Tag Archives: new employee orientation

Hiring right, the first time.

Posted on July 26, 2012 by | 5 Comments

People responsible for hiring often find themselves hiring in a panic. A vacancy occurs, a job description and employment ad are hastily pulled together and the HR department starts recruiting.

Unfortunately, they have missed the point. It is not just about filling the void with a qualified individual; it is about determining exactly what your company needs to be great and finding someone who will go above and beyond that. A great employee is as much about fit as it is about skill.

True, companies will usually spend more time finding the right person for senior vacancies, but the same level of attention needs to be used for all positions, from entry level and administrative to marketing and customer service.

“Finding someone who fits your corporate culture is, in some ways, more important than finding someone with the right skill set.”
~ Sarah McNeill

It’s in the best interests of every company to hire the greatest person for the position; the flip side is the tremendous cost of hiring the wrong person. There are the obvious costs of re-advertising and re-interviewing, but that isn’t all.

You’ve invested time in orientation and training for the new employee, not to mention the time spent recruiting. If you have to let that person go, that time and money have just walked out the door. Making the wrong hiring decision affects everyone in the company; it reduces productivity, and causes internal turmoil.

If you hire the right people, they can hit the ground running. Bringing them on is virtually seamless. Not only do they take less time to train, but they bring passion for their new job.

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What went wrong: a lesson about onboarding

Posted on February 2, 2012 by | 8 Comments

Companies with strong employment engagement usually have clearly defined employee onboarding programs. The best talent is drawn to environments where effective programs exist resulting in high levels of employee engagement and low employee turnover. While it seems like common sense to invest in creating and maintaining these programs, they are often overlooked.

Imagine a situation where a new hire has started at your company but there is no formal onboarding system in place. The new hire has a very important but sometimes undervalued role in the company as the Office Manager/Administrator.   The direct supervisor is a recently new hire themselves so there is no clear direction of what to do. The Office Manager has arrived with a job description in mind but no formal training occurs, nor do they have opportunities to receive weekly or even monthly reviews.  In addition, the busy sales company hasn’t had an Office Manager before as everyone just pitched in. It seemed like everyone assumes the new hire was clear on their job requirements and trained by the other team members.

The rest of the employees couldn’t draw upon history to assist the Office Manager in what to do. Frustration is building with the new hire and in a short time the Office Manager quits and everyone is in shock at what has happened.

This situation could create long-term damage to your corporate brand and could be prevented with an onboarding system in place. Ideally, companies need to plan their program before they start the hiring process. It doesn’t have to be complicated. Your company just needs a well thought out plan with a person accountable to see the new hire through a training-feedback process.

  • Have your new hire’s desk ready with computer log-in, e-mail account and telephone system all up. Don’t forget about business cards.
  • Assign a supervisor who is accountable for training the new hire.
  • Assign a buddy for the first month – nothing breaks the ice more than with a person familiar with the company’s culture and core values. Most importantly – to greet them when they arrive on their first day and show them around.
  • Take your new hire out for lunch on the first day – or coffee at very least
  • Train the new hire with a concise orientation book about your company
  • Seek feedback from the new hire- they can tell you where they need more assistance, clarity or direction
  • Communication is key – use monthly reviews to provide feedback and encourage feedback
  • Inform your employees in advance of the new hire’s arrival. Onboarding starts as soon as the offer letter is accepted, not simply just the new hire’s first day at the company.

Without an onboarding program, the investment in a new hire is likely to be wasted away. By simplifying the onboarding process, employers can expect new employees to hit the ground running, and be able to contribute more quickly to a corporation’s success.

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Onboarding Strategies and your Seasonal Workers

Posted on December 2, 2011 by | Leave a comment

During peak periods – around the holidays, tax season or over the summer – it’s critical that businesses can easily manage the addition of temporary employees and quickly get them up to speed. And from recruiting and training to offboarding, seasonal employees can put your human resources software and processes to the test. Not only do you have to find and hire the right people, you have a very short time to train them and get them connected to your organization. Here, I’ve outlined a few ways to go above and beyond your normal onboarding process to get seasonal employees geared up and ready to go.

5 Tips for Onboarding Strategies

Some people may assume I’m focused on training when I say “onboarding,” but the fact is that the employee experience starts in the recruiting stage. With this in mind, here are a few key strategies to help you throughout every phase of the process:

1.  Tailor your recruiting strategies. Your recruiting efforts should be tailored to meet the specific needs of a seasonal workforce. It’s important to make the details of the opportunity clear from the get-go. Also, be wary of how you communicate potential for further employment, as you don’t want folks making assumptions.

2.  Perform due diligence. Don’t skimp on due diligence in collecting legal papers and monitoring employees’ schedules. “A lot of people short-circuit processes like verifying work eligibility or tracking hours correctly. It should go without saying, but you really need to be sure you’re following the law,” says John Rossheim, a senior contributing writer at Monster.com.

3.  Provide proper training. According to Forbes Woman columnist and onboarding expert Emily Bennington, onboarding should focus on integrating new employees in three areas:

  • Technical Skills: To what depth of expertise do seasonal employees need to be trained to perform their jobs?
  • Company Culture: How thoroughly do seasonal hires need to understand company policies and values?
  • Social Integration: In what ways can you connect seasonal employees to your organization so they feel like they are part of the team?

Furthermore, Rossheim suggests designing your seasonal workforce “to accomplish the task at hand, rather than haphazardly training everyone to do everything they may possibly have to do. Specialize rather than throwing everyone into the same bucket.”

4.  Know your capacity upfront. Whether you have a general human resources management system or a hodgepodge of spreadsheets and checklists – it’s important to know your capacity. Can your back-office system efficiently handle an increased volume in applicants and new hires?

5.  Make them part of the team. Seasonal employees can easily feel isolated if an onboarding program doesn’t successfully connect them to the organization. According to Eddie Baeb of Target Corportate Communications, Target is focused on engaging seasonal employees and making them feel just as valued as anyone else from day one. With nearly 40 percent (about 35,800) of seasonal team members joining as permanent employees last year after the holidays, they’ve got this down.

End Things on a Good Note with Offboarding

You may have discovered a few star performers you’d like to bring onto your team permanently. For the rest, though, Bennington says “there’s definitely an opportunity to establish brand ambassadors.” Offboarding provides a chance to make a lasting positive impression, while gaining insight into the worker’s experience.

Standard offboarding practices include surveying workers on their experience. Bennington suggests going beyond surveying, and having one-on-one exit interviews with select employees to get more candid responses.

This guest post was written by: Kyle Lagunas

Kyle Lagunas is the HR Analyst at Software Advice. On the surface, it’s his job to contribute to the ongoing conversation on all things HR. Beyond that, he makes sure his audience is keeping up with important trends and hot topics in the industry. Focused on offering a fresh take on points of interest in his market, he’s not your typical HR guy.

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Onboarding = Retention

Posted on June 16, 2011 by | Leave a comment

Both research and common sense tell us it’s wise to invest in preparing employees to be successful at their jobs. Follow up reviews and regular feedback can facilitate a positive relationship between the employer and new hire. Higher engagement equals happy employer and happy employee.

~ Cheryl Nakamoto

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Corporate Culture Minute

Posted on January 10, 2011 by | Leave a comment

~ Sarah McNeill

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The Rookie Card

Posted on November 10, 2010 by | Leave a comment

A recent conversation with a local business leader stuck with me.  “Ms. Fabulous” shared her philoshophy on new employees: she gives every new hire a Rookie Card. This card allows the bearer to learn, make mistakes and ask multiple questions during the first six months.

As an example, she recently hired someone at an intermediate level with over eight years of industry experience.  I enquired how the new hire was adjusting, and Ms. Fabulous’s response was surprising. With a laugh, she candidly explained the employee had made several small mistakes and was having difficulty navigating their complex regulatory system. However, rather than being upset or concerned, she stated she was thrilled with all the progress! Ms. Fabulous could see that this new employee frequently asked questions and was very engaged in learning their complicated systems. As an experienced and adept manager, she understands every company has slightly different rules of play, even in this particular case where she hired someone from a direct competitor. Regardless of seniority, new employees have to be part-student and part-employee. Ms. Fabulous knows from experience that no external candidate can exceed expectations within a few months in every area, as their business is complex and their standards are high.

The industry buzz about Ms. Fabulous is that she is a sought-out leader who manages an exceptional talent group. Due to her philosophy of hiring people with the best attitudes and promoting from within, she rarely hires above junior level. This has a marvelous side-effect of keeping employees motivated and happy. If you have made a recent hire, regardless of seniority, you might want to consider passing them a Rookie Card. This sets them up for success, which ultimately reflects well on your entire organization.

~ Julie Steele

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Do you know what your Company Culture is?

Posted on October 1, 2010 by | 1 Comment

Recently I was driving with my 14 year old daughter and I shared with her that I was writing a blog post for work and that the theme around the post would be corporate culture.  She replied, “The definition of culture is: the sum total of ways of living built up by a group of human beings and transmitted from one generation to another.” She is studying this in Social studies 9 right now.  It got me thinking, there’s lots of chatter about culture out there, but do we really know what that means to us, our teams, or to our companies?

Corporate culture is a term used to describe the beliefs, values, and processes that provide a company with its own unique flavor and attitude. It’s really about the attitude of everyone involved with the organization

When preparing to launch a search for a new employee, you usually hear things like, “Most importantly the new hire needs to fit into our company culture!  But when asked to define the company culture there seems to be a lot of silence.

Indeed it is VERY important to have your prospective new employee fit in to your company culture, but more so it is important that the culture is a defined and well known thing to everyone in the organization. So much so that you can ask anyone from the team about culture, and they all have more or less the same answer. About who they are as a business.

Here are some tips to finding out your company culture

1. What kind of culture do you want?

Meet with everyone in the organization to find out who they think they are and who they want to be.

2. What Needs to Change?

Have a plan to make small or big changes that everyone takes part of

3. Measure your changes

How are sick days, productivity? Is who you are telling the world you are on the outside now matching the inside?

Everyone has a company culture whether they know it or not, so take the time to find out what your culture is.

~Tracey Saretsky

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Honeymoon 101

Posted on July 5, 2010 by | Leave a comment

I’ve been married for more than a few years but I still remember the joy and trials of the honeymoon part of marriage. In business however, the ‘honeymoon’ period can be far more challenging and can quickly erode team synergy if the road to finding their ‘groove’ is too bumpy along the way. It has been 3 months since we “formalized” our commitment to on-boarding and retention through our complimentary McNak behavioural profile and consultation that all new permanent hires receive when they begin their new role at our client companies.  As the key Consultant on Talent Diversification and veteran McNaker, I am excited to share the start of something so very McNak!

We recognize that we can bring smiles (our Wow!) to more people faster the quicker they know each other. Normal work relationships usually develop through an awkward trial and error method that usually takes the better part of a few months. And usually it doesn’t come without some thorns along the way. This period of flux can often have a downward pull on corporate culture and team productivity. I’ve already seen the tremendous benefit of our behavioural profiling and that makes me smile!

Let’s face it. No one likes to be the new guy or the one to work with the new guy. So fast tracking through the honeymoon period is gratefully welcomed by all involved!

Behavioural profiling has such a positive influence to teams. And with the four letters D I S C,  I can selfishly say I feel the WOW. FUN. PEOPLE.  How McNak is that!

 

photo credit: xtheowl


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Successful Hiring Process = More Business Success!

Posted on April 8, 2010 by | Leave a comment

Companies that have job openings can mean a few things – On one hand, business can be very good and therefore a new role is created or on the other hand, a valued added staff member is leaving the firm. In both of these cases, they are factors that can affect the success of a business whether you see an increase in employee turn over rate, changes in employee morale, the time and cost taken to retrain a new employee, and even productivity will be below average during this transition. Whatever the case may be, job openings can reveal that a company will be negatively impacted and especially during a transition until the vacancy is filled with a great fit!

This is a major reason that the importance of the hiring process is not taken lightly. Having an over extended time before finding a match to the job vacancy can also lead to other negative impacts to a business – overworked existing employees, a backlog or slower service to clients, and a devalued impression of an employer’s brand in the marketplace.

If you are looking to evaluate your current hiring process, here are a few ideas to ensure your hiring process is efficient, seamless, and successful to your business!

KEYS TO SUCCESS

Evaluate, identify, and communicate the factors that are keys to success within the role, the team and the company culture (reach out to your key staff members, HR and Recruitment Partners during this process for valued added clarity).

INTERNAL COMMUNICATION

Ensure all parties involved understand and agree to the key to success factors and a set out a recruitment time line (to have a realistic hiring date, be sure to include those who may be away that must be involved in the hiring process).

MARKETING THE JOB

Create an eye catching and concise job posting and get the word out to your network – this takes time and if you lack that, or lack the network, then reach out to your expert contacts.

STANDARDIZED HIRING PROCESS

Set up a consistent criteria-based screening process including a number of candidates to be screened, implementing assessments and background checks, and a number of interviews to be conducted before a hiring decision.

EXTERNAL COMMUNICATION

Responding to applications and starting the interviewing process immediately is important! Top talents are rare and recruited quickly. Don’t forget to keep interviewed candidates informed on the hiring process timeline and release those that are not a close match.

HIRING TIMELINE CHECK-IN

Ensure to keep a timely hiring process in check.

MAKING THE OFFER

Prepare in advance a standardized offer letter and package which can be manipulated for the different types of roles in your business. This last step is as crucial as all the others discussed prior. An offer letter is the legal binding document making the hire official. It would be very disappointing to go through the hiring process and then not have a hire work out!

BEHAVORIAL PROFILING

You found the perfect fit after much investment and time in recruiting but you are not done yet! You have invested so much already, right? Therefore, it would be wise to get to know how to best work with the person you hired. Whether you are using Myers-Brigg or DISC, behavioral profiling tools can provide valuable communication and behavioral insights on the successful candidate. It allows you to fast track into your on-boarding of a new employee and work more effectively with their behavioral styles. As a result, allowing better synergies and more success for your business.

How are you continuously ensuring your hiring process is effective and seamless to bring more success for your business?

~ Sharon Tong

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The Importance of Cultural Fit – Part II

Posted on November 19, 2009 by | Leave a comment

Cultural Fit Part II -  How to hire the “Perfect” Candidate

A lot of people will wish you luck in finding the perfect candidate – they will say that you need it. Not true! Employers can make their own luck by carefully selecting the right person and merging him/her with your existing team.

Like any successful business practice, a little bit of process and planning will yield huge dividends.

Start with the Details

First, you must be able to describe the position in a detailed and accurate way.  To do this, systematically evaluate why previous employees have left. Were there technical gaps? Relationships that never gelled?  Examine performance reviews for the entire team, and look for recurring themes of strength or weakness. Use this information to draw up a new, fully detailed job description that focuses equally on technical expertise and behavioural characteristics. Yes, you may want to skip this step! Persevere – this information will allow you to exactly pinpoint the person you’re looking for.

Build a Common Vision

If this is a complex role, ensure senior managers involved in the hiring process generally agree on what a “perfect” candidate looks like in terms of experience and personality. Schedule a brief meeting, and separate the criteria into “must have” and “helpful to have”. You may be surprised to hear how members of the same team view the role differently! This meeting will provide clarity once you begin the interview process, and will save valuable time and effort.

What Do You Need to Know From Your Candidates?

Select the right interview questions to screen for desired behaviours. To do this, go through the information you learned in step one, and ask for specific examples of how the candidate has dealt with similar challenges in the past. This is called Behavioural Interviewing Techniques, and it brings a great deal of clarity about a candidate’s experience and their way of thinking. Truly, it explains how they “get things done,” which is a combination of internal motivators, external motivators and communication style. If you follow this process, the top 1-2 candidates should stick out by a mile.   Click here for inspiration.

Mentor Success!

Congratulations, you’ve chosen an amazing person for your organization and your work is done. Well, almost! Research shows the on-boarding process ultimately determines whether a person succeeds or fails.  An employee handbook is no longer sufficient.  During the first ninety days, your new employee must quickly learn the unspoken and unwritten rules about how the organization operates – ie. your culture. How quickly they learn this determines their success, and this is particularly true for senior management and executive roles. As a direct manager, you are responsible for ensure they understand your culture and communicate in an appropriate style. Many managers believe the new employee should have to “prove themselves” or “establish their value to the team.” However, we believe that current market conditions, changes in business direction and competitor threats will give your new team member ample opportunity to contribute to your organization! Most importantly, ensuring your new hire feels welcomed and respected means you’ll avoid having to go back to step one.

Your ability to mentor your new hire will allow them to shine, and effectively contribute to your organization!

~ Julie Steele

photo credit: Joe Shlabotnik

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