New people are being brought on to a team or being removed from a team for various reasons in just about every organization. For the sake of this Blog, I am specifically going to be focusing on new hires.
For many reasons new hires are great additions to teams. For one it means that there is focus on growth, which is always a bonus in today’s environment. I have had many conversations with associates about the tramas and dramas of new employees. Most come back to a very basic mistake on the organizations side: we didn’t intergrate them appropriately or fast enough.
Tips to keep in mind when you have a new hire on your team:
1. Introduce the new hire to the staff and clients as soon as possible.
a. Do this via email, phone and/or in person.
b. Share with them the Mission, Vision, Goals of the organization and discuss how they link to the team and the organizations success.
2. Clarify their role and responsibilities within the first week of being hired.
a. I recommend the In Sync Roles, Responsibilities & Expectations (ISRRE) document that is aligned with your organization’s Vision and
goals(this is an In Sync guide of an employee’s path to success). Note: This document is different than a traditional position
description.
b. Follow up with the ISRRE document 4 weeks after starting the position.
3. Set clear priorities for the new employee to focus their attention. Being new to an organization there are lots of “shiny objects” to
distract them. It’s the leader’s responsibility to keep them on track to success.
4. Give them clear, actionable goals that have specific deadlines for them to work toward. Be sure to include Short and long term goals
(short goals are typically 30-90 days, where as long-term goals are typically 6 months on.)
5. Set up regular meetings for you to check on the new hire. See how they are doing and identify any potential roadblock for their
success.
New employees are a great addition to a team and should be treated as such. Having them integrate into the team as early as possible is key. Consider having an employee lunch, happy hour, or social gathering with a causal way for them to begin to build trust. Have the new employee meet individually with each member of the team. This allows employees to build trust outside the group yet impacts the strategic movement of the team.