Onboarding Employees

After spending a significant amount of time, energy and often money on recruiting and selecting the best candidate to fill a position, the job of a hiring manager is far from done. It’s really just begun.

Companies want new hires to stay and become successful contributors. They want people who can “hit the ground running” and sometimes don’t recognize what managers can do to make this happen. Managers need to form relationships with new employees. The better the relationship is, the better the chance there is of retaining a new hire.

Managers need to talk to new employees about what needs to be done and how they will work together. These discussions result in significantly improved acclimation to the job and the manager, resulting in getting a new hire quickly up to speed.

What Needs to be Done
Frequently managers share a job description with new hires, which typically details the job tasks. At best, these are up to date and it’s a prioritized list. At worst they’re outdated or don’t give a clear sense of the job’s focus. A lack of clarity and focus will affect any employee’s ability to do the job well.

Make sure the tasks outlined reflect the key work to be done and prioritize the responsibilities. Next, take it one step further, identifying the desired results that doing the task should achieve. Tasks may have several desired outcomes. For example if the task is “handle customer calls,” there can be several desired outcomes:

• The customer hangs up feeling well taken care of;

• Calls are handled quickly;

• The caller is moved to the next step in a process;

• Problems are resolved and don’t go beyond the call.

Understanding the outcome makes it clear how you want the task handled.  

It is also important for people to understand up front how their work will be measured to help focus efforts on the things that are most important. It also eliminates surprises. If you have tasks you’ve never figured out how to measure, talk to current employees doing those tasks. Speak with partners from key departments to determine what is most important in their interactions with staff doing the work.

How You’ll Work Together
How to work effectively together is another area that typically is not discussed until a problem develops.  A proactive approach can make a huge difference in setting an initial positive, open tone, as well as getting better results through increased alignment. To help with this conversation, use a few straightforward questions to begin a dialogue together.

Describe your style and what you want from your new employee. To begin, consider and jot down thoughts on your management style, responding to these questions:

1. Think about your most successful direct reporting relationship. What did this person do and not do that worked really well with your management style?  Why?

2. What is the most important success characteristic to demonstrate in this role?

3. What’s the best way to give you (the manager) feedback on how things are going?

Then have your new employee describe his/her style and what works best for them. Ask your employee to consider and jot down thoughts on these questions:

1. Think about your most successful manager/employee relationship. What did this manager do and not do that worked really well? Why?

2. What has helped you do your best work?

3. What is the best way to give you feedback on how you’re doing/how things are going?

Spend an hour sharing your thoughts and ask questions to clarify comments. This isn’t about defending an approach or style; it’s about learning how to work successfully together. Write down each other’s key points and review approaches you’ll each take and agreements you’ll make. You’ve begun to take the guesswork out of the relationship.  You’ve also given each other permission to give feedback, which will help keep things flowing smoothly.

Spending the time upfront to acclimate new hires will pay off in their ability to perform in their new jobs expediently and successfully, and it sets a new partnership off on the right foot.

Leslie Rothman is the founder and principal consultant of Career & Workplace Directions, based in Portland, Maine. For more information, visit cwdirections.com or email leslie@cwdirections.com.