impression will substantially speed up the process of the new member’s integration, thus allowing for the firm to reap faster the rewards of its investment.