Starting a new job always presents new challenges, and these are often underestimated. For the hiring companies, it is crucial to ensure an effective onboarding process so that the new joiners feel well supported, in order to achieve their objectives.
However, the success of these first few weeks will also greatly depend on the employee's attitude and proactivity. This is particularly true in the world of customs and trade compliance leadership. In this field, the new employee often inherits a chaotic and unclear environment and may sometimes need to define the boundaries of their position themselves.
To gain more insight, we put five questions on the topic to Nicolas Urien, a Partner at DOJÖ Consulting Group, a global firm specialising in Customs Advisory and Trade Compliance Management. Drawing from his extensive experience as both a consultant and a former in-house trade leader, Nicolas offers his advice on how to make your first few weeks as successful as possible.
Why are the first weeks in a new company crucial for a Trade Compliance Leader?
When a Trade Lead starts a new job, there is often a need for a transformation within the team - whether it's the scope of activity, people, processes, systems, or often everything at once. Indeed, this is often the primary reason for recruiting the role in the first place - and why the most successful trade leaders are transformational leaders.
Therefore, the first weeks are a crucial discovery phase in preparation for these changes.
First and foremost, it’s important to start your new role without any preconceptions and to keep an open mind as you meet your key stakeholders and build a clear picture of the inside story.
To share my personal experience, I was fortunate to have an exceptionally well-prepared onboarding process when I was an in-house trade lead, but not everyone may be quite so fortunate. Therefore, it's essential that you take a proactive approach to gathering information and making contacts – essentially creating your own, strategic onboarding. It takes effort, but if you get this part right, you won’t feel overwhelmed by what's coming next.
If you were to focus on just one objective during this phase?
If I had to summarise the primary objective for these initial weeks in simple terms, it would be this: Firstly, identify the customs and trade compliance management culture and organisation. Next, determine whether these two elements align with the company’s business objectives and with what your manager expects from the customs and trade compliance function.
In other words, assess whether the current approach to managing customs and trade compliance is in line with the objectives. (A little tip: it is quite usual to find that objectives are not clearly defined – and that’s when the elements that need transformation will become evident to you.)
Focus your efforts on understanding the internal customs & trade compliance management culture. Whether it’s an operational or compliance-driven culture is often linked to the organisation’s risk approach, the industry it operates in and also the legacy of your predecessors. Once again, this review must be carried out in light of top management’s expectations and priorities regarding trade management topics.
I would add a secondary objective: understanding the deeper dynamics of the organisation. This involves grasping the corporate culture, especially whether the company is open to change. Identify all the managers and leaders who are directly or indirectly connected to customs and trade compliance activities, but to whom you do not report. This list usually includes the CFO, Supply Chain Lead, Head of Legal, or Head of Tax. It's crucial to understand their interests and motivations, as you will likely need to involve them in the transformational journey.
And what should you do if top management doesn't really know what to expect from you?
To be honest, this is not uncommon. This is where the trade lead needs to take the initiative, have a clear strategy, and be persuasive. Each week I am in conversation with at least twenty global trade and customs leads, and it’s something I reiterate time and again: the importance of taking a proactive approach towards top management.
Essentially, there are three critical objectives for an ambitious, fully-fledged trade lead: scaling customs operations, managing trade compliance risks and reducing costs and duty exposure. It’s important to help top management understand that priorities need to be defined, and not every objective can or should receive the same level of attention, especially within the context of a transformation process. The majority of the team’s effort, budget and focus should be concentrated on the key priorities.
After a few weeks in their new role, a discussion will typically take place between the trade lead and their manager to define or adjust expectations and priorities. How do you prioritise between operations, compliance, and costs? By aligning with the business objectives, the goals of the team you belong to and the most significant risks.
If, by the end of the onboarding period, the trade lead has successfully established a clear scope of work and set priorities between the three critical areas with their direct manager, that’s a great success.
And what are the main mistakes to avoid?
First, avoid making false promises. There's nothing worse than disappointing others, especially the managers and leaders you’ll be working with. Next, don’t miss the opportunity to speak with as many people as possible. These first weeks should be filled with conversations. During the onboarding period, people will make themselves available, but afterwards, it may be too late. Finally, avoid arriving with grand transformation plans (especially if you're a former consultant). Every company has its own vulnerabilities and legacy. Until you’ve completed this initial phase of evaluating the company, it’s impossible to precisely outline your transformation plan.
Do you have any other tips?
Once you've identified the areas where you need to focus your transformation or management efforts, I strongly recommend conducting an external review with a specialised consulting firm. This external analysis should confirm your understanding of the current situation and support your transformation proposals. This is particularly important if you need to request additional budget or resources or propose structural changes to your management. Sometimes, it’s challenging for the trade lead to convince others on their own, especially when they’re new to the organisation. This is where a global firm like DOJÖ Consulting Group can provide the necessary support, expertise, and credibility.