Latest / The Internal Move Podcast with Fexingo: Lateral Roles, Internal Transfers, and Staying at Your Company / Why Internal Transfers Often Skip Onboarding and How to Fix It
Transcript
- Lucas: Luna, I want to talk about something that happened to a friend of mine — she moved internally from marketing operations at a large tech company into a product analytics role. New team, new boss, new set of stakeholders. And on day one, she showed up to find that no one had scheduled a single onboarding meeting. Her new manager said, 'You've been here four years, you know how things work — just dive in.' Luna: I've heard that exact line before. It's almost like an internal transfer is punished by being treated as if you don't need help. Lucas: Right. And there's real data on this. Gartner published a study in 2025 — they surveyed over 500 HR leaders and found that 60 percent of internal transfers receive no formal onboarding. Compare that to external hires, where the number is closer to 90 percent who get at least some structured program. Luna: So it's not just my friend's anecdote — it's systemic. Why do companies drop the ball so badly on this? Lucas: I think it's a mix of assumptions and incentives. The assumption is that internal hires already know the culture, the systems, the acronyms. And the incentive for the hiring manager is to get the person producing as fast as possible. Onboarding is seen as a cost, not an investment. But the research shows that when internal transfers do get onboarding, they reach full productivity about 40 percent faster. Luna: Forty percent — that's a huge gap. So what can you do if you're the one moving and your new team is acting like you don't need any hand-holding? Lucas: You have to build your own onboarding. Before you even start, I'd create a 30-day plan. Not for your manager — for yourself. List three things: who you need to meet, what you need to learn about the team's current priorities, and what 'good' looks like in the first month. Then share that plan with your new manager in your first one-on-one. Luna: That forces the conversation. It's a way of saying, 'I'm taking this seriously, and here's how you can help me.' Lucas: Exactly. And I'd add one more element: find a 'translator.' This is someone who's been in the new team for at least a year and can help you decode the unwritten rules. Every team has its own language — how they run stand-ups, who actually makes decisions, which Slack channels matter. You can't learn that from an org chart. Luna: A translator is a great concept. But how do you ask someone to be that without it sounding like a formal request? I think the key is to frame it around curiosity. Ask someone to coffee and say, 'I'd love to understand how this team really works — what's one thing you wish you'd known when you joined?' Lucas: That's a perfect opener. And the person will almost always give you something useful. Let me give you a specific example from my friend's story. She realized after two weeks that her new manager expected her to attend daily stand-ups even though the team's stand-up was at 8 a.m. and her old team's was at 10. No one told her. She just happened to overhear someone mention it. Luna: That's the kind of detail that can make you look disengaged or disorganized when really you just didn't know. Lucas: Right. And those small misalignments compound. There's also the psychological contract — this is the unwritten set of expectations between employee and employer. When you transfer internally, both you and your new manager have assumptions about what the role entails. If you don't surface those assumptions early, you end up with mismatched expectations. Luna: What's the most common mismatch you see? Lucas: Usually it's around autonomy. The internal hire assumes they'll have more freedom because they know the company. The manager assumes they'll need less guidance. But in reality, the internal hire doesn't know the new team's processes. So you get this double blind spot. I'd recommend having a conversation in your first week where you explicitly ask: 'How do you prefer to communicate? How often should we check in? What decisions can I make on my own?' Luna: That's a list of questions every internal mover should print out. It's almost like you need a formal contract for the informal stuff. Lucas: One thing that helps is to treat the first 90 days as a probation period even if the company doesn't call it that. Set milestones for yourself. End of week one: I've met my key stakeholders. End of month one: I've delivered one small thing of value. End of month two: I've led a project or owned a piece of work. End of month three: I've gotten feedback and adjusted. Luna: I like that structure because it's concrete. And it gives you something to point to when you ask for a performance review later. Lucas: Exactly. And I want to add one more thing — don't be afraid to ask for a 'redo' if you feel like you started on the wrong foot. I've seen people go to their manager after two weeks and say, 'I realize I jumped in too fast and missed some context. Can we reset with a proper 30-minute sit-down on priorities?' Most managers will respect that. Luna: That takes confidence, but it pays off. So if you think about the typical internal transfer timeline — from offer to day one — what's the single biggest mistake people make before they even start? Lucas: Not asking for a transition document from the person who held the role, or from the outgoing team. You have a window between accepting the offer and starting the new role where you have access to your old network. Use it. Ask the previous role holder: 'What's in the drawer? What recurring tasks happen monthly? Who are the top three people I need to build a relationship with?' That kind of intelligence is gold. Luna: And if the person has already left or the role is new, you can still ask your new manager for a list of stakeholders and a sample of the work you'll be doing. Lucas: Exactly. And here's a hidden move: if the role is new, you can ask your new manager to introduce you to someone who does a similar role elsewhere in the company. That person becomes an informal mentor and a sounding board. Luna: You know, this episode has been really practical. I hope listeners take away the idea that onboarding is not just HR's job — it's something you own. Lucas: Absolutely. And look, if this conversation has helped you think about your own internal move or given you a framework to use, I'll be honest — we make these episodes because we love the topic and because listeners like you support the show. Luna: Yeah, a number of you chip in over at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo, and that's what keeps this ad-free and allows us to drill into a specific angle like this every week. Lucas: Exactly. So if you've gotten value from today's episode, that's the way to keep it going. Now, let's circle back to one more practical tactic. I want to talk about what I call the 'onboarding journal'. Luna: I love this. Tell me. Lucas: Every day for the first two weeks, write down three things: one thing you learned, one person you met, and one question you still have. After two weeks, look back. You'll see patterns — what you're still confused about, who you haven't connected with. It's a tool for you, not for anyone else. Luna: That's a way to make the invisible visible. And it gives you data when you go to your manager and say, 'I've identified three gaps in my understanding of X.' Lucas: Exactly. And that turns a complaint into a proposal. You're not just saying 'I'm lost' — you're saying 'Here are the gaps and here's what I need to fill them.' That's the difference between someone who manages their own career and someone who waits to be managed. Luna: Well said. So to sum up: build your own onboarding plan, find a translator, surface the psychological contract, and keep a journal. That's a solid playbook for your first 30 days. Lucas: And remember — the goal isn't just to survive the transition. It's to use the move as a springboard. A well-executed internal transfer can accelerate your career more than an external job hop, because you already have the institutional trust. You just need to build the team-specific trust. Luna: Great note to end on. Thanks, Lucas. Lucas: Thanks, Luna. See you next time.